The relevance of Black History Month in daily news

+ often-forgotten civil rights activist Bayard Rustin; role of prosecutors in Trump cases US Edition - Today's top story: A Black history primer on African Americans' fight for equality – 5 essential reads [View in browser]( US Edition | 2 February 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( There were important reminders over the past week about just how tangled the web of race and bias – and how we understand one another – is in the United States. First, there was the release of video footage of five Black police officers brutally beating Black motorist Tyre Nichols, ultimately to death. And following criticism from the political right, the College Board this week released a watered-down framework for the first-ever Advanced Placement course on African American Studies. Scholar Suneal Kolluri, who specializes in the study of AP courses, [writes that the framework is sorely lacking](. Each situation was a reminder in its own way of how important it is for people in the United States to be as familiar with the African American experience as they are with those of people from other backgrounds. Fittingly, as we kicked off Black History Month, The Conversation’s Race + Equity Editor Howard Manly points you to [a Black history primer on African Americans’ fight for equality]( and reminds you of the determined efforts of historian Carter G. Woodson to legitimize the study of African American history and culture. As Howard writes, “More than 100 years later, Woodson’s goal and his work detailing the struggle of Black Americans to obtain full citizenship after centuries of systemic racism is still relevant today.” Lorna Grisby Senior Politics & Society Editor President Barack Obama presents NBA champion and human rights advocate Bill Russell the Medal of Freedom on Feb. 15, 2011. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images [A Black history primer on African Americans’ fight for equality – 5 essential reads]( Howard Manly, The Conversation America’s complicated history with race can be told through the lives and times of Black Americans, a view that some GOP-controlled state legislatures want to restrict, if not outright ban. Members of Memphis’ SCORPION unit were behind the brutal beating of a suspect. City of Memphis via AP [Tyre Nichols’ death underscores the troubled history of specialized police units]( Ian T. Adams, University of South Carolina; Seth W. Stoughton, University of South Carolina The officers charged in the murder of a Black man in Memphis, Tenn., were part of the elite SCORPION squad. Such units have an ugly history. Fani Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, has said that a decision about charging Trump is imminent. David Walter Banks/Getty Images [As charges loom over Trump, prosecutors come under fire – a criminal justice expert explains what’s at stake]( Jessica S. Henry, Montclair State University Most prosecutors are elected in uncontested races across the country. But there are signs that the posts are becoming political hotbeds, placing more pressure on the criminal justice system. [George Santos: A democracy can’t easily penalize lies by politicians]( Miguel Schor, Drake University When candidates can get elected to Congress based on a mountain of lies they’ve told, is it time to reconsider whether such lies are protected by the First Amendment? [Black police officers aren’t colorblind – they’re infected by the same anti-Black bias as American society and police in general]( Rashad Shabazz, Arizona State University Black police officers can have bias against Black people – and act on it. [Russia is violating the last remaining nuclear treaty with the US, according to Washington]( Nina Srinivasan Rathbun, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Russia’s refusal to allow the US to inspect its nuclear arsenal could reignite pressure for the US to develop new nuclear weapons. [What international law says about Israel’s planned destruction of Palestinian assailants’ homes]( Robert Goldman, American University A decision to bulldoze the home belonging to the family of a man accused of killing seven people outside a synagogue in East Jerusalem has sparked questions over the legality of Israeli policy. [Meet Bayard Rustin, often-forgotten civil rights activist, gay rights advocate, union organizer, pacifist and man of compassion for all in trouble]( Jerald Podair, Lawrence University Bayard Rustin led a long and complicated life dedicated to the fight for equal rights. Targeted by the FBI, Rustin became a close adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. [Independent voters can be decisive in elections – but they’re pretty unpredictable, not ‘shadow partisans’]( Thom Reilly, Arizona State University Pollsters, pundits and politicians all get it wrong when it comes to independent voters, who have become a crucial – and sometimes decisive – group in American politics. - [I helped balance the federal budget in the 1990s – here’s just how hard it will be for the GOP to achieve that same rare feat]( Linda J. Bilmes, Harvard Kennedy School House Speaker McCarthy wants to put the US on a path to a balanced budget as debt ceiling negotiations begin with President Biden. Here’s why it won’t be easy to repeat what Bill Clinton accomplished. - [Pain of police killings ripples outward to traumatize Black people and communities across US]( Denise A. Herd, University of California, Berkeley Evidence shows that many Black Americans experience police killings of unarmed Black people – even those they do not know – as traumatic events, causing acute physical and emotional distress. - [‘Acts that defy humanity:’ 3 essential reads on police brutality, race and the power of video evidence]( Howard Manly, The Conversation The death of a Black motorist after a beating by five Black Memphis police officers has triggered national outrage over police brutality and systemic racism with the U.S. criminal justice system. - [Sheriffs who see themselves as ultimate defenders of the Constitution are especially worried about gun rights]( Mirya Holman, Tulane University; Emily Farris, Texas Christian University A significant number of county sheriffs across the US have a particular – and false – view of their role in defending Americans’ constitutional rights. Like this newsletter? 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