Day 69
Published last at 6:20pm CDT August 26 2020, subject to change throughout the day.
Where do we begin.
Last night a white teenager from Illinois took it upon themselves to drive to Kenosha, armed with an AR-15, to join those - that some outlets are calling it - that are "prepared to defend buildings".
Said teenager proceeded to use their gun during the protests. Three are confirmed to have been shot, two of those fatally. Files have been charged.
The NIMBY rheotric so proudly flaunted earlier this week at that convention is eeirely timed with this.
Let's not write this off as the lone act of a vigilante. We need to name what this act is, white supremacy.
According to witness accounts and video footage, police apparently let the young man responsible for the shootings walk past them with a rifle over his shoulder as members of the crowd were yelling for him to be arrested because he had shot people.
White supremacy is domestic terrorism.
A 17-year-old with a history of racist and misogynistic social media posts traveled to Kenosha and murdered two protesters. This is white supremacist terrorism.https://t.co/bHQzvFZ0LQ
— African American Policy Forum (@AAPolicyForum) August 26, 2020
News
- Kenosha - Protests, Murder, & Police Brutality WBEZ - Suspect Arrested After 2 People Were Shot And Killed During Kenosha Protest
- Kenosha - Protests, Murder, & Police Brutality CNN - Two people are dead and a third injured in an overnight shooting in Kenosha, police say
- Kenosha - Protests, Murder, & Police Brutality NBC Chicago - Teen Suspect in Kenosha Shooting Taken Into Custody in Illinois, Facing Charges: Police
- RNC Convention - Ethics: False Representation The Wall Street Journal - Immigrants in Trump-Led Ceremony Didn’t Know They Would Appear at RNC
- RNC Convention - Ethics: Hatch Act Business Insider - Trump aides 'take pride' in violating ethics laws because it upsets the media at no cost to them, reports say
- RNC Convention - Ethics: Hatch Act POLITICO - Meadows dismisses Hatch Act concerns at RNC: 'Nobody outside of the Beltway really cares'
- COVID19 - How COVID spreads NBC Chicago - How COVID-19 Most Commonly Spreads in Chicago: Arwady
Events
- If this week isn't showing why we all need to show and engage in antiracism work, well Kim Crayton will show you. She is running "Being an Antiracist at Home" on Saturday August 29 2020 @ 10:00am CDT register today. Please note the workshop requires you to read The 1619 Project.
- Deepfakes are terrifying, especially as we see all the "fake news" rheotric thrown around. Learn about Deepfakes and the US Elections with University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public and Microsoft on Tuesday September 1 2020 @ 1:00pm CDT. Register here.
- Run for Something has a series of "Unapologetically Progressive" events in battleground states. The next event - Unapologetically Progressive in Michigan - is on September 15 2020 @ 7:00pm CDT you can register here. Pop over to their event page for all the other events in the series here.
Call to Action
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The headlines from Kenosha have been rough. So, take some time to educate yourself on self care. Here's a few options:
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"Why Self Care isn't Selfish" is a 12ish min TedEx talk that can get you started.
- "A history of Self-Care" write up by Slate.
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A set of "5 Simple Self-Care Practices You Can Implement Now" at a 3 minute read is a win/win!
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Register to vote. You know the drill, register at
IWillVote.com.
Just for fun
I mentioned loving scifi and fantasy earlier. The official accompanying podcast for Lovecraft Country is 🔥. Y'all should check it out. Why? Here's a few reasons why 👇🏾
- The podcast hosts are EPIC - Ashley C. Ford and Lovecraft Country writer Shannon Houston.
I got all my work done today, and I remembered I’m beautiful, so that’s a win.
— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) August 26, 2020
- Learning about the writing room is fascinating.
- Think horror isn't that interesting? Try again! "Horror is the last place for hope" as co-host Ashley C. Ford sums up. This podcast will challenge how you think of scifi, fantasy, and horror. It is a much needed critical exploration in how privilege, racism, and white supremacy inform but also can be confronted in the creative spaces of storytelling and entertainment.
Go listen now, available on Spotify and other fine places.
