Race issues: Can police stop killing young black men? What about reparations?

For June, we will need to continue Zooming, until we can schedule time at the CCC and renew our membership. Hopefully we can meet in person in July.

George Floyd's death last May sparked the Black Lives Movement. Since then, and especially this May, there have been more incidents (or video revelations) where young black men died at the hands of police for minor infractions. How can law enforcement change the way they handle encounters so that nobody dies? Should the officers be held accountable?

Should the government pay reparations for events like the Tulsa Race Massacre?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/tulsa-race-massacre-100-years-later-why-it-happened-why-n1268877
https://www.history.com/news/tulsa-massacre-black-wall-street-before-and-after-photos

What about reparations for the descendants of slaves?
https://www.brookings.edu/policy2020/bigideas/why-we-need-reparations-for-black-americans/
https://www.crf-usa.org/brown-v-board-50th-anniversary/reparations-for-slavery-reading.html

What is the 1619 Project? Should we re-evaluate our history, taking into account how some of it was influenced by slavery?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/historians-clash-1619-project/604093/

There are several recent best sellers that address how racism is ingrained in our culture. If you haven't already, try to read one or two, or the reviews.
"White Fragility" - Topping both The New York Times’ and Amazon’s lists is “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism,” a 2018 book by Robin DiAngelo that explores how white people react when their assumptions about race are challenged. "It is not enough to simply hold abstract progressive views and condemn the obvious racists on social media - change starts with us all at a practical, granular level, and it is time for all white people to take responsibility for relinquishing their own racial supremacy."

"Caste "- 'The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power - which groups have it and which do not'. Beyond race or class, our lives are defined by a powerful, unspoken system of divisions. In Caste, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson gives an astounding portrait of this hidden phenomenon. Linking America, India and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson reveals how our world has been shaped by caste - and how its rigid, arbitrary hierarchies still divide us today.

"Stamped from the Beginning" and "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi. Kendi is the founder of the Antiracism Research and Policy Center. His New York Times bestselling book explains why neutrality is not an option. In order to stand against racism, we have to be actively antiracist—and this book is the instruction manual. Kendi has been a leading commentator on race in America; he testified before Congress about the impact of the coronavirus on communities of color. A professor of history and international relations at American University in Washington, D.C., Kendi won a National Book Award in 2016 for “Stamped from the Beginning.”

"One Person - No vote" - From the New York Times bestselling author of ”White Rage” (another one for your list) comes a harrowing read about voter suppression, gerrymandering, and racial discrimination during elections. Anderson also speaks to the resistance and the organizations fighting for equal and fair votes. "A ripped-from-the-headlines book…Anderson is a highly praised academic who has mastered the art of gathering information and writing for a general readership, and her latest book could not be more timely."

Which brings up another racial issue - voter suppression laws! How can we stop them?