W.E.B. Du Bois predicted white backlash

+ Turkey's devastating earthquake US Edition - Today's top story: W.E.B. Du Bois, Black History Month and the importance of African American studies [View in browser]( US Edition | 7 February 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( As the nation’s preeminent scholar on race, W.E.B. Du Bois knew about criticism of the importance of Black history in America. Despite those challenges, from his first book, “The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade,” published in 1896, through his 1935 magnum opus “Black Reconstruction in America,” Du Bois detailed the experiences of Black people with an uncanny prescience of today’s debate over African American studies. In fact, as Brandeis University historian Chad Williams writes, Du Bois [spent a significant part of his career]( trying “to correct the distortion of history in regard to Negro enfranchisement.” In an article published by a New York newspaper on Feb. 11, 1951, Du Bois explained the importance of why he did so. Hopefully, Du Bois wrote, the nation would become “conscious that this part of our citizenry were normal human beings who had served the nation credibly and were still being deprived of their credit by ignorant and prejudiced historians.” Also today: - [Officer shortages and the killing of Tyre Nichols]( - [Some Americans long for anti-democratic leaders]( - [Why birds of different feathers also flock together]( Howard Manly Race + Equity Editor Scholar-activist W.E.B. DuBois in 1946. Underwood Archives/Getty Images [W.E.B. Du Bois, Black History Month and the importance of African American studies]( Chad Williams, Brandeis University As the 20th century’s preeminent scholar-activist on race, W.E.B. Du Bois would not be surprised by modern-day attempts at whitewashing American history. He saw them in 1930s and 1940s. Science + Technology - [How do you make a universal flu vaccine? A microbiologist explains the challenges, and how mRNA could offer a promising solution]( Deborah Fuller, University of Washington Annual flu vaccines are in a constant race against a rapidly mutating virus that may one day cause the next pandemic. A one-time vaccine protecting against all variants could give humanity a leg up. - [Earthquake footage shows Turkey’s buildings collapsing like pancakes. An expert explains why]( Mark Quigley, The University of Melbourne When Monday’s earthquake struck, many poorly constructed buildings suffered a ‘pancake mode’ collapse. - [Chickadees, titmice and nuthatches flocking together benefit from a diversity bonus – so do other animals, including humans]( Todd M. Freeberg, University of Tennessee Scientists are learning that diversity has many perks – whether in multispecies groups of animals or human society. Politics + Society - [Large numbers of Americans want a strong, rough, anti-democratic leader]( Tarah Williams, Allegheny College; Andrew Bloeser, Allegheny College; Brian Harward, Allegheny College A large proportion of Americans is willing to support leaders who would violate democratic principles. - [Memphis police numbers dropped by nearly a quarter in recent years – were staffing shortages a factor in the killing of Tyre Nichols?]( Ian T. Adams, University of South Carolina; Justin Nix, University of Nebraska Omaha; Scott M. Mourtgos, University of Utah Police departments have faced recruitment and retention problems since the 2020 George Floyd protests. It has meant some agencies have had to lower standards to attract new officers. - [Mexico made criminal justice reforms in 2008 – they haven’t done much to reduce crime]( Rebecca Janzen, University of South Carolina Mexico’s crime epidemic continues to worsen, as poverty and inequality also grow in the country. Environment + Energy - [Hurricane Harvey more than doubled the acidity of Texas’ Galveston Bay, threatening oyster reefs]( Tacey Hicks, Texas A&M University; Kathryn Shamberger, Texas A&M University Climate change is making oceans more acidic globally. Now, scientists are finding that large storms can send pulses of acidic water into bays and estuaries, further stressing fish and shellfish. - [Atmospheric rivers are hitting the Arctic more often, and increasingly melting its sea ice]( Pengfei Zhang, Penn State Atmospheric rivers can melt fragile new sea ice. When these storms arrive in waves, the sea ice doesn’t have a chance to recover. Ethics + Religion - [Many Ukrainians are fleeing to the Greek Catholic Church in Lviv, which has a long and complex history in the Orthodox faith]( J. Eugene Clay, Arizona State University The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has a history going back to the 16th century, when some Orthodox bishops and their followers agreed to become Catholic. Health + Medicine - [I treat people with gambling disorder – and I’m starting to see more and more young men who are betting on sports]( Tori Horn, University of Memphis In the past, typical clients tended to be retirees living on fixed incomes who played slots and card games. Economy + Business - [On the first-ever India Giving Day, the highest-earning ethnic group in the US gets a chance to step up and help their homeland]( Susan Appe, University at Albany, State University of New York Indian American donors will have an opportunity to collectively fund improvements in education, health care and gender equality in India on March 2, 2023. Today's graphic [A chart comparing the life expectancies of different racial or ethnic groups in the US in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The groups are American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, non-Hispanic, white, non-Hispanic, Hispanic and Asian, non-Hispanic.]( From the story, [Native Americans have experienced a dramatic decline in life expectancy during the COVID-19 pandemic – but the drop has been in the making for generations]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our weekly and biweekly emails: • [Weekly Highlights]( • [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Politics Weekly]( • [Global Perspectives]( • [Global Economy & Business]( Trying out new social media? Follow us: • [Mastodon]( • [Post.news]( • [Instagram]( • [LinkedIn]( - - About The Conversation We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. [Donate now to support research-based journalism]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](