We're handing over the mic this week. Here are 10 things you really must read.
The American Nightmare — Ibram X. Kendi, The Atlantic
"A nightmare is essentially a horror story of danger, but it is not wholly a horror story. Black people experience joy, love, peace, safety. But as in any horror story, those unforgettable moments of toil, terror, and trauma have made danger essential to the black experience in racist America."
The Double Standard of the American Riot — Kellie Carter Jackson, The Atlantic
"Black rebellion and protest, though, have historically never been coupled with allegiance to American democracy. Today, peaceful demonstrations and violent riots alike have erupted across the country in response to police brutality and the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Yet the language used to refer to protesters has included looters, thugs, and even claims that they are un-American."
The Summer of 2020 Is Going to Be Long, Violent, and Necessary — Jamilah King, Mother Jones
"America’s long, violent summer has begun. Buildings will burn and people will die because people have been dying—in their homes, at local hospitals, and in detention centers. It would be naive and downright dangerous to expect anything different."
You Should Be Feeling Miserable — Rebecca Carroll, The Atlantic "I grew up the only black person in an all-white town, adopted into an otherwise all-white family. Many people at the lake must have seen what happened, but only one stepped up to save my life."
Why we can’t stop thinking about George Floyd’s neck — Soraya Nadia McDonald, The Undefeated
"To attack a human neck, especially to separate it from its body, is to sever our earthly vessels — our bodies — from that which makes us who we are, our brains. That is what it means to behead, to hang a person, to grasp them in a chokehold until they expire, to slit a throat from ear to ear."
‘The terror of wearing both a press badge and black skin’: Black journalists are carrying unique burdens — Elahe Izadi and Paul Farhi, The Washington Post
"For black journalists, the civil unrest in cities across America isn’t just a big story. It’s personal."
I’m Immunocompromised. Marching For George Floyd Could Kill Me, But I’m Still Doing It. — Jacqueline Dyre, HuffPost "Protesting in the streets might kill me. But if you ask America, we were never meant to live anyway."
The Difference Between Being 'Not Racist' and 'Anti-Racist' — Imani Bashir, LifeHacker "Racism is a pestilence that affects the safety and well-being of people of color. As we continue to witness the injustices that exist as a result of racism, one thing is clear: It isn’t enough for our white allies to just be ‘not racist’; they must be anti-racist."
Of Course There Are Protests. The State Is Failing Black People. — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New York Times "[T]he fact that Mr. Floyd was even arrested, let alone killed, for the inconsequential ‘crime’ of forgery amid a pandemic that has taken the life of one out of every 2,000 African-Americans is a chilling affirmation that black lives still do not matter in the United States."
I’m Due To Give Birth Today But All I Can Think About Is George Floyd — Latona Giwa, HuffPost "My family is mixed race; if you lined us all up you’d see a variety of skin tones, hair textures, and more. The fun curiosity of waiting to see what and who my baby will look like is tinged with a darker anxiety. With my first baby, I remember the mix of joy and fear as I watched her skin darken over time and wondered if her baby curls would loosen or tighten. Behind clichés like “good hair’ are a bitter truth; the roll of the genetic die that determines how ‘Black’ you look also determines how the world will see you. How many mistakes will you be allowed to make? How quickly will they blame you for your own expulsion, incarceration, death? How lucky will you be?" | 
