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1936: The Worst Olympic Games Ever (So far)

Simon Barnes New Statesman
As the Olympic Games go, the reviewer says, it's time to ask the big question: which were the worst Olympics ever? David Goldblatt's The Games is a history of the tarnished Olympics, from Avery Brundage to, yes, London 2012. The evidence shows indisputably that it was Hitler's Berlin games of 1936, which set the stage for spectacle and nationalist-racialist sentiment.

Artists #UnitedAgainstHate

United Against Hate United Against Hate
An open letter to the voters of the United States...We believe it is our responsibility to use our platforms to bring attention to the dangers of a Trump presidency, and to the real and present threats of his candidacy. Initiated by 100 artists, actors, musicians, DJs, writers, directors, performers...

The Case for More Government and Higher Taxes

Eduardo Porter The New York Times
Four out of every five - or more - have said the government makes them feel either angry or frustrated. These frustrated Americans may not fully realize it, but there's a strong case for more government - not less - as the most promising way to improve the nation's standard of living. The American government pretty much stopped growing when the civil rights movement forced whites to share public space with African Americans, then Latinos, Asians and Native Americans.

What Does It Mean to be Safe?

Saru Jayaraman and Zachary Norris Ella Baker Center
What do you think #SafetyIs? Too often, conversations about safety revolve around crime and fear. Now more than ever, we know that police are not the pathway to safety, especially for black and brown communities. Join us on August 2nd for Night Out for Safety and Liberation (NOSL) as we redefine and reimagine what public safety really means for our communities.

North Carolina’s Voting Restrictions Struck Down as Racist

N.Y. Times Editorial Board The New York Times
The decision means that the voting power of black citizens in the important swing state will not be hobbled in November by a repressive 2013 law that the court found was steeped in blatant racism, in violation of the Constitution.

Labor Supports #BlacksLivesMatter; Call on Police Unions for Accountability

Richard Trumka; Tefere Gebre; JWJSF; Left Labor Project
AFL-CIO leaders have reached out to union members in support of actions that can be taken to stop and prevent police killings of people of color. Racism plays an insidious role in the daily lives of all working people of color. This is a labor issue because it is a workplace issue; it is a community issue, and unions are the community. Philando Castile was a union member, and so his family is our family. Ideas of what you can do from labor activists.

How Racial Bias Affects The Quality Of Black Students’ Education

Casey Quinlan ThinkProgress
Although it has been more than 60 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision establishing that separate schools for white students and black students are not equal, schools in the U.S. remain very economically and racially segregated.

Florida Cop Shot Black Man with His Hands Up

Francisco Alvarado, Michael E. Miller and Mark Berman The Washington Post
Police in South Florida shot an unarmed black caretaker Monday as he tried to help his autistic patient. I was thinking as long as I have my hands up . they're not going to shoot me, he told local television station WSVN from his hospital bed. Wow, was I wrong. Police then handcuffed him and left him bleeding on the pavement for about 20 minutes.
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