The Hurricane Katrina Pain Index Ten Years Later

Bill Quigley Portside
Ten years after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, the author looks at the pain index for those who were left behind. The population of New Orleans is noticeably smaller and noticeably whiter now and despite the tens of billions poured into Louisiana, the impact on poor and working people in New Orleans has been minimal. While not all the numbers are bad, they do illustrate who has benefited and who continues to suffer 10 years after Katrina.

Democracy for America: Candidates Must Show Black Lives Matter

Sam Frizell TIME
Reflecting the growing influence of the Black Lives Matter movement, the progressive national network Democracy for America has made candidates’ proposals for addressing racism among the central criteria for its endorsements. DFA changed its endorsement process following the Black Lives Matter protest at Netroots Nation, where Democratic presidential candidates Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders “failed to empathize with and adequately respond” to protesters’ concerns.

A Line Breaking

Renny Golden Naugatuck River Review
On July 27, 1919, the appearance of an African American swimmer near a white beach provoked a citywide pogrom in Chicago. Poet Renny Golden depicts the incident and a wade-in that integrated the shores during the 1960s.

Nurses Union on Black Lives Matter

National Nurses United National Nurses United
While there are clear correlations between structural racism in the criminal justice system and economic and social justice, each area is also a clear and present danger to life and health, as well as an infringement on the human rights of those affected and on American democracy. As nurses, we are dedicated to preventing all forms of illness, protecting health, and alleviating human suffering.

Are We Really 99% Chimp?

It's common knowledge that humans share 99% of their DNA with chimpanzees. But is it true? What does it mean? And why does it matter?

Traffic Stop

Alex Landau, an African American, was raised by adoptive white parents to believe that skin color didn’t matter. But when Alex was pulled over by Denver police officers one night, he lost his belief in a color-blind world. Alex tells what happened that night.

Slavery To Mass Incarceration

An animated short film by acclaimed artist Molly Crabapple, with narration by Bryan Stevenson, illustrating facts about American slavery and the elaborate mythology of racial difference that was created to sustain it. That mythology persists today. Slavery did not end in 1865, it evolved. #SlaveryEvolved

Friday Nite Videos -- July 24, 2015

Portside
Slavery to Mass Incarceration. Mess Within Texas - Sandra Bland's Arrest. Traffic Stop. Are We Really 99% Chimp? The First Openly Asshole President.