Why do People Believe Myths About the Confederacy? Because Our Textbooks and Monuments are Wrong

James W. Loewen The Washington Post
False history marginalizes African Americans and makes us all dumber. The Confederates won with the pen (and the noose) what they could not win on the battlefield: the cause of white supremacy and the dominant understanding of what the war was all about. We are still digging ourselves out from under the misinformation they spread. When each state left the Union, they made clear they were seceding because they were for slavery.

books

Bigotry 101: Why Haters Gonna Hate

Michael Hirsch The Indypendent
Here is bigotry as a systematic, total mindset having a special affinity for right-wing movements. The author explores its appeal, the self-image it justifies, the interests it serves and its complex connection not so much to antiquity as modernity, shaping the conspiratorial and paranoid worldview of true believers, elitists and chauvinists. It enables their hiding behind mainstream conservative motifs to support policies disadvantaging the targets of their contempt.

15 Things Your City Can Do Right Now To End Police Brutality

Zak Cheney-Rice Mic
How, besides protesting, can we actually make sure no more black people are killed, beaten or tortured by the police? And how can we promote justice and equity in law enforcement more generally? The Center for Popular Democracy and Policy Link have partnered with various protesters and street-level organizers to find some concrete solutions to this problem.

Statement By Bree Newsome: "Now Is The Time For True Courage"

Brittany "Bree" Newsome Blue Nation Review
White supremacy has dominated the politics of America resulting in the creation of racist laws and cultural practices designed to subjugate non-whites. The emblem of the confederacy, the stars and bars, in all its manifestations, has long been the most recognizable banner of this political ideology. It's the banner of racial intimidation and fear whose popularity experiences an uptick whenever black Americans appear to be making gains economically and politically.

Tidbits - July 2, 2015 - Condition of Black Life - Our Real Problem with Race; Take Down Your Flag; Black Churches Being Burned; Greek Referendum; Columbia Divests From Prisons; more...

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Reader Comments: The Condition of Black Life...Our Real Problem with Race; Take Down Your Flag 140+ artists post videos; Black Churches Being Burned; Greek Referendum; Columbia Divests From Prisons; Naomi Oreskes and Changing Climate; World War II Chemical Experiments Tested Troops By Race; Iran Nuclear Deal; About George Soros and the Ukraine...More Comments; Donate to Rebuild the Churches Fund; Announcement - Art Exhibit of Boycott Posters - Tacoma - July 2-16

String of Nighttime Fires Hit Predominately Black Churches in Four Southern States

Bill Morlin Southern Poverty Law Center
In what may not be a coincidence, a string of nighttime fires have damaged or destroyed at least six predominately black churches in four southern states in the past week. The series of fires – some of them suspicious and possible hate crimes — came in the week following a murderous rampage by a white supremacist who shot and killed nine people at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C.

What This Cruel War Was Over

Ta-Nehisi Coates The Atlantic
The meaning of the Confederate flag is best discerned in the words of those who bore it. In praising the Klan's terrorism, Confederate veterans and their descendants displayed a remarkable consistency. White domination was the point. Slavery failed. Domination prevailed nonetheless. The Confederate flag should come down because it is embarrassing to all Americans. The fact that it still flies, that one must debate its meaning in 2015, reflects an incredible ignorance.

Tidbits - June 25, 2015 - The Racial Divide; Take Down the Flag; Charleston Massacre; Greek Debt; Israeli Nukes; BDS; and more...

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Reader Comments: The Racial Divide; Take Down the Flag; Call It What It Is, Or Be Complicit; The Charleston Massacre - A Hate Crime; Racial Violence in America; Greek Debt Truth Committee - Debt Cannot and Should Not Be Paid; American Century has Plunged the World into Crisis; Rachel Dolezal; Israeli Nukes; BDS is costing Israel big money; Alexander Hamilton and Andrew Jackson; Announcement - Celebration of Danny Schechter's Life
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