Republicans of color in the age of white grievance

+ Biden's power on student debt; hope among American voters US Edition - Today's top story: Republicans are trying to build a multiracial right – will it work? [View in browser]( US Edition | 9 March 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( No one needs to tell Tim Scott, U.S. senator from South Carolina, how tough it is to be a Black Republican in the age of Donald Trump and the former president’s racist rhetoric. “For those of you on the left,” Scott said in a February 2023 speech in Iowa, “You can call me a prop, you can call me a token, you can call me the n-word. You can question my blackness. You can even call me ‘Uncle Tim.’ Just understand, your words are no match for my evidence. … The truth of my life disproves your lies.” Scott is not the only person of color waving their GOP credentials as if it were still the Party of Lincoln. Scholars Joseph Lowndes and Daniel HoSang explore the [slow but steady growth of racial diversity within the GOP’s grassroots base](, elected officials and opinion leaders. In the 2022 midterms elections, for instance, seven Black or Latino Republican candidates won seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. “What’s more,” they write, “none downplayed the issue of race, but rather are using their biographies and experiences of racial discrimination to legitimize their conservative bona fides.” Howard Manly Race + Equity Editor GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event on Feb. 16, 2023, in Exeter, N.H. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images [Republicans are trying to build a multiracial right – will it work?]( Joseph Lowndes, University of Oregon; Daniel Martinez HoSang, Yale University Will the GOP continue to stoke white grievance, or pursue a multiracial strategy that can expand its reach? Recent trends suggest that it can do both at once. The sculpture of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln towers over the Black Hills at Mount Rushmore, near Keystone, S.D. Scott Olson/Getty Images News via Getty Images [What are the limits of presidential power to forgive student loans? A constitutional law expert answers 5 questions]( Derek W. Black, University of South Carolina The Supreme Court is considering the legality of the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan and whether the administration had the power to offer debt forgiveness in the first place. Protesters against a bill restricting drag shows march from a rally outside of the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville on Feb. 14, 2023. AP Photo/Jonathan Mattise [Why Tennessee’s law limiting drag performances likely violates the First Amendment]( Mark Satta, Wayne State University Free speech protections in federal law likely mean a new Tennessee law restricting or banning some drag shows will be found unconstitutional, says a First Amendment scholar. [Americans remain hopeful about democracy despite fears of its demise – and are acting on that hope]( Ray Block Jr, Penn State; Andrene Wright, Penn State; Mia Angelica Powell, Penn State A survey of more than 12,000 US voters found that Black Americans are among the most hopeful about the direction of politics – and they are turning that emotion into action at the polls. [The women who stood with Martin Luther King Jr. and sustained a movement for social change]( Vicki Crawford, Morehouse College From family to grassroots activists, these are some of the women who shaped MLK’s vision and campaigns. [Russia wants military aid from China – here’s why this deal could help China, too]( Michael A. Allen, Boise State University China and Russia’s relationship is complex. But China’s decision to support Russia’s war on Ukraine could ultimately come down to China’s own political interests. [How the ‘Holman rule’ allows the House to fast-track proposals to gut government programs without debate or much thought at all]( Charles Tiefer, University of Baltimore House Republicans have adopted a rule used periodically over the past 150 years that allows lawmakers to speed up and streamline votes to dismantle federal programs and fire federal employees. [Politicians’ health problems are important information for voters – but reporters and candidates often conceal them]( David E. Clementson, University of Georgia Health struggles are part of the human condition, but politicians often resist revealing full medical records. The media often help lawmakers hide their conditions. That shortchanges the voters. [Leading American medical journal continues to omit Black research, reinforcing a legacy of racism in medical knowledge]( Cherice Escobar Jones, Northeastern University; Gwendolynne Reid, Emory University; Mya Poe, Northeastern University The lack of visibility by Black researchers and physicians in scientific literature perpetuates systemic racism in medicine. - [Syria’s earthquake survivors struggle in a disaster made far worse by civil war, bombed-out hospitals and currency collapse]( Ora Szekely, Clark University The earthquake that struck Turkey and neighboring Syria on Feb. 6, 2023, was a natural disaster, but its consequences have been shaped by the human tragedy of the Syrian civil war. - [Ukraine’s new wartime unity lays the groundwork for eventual rebuilding, without the complex and stubborn divisions of the past]( Erik S. Herron, West Virginia University; Ralph S. Clem, Florida International University Often seen as divided, Ukrainian citizens are united in their nation’s defense against Russia and in their priorities for postwar reconstruction. - [5 things to know about Moldova and Transnistria – and why Russia’s war in Ukraine is threatening their security, too]( Tatsiana Kulakevich, University of South Florida Moldova’s government has said that Russia is trying to overthrow its Western-leaning government and set up its own leaders there. Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our other weekly emails: [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Weekly Highlights]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](