Passing the mic
I don’t have anything to say this week. I’m feeling a lot better than last week (thanks for all the sweet comments about my own little Tower of Babel). I’ve got that tender, post-crash feeling where I just sort of want to listen and read and be quiet. So I’ll do that, and point you to some people who are saying some really important things right now…
The Atlantic has two different projects that I’m in awe of: Inheritance, about “American history, Black life, and the resilience of memory,” and The Teacher Project, which is just full of fleshy, moving stories (in sharp contrast to the brittleness of the debate about re-opening schools). You could spend hours on either or both.
If you’re needing some news that better represents the part of our world that is actually working, may I recommend checking out the Solutions Journalism Network’s Story Tracker? It’s chockfull of vetted solutions journalism on things you care about or are curious to learn more about. This is a great piece out of my homestate that isn’t in the tracker just yet, but will give you a sense of expansive hope for transforming policing in this country.
I also just finished this book, Thin Places, which is coming out in paperback soon, and really adored it. It’s about the betwixts and betweens of our strange, beautiful lives. The essays on Texan debutantes and tattoos particularly got me.
And have you watched Judas and the Black Messiah yet? It’s gripping. I can’t believe how young Fred Hampton was. I can’t believe how much Dominque Fishback deserves some kind of award for her brilliant performance as his partner.
Oh and have you watched this new short video series on men and caregiving? It’s unlike anything I’ve seen before, though I’ve reported a lot on this intersection.
Feel free to put your own favorite stuff of the week in the comments.
PBS second hour of '1A' today, February 17, interviewed an author (forgot her name) who wrote the book: "The Three Mothers", about the women who raised Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin. All three women were accomplished 'in their own right'! It's now one of my 'want-to-reads'!
PBS is blowing me away with their selection for Black His(her)story month. I have read many books to learn and support the BLM cause during the pandemic but it helps to see people move, breath, suffer, love and laugh. Their special on Marion Anderson (American Experience) does just that. I had read books about her to my fourth graders but to see her beauty and grace, to hear her sing, made her so real! To see the black women entertainers of the 60s working for the civil rights movement deepened my understanding of their role (American Masters). My love affair of over fifty years with Nina Simone was given new life. I am looking forward to their special on the black church. I love their body of work!