Reparations Daily (ish) Vol. 62
Call for Pitches!
Happy Tuesday and the first day of Black History Month! This month I will highlight a few historical figures who have paved the way for today’s modern reparations movement, but I don’t want to do it alone!
Today’s Hot Takes section is our first call for pitches! I hope to feature one story this month that either employs a historical lens to current the reparations movement, highlights an important historical figure to the reparations movement, or breaks down the impact of a local reparations effort in their community.
If you’re interested, email tsmith@reparationslab.org with your pitch, a short bio that includes why you should write the piece, and a proposed timeline.
We’re offering $200 for this feature, but as you all know, this is and always will be a free resource. So we’re crowdfunding in hopes of lifting up new voices. If you’re interested in contributing to this effort, here’s how you can chip in:
Venmo: Trevor-Smith-2511
If we raise more than $200, we’ll give the remainder of what we raised to a reparations-related nonprofit of the writer’s choice. Head to the Hot Takes section for more details.
Here are our recommended articles for today:
This follow-up from Jay Caspian King on the affirmative action case in front of the Supreme Court in the New York Times.
This intricate story about a plantation in Virginia in the Washington Post.
This story from KCRW about a pilot program in Santa Monica, CA that will start to give priority access to families and their descendants who lost their homes under the city’s “urban renewal,” program.
This Washington Post story about an obscure port in Brazil that received more than twice the amount of enslaved Africans trafficked to the United States.
With radical love,
Trevor
National News
New York Times: Slavery Was About Profit
New York Times: The Path to Social Equity in Higher Ed Doesn’t Run Through Harvard
Yahoo: What the end of affirmative action would mean for U.S. colleges
Washington Post: ‘A community deserves options’: Why these Black journalists launched their own publication
Washington Post: Why race-based affirmative action is still needed in college admissions
MSNBC: The affirmative action myth over Biden’s SCOTUS short list
Washington Post: We need innovative solutions for relocating Confederate statues
Brookings: The state of Black America in 2022 (Event)
Newsweek: Critical Race Theory Is Dividing Democrats—and Rallying Republicans
Commecial Appeal: Critical race theory rightfully prompts us to acknowledge true impact of America's history
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: First, it was critical race theory. Now, it’s books
Regional News
Washington Post: An old Virginia plantation, a new owner and a family legacy unveiled
KCRW: Santa Monica tries to repay historically displaced families
ESPN: Nebraska alters mascot's hand gesture to avoid ties to white supremacy
ABC News: Judge to hear suit over Confederate memorial in Tuskegee
Deseret News: California city named for Confederate general declines to change name
Black News Channel: Auburn Celebrating Harriet Tubman’s Life As Free Woman For 200th Birthday
Black Wall Street Times: LAWMAKER FILES BILL TO PROVIDE $300 MILLION IN REPARATIONS TO MASSACRE SURVIVORS, DESCENDANTS
Evanston Roundtable: Reparations and its allies
New York Daily News: Phony critical race theory fears thwart teaching of total U.S. history
STLPR: How wealth inequality shapes life in the St. Louis region
The Diamondback: UMD’s efforts to recognize Indigenous people fall short
International News
Washington Post: More enslaved Africans came to the Americas through this port than anywhere else. Why have so few heard of it?
The Independent: Soup kitchen harassment to confederate flags: Controversial moments at Canadian trucker convoy protest
Hot Takes
I’m very excited to announce our first call for pitches!
Over the past six months, I’ve had various conversations with people who have expressed interest in writing something related to reparations but weren’t quite sure about where to place or how to approach it.
A part of why I started this newsletter was to offer my unfiltered thoughts around this topic without having to go through opinion editors (who are almost always white and male) and have to convince them why this topic was important or why my voice mattered.
So for Black History Month, we are looking to publish a feature story between (700-1000 words) that does one of the following:
Celebrates a Black historical figure who has shaped the modern reparations movement.
Grounds the current reparations movement with a historical frame. How did we get to this point? What important story can be told over the past 400 years that can illuminate how important this moment is?
Gets into the details of a local reparations story. What’s going on in your backyard? Who are the major players? Who is this targeting? What impact will this have on the local socio-economic landscape?
Deadline for pitches: February 14th.
Pay: We (this community we are building) will be paying $200 for the piece through a fundraiser. All extra money donated will go toward a reparations-related nonprofit of the selected writer’s choice. If you wish to donate, please send what you can to:
Venmo: Trevor-Smith-2511
How to pitch: Email tsmith@reparationslab.org with your pitch, bio, why you should write this story and proposed timeline for the piece.