As we approach the start of a school year unlike any other, public officials have reached the consensus that American primary and secondary schools should reopen this fall. To mitigate the risk of outbreaks, various public health authorities and school districts have released detailed plans and recommendations, often including mandatory social distancing, face masks, cohorting, … Read more
In the United States, quicker and more decisive actions to combat COVID-19 could have potentially prevented 70% to 99% of related deaths, and one such improvement would have been increased testing. But when asked why the United States could not import made tests from other countries to alleviate its massive and deadly shortage, White House … Read more
Goya refried pinto beans in a supermarket. My pantry looks quite different now than it did a few weeks ago. Goya black beans, Goya Goya frijoles, Goya plantains, Goya spices, Goya queso blanco, and Goya Adobo have all been replaced. The gold-wrapped Goya ‘Maria cookies’ that had once been an infallible staple of my childhood … Read more
In January of this year, Senior White House Advisor Kellyanne Conway raved over what she saw as one of the finest achievements of the Trump administration, saying, “This has not happened through coincidence, it’s happened through causation. It’s owing in large part to a whole-of-government approach … led by President Trump, first lady Melania Trump, … Read more
On Election Day this April, Wisconsin Assembly Republican Speaker Robin Vos told reporters they were “incredibly safe to go out.” Sporting a pin that read “election observer,” he spoke with conviction, yet his surgical mask, rubber gloves, and protective smock rendered his assurances a bit ironic. The disconnect between Vos’ calm demeanor and his dystopian … Read more
The “Justice for George Floyd” petition has over a million signatures. “Justice for Breonna Taylor” has over 10 million. You’ve probably seen these widely-shared petitions, demanding justice for the deaths of Black people across the country through the arrest of the police officers responsible. Some of these petitions have achieved their stated goal, and all … Read more
On May 29, in response to escalating protests in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, President Trump tweeted, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Invoking the rhetoric of White supremacists and segregationists from George Wallace to Walter E. Headley, Trump asserted that the theft and destruction of private property was punishable by violence. In … Read more
The story seems familiar. In May 2019, 62 year old mechanic Kenneth Herring hit another vehicle while driving his pickup truck in Clayton County, Georgia. Allegedly suffering from a diabetic episode, Herring left the scene of the collision. 911 was called. Herring, who was Black, was shot in the abdomen and died. His killer was … Read more
When the Harvard Graduate Students Union went on strike last winter, I was on the picket line at dawn every day for two weeks. Early morning picket shifts, which usually started at 5:00 a.m., were meant to delay deliveries and disrupt university business. One morning, three of us, bundled in winter coats and marching in … Read more
You can’t be a student if you can’t get to school. Despite long-standing state commitments to provide transportation to and from school, regardless of income or ZIP code, children still have trouble getting to school. When one student cannot get to school as easily as another, their educations are not equal. As an inept federal … Read more