Our Marching Orders

From the New York Times - 

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide. - John Lewis 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html

Lloyd & Jimmy | Yellowstone | Paramount Network

Amazon's Ex-Wife Makes Big Donation to HBCUs

An excerpt from CNN - 

These historically Black universities just got their biggest ever financial gifts all thanks to one generous donor

By Alicia Lee

(CNN)Four historically Black colleges and universities announced that they have each received the largest single donation in their long-standing history.

The generous donor?

MacKenzie Scott, formerly Bezos.

Howard University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Hampton University and Tuskegee University all announced on Tuesday that they had been gifted record donations.

Howard, which received $40 million, Hampton, $30 million, and Tuskegee, $20 million, revealed that their donations had come from Scott, the author and philanthropist who divorced from Amazon's Jeff Bezos last year.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/29/us/hbcus-largest-donation-history-mackenzie-scott-trnd/index.html

White Christians Mostly Silent

An excerpt from NPR - 

American Christianity Must Reckon With Legacy Of White Supremacy, Author Says

Heard on Fresh Air with Terry Gross

In his new book, White Too Long, Jones examines the legacy of white supremacy among Southern Baptists and other Christian denominations.

Jones says the Southern Baptist Convention tends to focus on each individual's interior relationship with God — and "essentially screens out questions of social justice."

"I cannot remember a single sermon calling attention to racial inequality, racial injustice [or] the struggle for civil rights," he says.

As the U.S. begins to grapple more seriously with issues of racism and white supremacy, Jones says the time has come for churches to be more in vocal about social justice.

"There's so much work still to be done," he says. "White Christians have been largely silent ... and have hardly begun these conversations."

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/30/896712611/american-christianity-must-reckon-with-legacy-of-white-supremacy-author-says?ft=nprml&f=1001

Hate is Real

The man in this video who dealt with all the hate is @robblissgr https://t.co/8kx4fmhCgO

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) July 30, 2020

Peanut Butter & Jelly Pie

From Bon Appetit - 

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/salted-pbandj-ice-cream-pie

Systemic Racism Explained

Representation Matters

Not five seconds into #TheReidOut with @JoyAnnReid, my three-year-old daughter - who's in the room - points at the screen and shouts out, "MOMMY, SHE HAS CURLY HAIR JUST LIKE ME!"

Representation is no joke, people. pic.twitter.com/NmELt2bCuB

— Elliot Williams (@elliotcwilliams) July 20, 2020

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Response to Verbal Abuse is PRICELESS!

"My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter. My mother got to see Mr. Yoho's disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television. I am here because I have to show my parents that...that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men." pic.twitter.com/cf0woHRf58

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 23, 2020

The fight for America's 51st state, explained

The First Black Female Physician in the US

An excerpt from the Boston Globe - 

Gravestone dedicated to the first Black female medical doctor in the US

By Brian MacQuarrie

A gravestone dedication ceremony was held at Fairview Cemetery for Rebecca Crumpler,
the first Black woman to become a medical doctor in the United States.
JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF

Rebecca and Arthur Crumpler lay side by side in unmarked graves in Hyde Park for more than a century, a wife and husband buried 15 years apart at the fringes of Fairview Cemetery near their home on Mother Brook.

No headstones carried their names. No plaque told of their lives and accomplishments. Nothing but the records of the city-owned cemetery could direct the curious — if any came along — to an unadorned patch of tree-shaded grass that covered their remains.

Until now.

Dedicated at a poignant ceremony Thursday, new granite tombstones use a few chiseled words to commemorate a remarkable story that has rarely been told. Here lies Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first Black female physician in the United States, and her husband, a former escaped slave who much later became the oldest pupil in the Boston schools.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/17/metro/gravestone-dedicated-first-black-female-medical-doctor-us/

Awesome Principal Defends Teachers in Response to Betsy DeVos

A Tribute to Dr. Fauci

How This Guy Builds Mesmerizing Kinetic Sculptures | Obsessed | WIRED

Obstacle Challenge CAT vs DOG

Where Black Students Matter

An excerpt from the New York Post -

These are the colleges where black students really matter
By Dennis Richmond, Jr.

When New York’s black high school seniors return to school in the fall and start looking ahead to college admissions, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) should be at the top of their lists.

As protests over racism continue to ripple across the country, HBCUs offer a safe haven where young minds can feel truly embraced by a racially diverse faculty who will empower them for the future. According to US Department of Education statistics, 75 percent of all black people with a doctorate degree (and four fifths of all black federal judges) received their undergraduate training at HBCUs. With typically lower tuition fees and a more integrated staff than traditionally white institutions, HBCUs are a more affordable and supportive way for black kids to level the playing field.

https://nypost.com/2020/07/11/these-are-the-colleges-where-black-students-really-matter/

1st Black Female Fighter Pilot!

BZ to Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle on completing the Tactical Air (Strike) aviator syllabus. Swegle is the @USNavy’s first known Black female TACAIR pilot and will receive her Wings of Gold later this month. HOOYAH! @FlyNavy @NASKPAO #ForgedByTheSea #CNATRA #CNATRAgrads pic.twitter.com/FKSlURWQhJ

— Naval Air Training (@CNATRA) July 9, 2020

The Greatest Asked a Question

“How come is everything white?”

Muhammad Ali appeared on Parkinson in 1971.pic.twitter.com/mNtQvMxmZ8

— BBC (@BBC) June 9, 2020

The story behind this iconic Olympics protest

Not Today

An excerpt from the New York Times - 

Yeah, Let’s Not Talk About Race

Unless you pay me.

By Damon Young

The people doing the least can be found in every viral video clip of a white person hysterically refusing to wear a mask at Trader Joe’s. These people are unhinged, dangerous and just plain goofy, willing to die (and kill) over Jicama Wraps and Kale Gnocchi. And the people doing the most? Well, the most happens anytime a white person encounters a Black person who writes about race — or just a Black person who just happens to be Black — and the Serious Conversation About Racism (SCAR) must ensue. This isn’t a new phenomenon. I’ve been SCARed before in the grocery store express aisle, between pickup hoop games at the gym, while getting a colonoscopy, and at least 82 percent of the unsolicited emails I get are drive-by SCARings. But now America feels like a deleted scene from “Get Out.” Or better yet, “The Sixth Sense.” But instead of seeing dead people, white people see us as walking, talking, antiracist book lists.

There’s no better example of the absolute most than the recent ABC News feature on Ernest Skelton. Mr. Skelton, an appliance technician, was just doing his job when the white woman whose house he was working on grilled him about the plight of blacks in America. He shared that racism is, um, bad. The woman, Caroline Brock, wrote a post about their conversation on Facebook, and it went viral. Local news stations called, and they eventually appeared on “Nightline” as an example of what happens when America allows itself to “heal from the heart.” But all I can think about is this man trying to fix a sink while taking a random pop quiz about redlining.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/opinion/george-floyd-racism.html?searchResultPosition=1