This week, we’re sharing stories from Ta-Nehisi Coates; Nikole Hannah-Jones; Mark Collette, David Hunn, and Mike Hixenbaugh; Natalie Kitroeff and Victoria Kim; and Robert Minto.
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1. The First White President
Ta-Nehisi Coates | The Atlantic | September 7, 2017 | 32 minutes (8,086 words)
In his latest for the Atlantic, Ta-Nehisi Coates posits that white identity politics forms the foundation of Donald Trump’s presidency.
2. The Resegregation of Jefferson County
Nikole Hannah-Jones | New York Times Magazine | September 6, 2017 | 37 minutes (9,279 words)
Gardendale, Alabama’s attempt to secede from its school district, shows that despite the Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, there are still white communities organizing to keep their schools segregated.
3. Fifty-One Inches
Mark Collette, David Hunn, Mike Hixenbaugh | Houston Chronicle | September 2, 2017 | 24 minutes (6,108 words)
Terror, heartbreak, and heroism in Houston as five souls brave the worst storm in U.S. history.
4. Behind a $13 Shirt, a $6-an-Hour Worker
Natalie Kitroeff, Victoria Kim | Los Angeles Times | September 1, 2017 | 13 minutes (3,498 words)
An exposé on sweatshops in Los Angeles that exploit mostly undocumented workers, paying them less than minimum wage to work in slave-like conditions, and the loop-holes protecting retailers that use these sweatshops for their house brands — including Forever 21, TJ Maxx, and Marshall’s.
5. What Happens When a Science Fiction Genius Starts Blogging?
Robert Minto | The New Republic | September 7, 2017 | 6 minutes (1,734 words)
After giving up writing fiction at age 87, fantasy, science fiction, and speculative fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin has started a blog. Internet citizens may want to know: does she write about her cat, Pard? Why yes, yes she does — while examining the human condition, of course.
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