Jan 27, 2017

#77: We Choose School Segregation

By Mark Isero • Issue #77 • View online

Thank you for opening Extras #77! It has been quite a week: the inauguration, the marches, the lies, the fear, the resistance. My first draft of this issue was titled “Alternative Facts.” Instead of publishing those pieces today, I’m going to sit on them for a week or two until better writing surfaces. It just didn’t feel right. It’s my way, I suppose.

That said, I’m excited about my four selections this week. The first piece is a Terry Gross interview of Nikole Hannah-Jones, who claims that white people could end school segregation but do not want to. The second piece offers a different way of thinking about how we should respond to homegrown American terrorists. After a photo break, I’ve included a video by Bill Moyers, who explores why we allowed Donald Trump to grow his repugnant birther lie. And last up is my first-ever article about art. You see, Extras is expanding its range! Please enjoy.

The Systemic Segregation Of Schools Is Maintained By ‘Individual Choices’

Nikole Hannah-Jones is my favorite journalist and my second-favorite famous person (after Bryan Stevenson). Here she is interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air (~45 mins) about school segregation and her article, “Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City” (Extras #46). Ms. Hannah-Jones argues that segregation will continue in our country “as long as individual parents continue to make choices that only benefit their own children.” (There is more segregation in the North than in the South.) (Want more NHJ? Check out Extras #47, Extras #65, and Extras #4 — her gut-wrenching This American Life piece from July 2015.)

www.npr.org

Inside Minnesota’s Risky Plan to Deradicalize Young ISIS Recruits

More than 100 Americans — mostly young men — have been charged with pledging allegiance to the Islamic State. The sentence is 10 to 15 years in prison. In Minneapolis, one judge is trying a different approach to the problem. He believes that these young men can and should be rehabilitated, deradicalized. Based on programs in Germany focusing on neo-Nazis, the controversial project puts counseling and mentorship at the center. Do you think this is a good idea?

www.wired.com

Loyal subscriber Heidi and I got to meet Dr. James Hamblin, author of If Our Bodies Could Talk. Dr. Hamblin is a stand-up guy.

The One Thing We Should Always Remember About Donald Trump

I don’t get angry too often, even when I meet someone with opposing views. But when I encounter a birther, I get unhinged. This 23-minute video by Bill Moyers explores the birther lie promulgated by President Donald Trump. It includes various viewpoints about how we appeased Mr. Trump (believing he was a buffoon) instead of attacking him head-on.

billmoyers.com

The Reviled Museum Show That Forever Changed Art

If you appreciate art, you’ll love this detailed history of our current art movement, which began with the transformative and controversial 1993 Whitney Biennial. Gone was a focus on “white, Western, straight, and male,” and emerging was an emphasis on the inclusion of the marginalized through the exploration of identity and the self — “the art of the first person.” Thank you to loyal subscriber Heidi for submitting this excellent piece.

www.vulture.com

Thank you for reading Extras #77! Two things before you go: (1) Please welcome new subscribers Steven, Nancy, and Ag! (2) It’s time for you to vote on what should be the new name of Iserotope Extras. Do it today! You get to vote for up to 5 potential names. Here’s the secret ballot. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am. (Sorry for the delay this week!)

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By Mark Isero

The best of the week on race, education, and culture.

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