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Showing posts from December, 2021

Becoming Abolitionists - Wonderful in a Way - but Also Perplexing

  Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, And The Pursuit of Freedom  - by: Derecka Purnell - is an enigma.   The author presents a powerful case for the necessity of what she calls "Abolitionist" change, a radical remaking of our country.   At the same time, she  doesn't clearly explain realistically how it may be potentially possible.   She also out omits serious discussion of how the forces of oppression are effective, and effective strategies to confront them.  Nevertheless, the book has a lot of great insights and examples showing what Black and other oppressed people are up against. Purnell expands upon talking of what Black People face in bringing in important areas such as toxic waste, climate change, sexism/sexual assault, homo/trans phobias and disability rights issues, as well as most importantly talking significantly about classism and capitalism.   All of this is in a context of how the police are systemically oppressing those who lack power. Quotes useful

The State Must Provide: Why America's Colleges Have Always Been Unequal - and How to Set Them Right

 Adam Harris's The State Must Provide: Why America's Colleges Have Always Been Unequal - And How To Set Them Right  is a most interesting book.    Some quotes can help one understand much more (below). In the five years between 1887 and 1893, nine states had passed laws segregating rail- and streetcars. The states had been emboldened by the Supreme Court's decisions in the civil rights decisions of 1883, when the court ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1875, a law preventing racial discrimination in public places such as hotels and trains, was unconstitutional.  (p.64) The state was not against funding private colleges, but it was not willing to spend its money on colleges for Black students when it was not forced to do so.  Shortly after its own chance at state funding failed, Manual Labor University ceased operations. (p.68-9) On April 29, 1901, Maryville College in Tennessee acknowledged that it would go along with the state's newly passed law that barred interracia