Featured
Two Revolutions We Should Learn From. By Ronald J. Sheehy, Editor / On Race in America
More than two centuries ago, the American and French Revolutions challenged the idea that political power belonged to kings and proclaimed that legitimate government derives its authority from the people. Today, as American democracy faces another consequential test, those revolutions offer an important reminder: liberty and self-government endure only when citizens are willing to defend them by voting.
Read complete essay: Two Revolutions We Should Learn From. By Ronald J. Sheehy, Editor / On Race in America
The Week’s Top Stories
Political / Social
Trump Approval Hits New Low Two Weeks Before Midterms, Poll Finds. Lisa Lerer and Ruth Igielnik / NYT
President Trump’s approval rating hit a new low just a few weeks before the midterm elections, driven down by broad disapproval of his handling of the economy, the war in Iran and high gas prices, according to a new national poll from The New York Times and Siena University.
Just 36 percent of likely voters said that they approved of Mr. Trump’s performance, while 59 percent said that they disapproved. That is his lowest approval rating recorded in any Times/Siena poll. More than two-thirds of independent voters said that they disapproved of the way he has handled his job as president. Read more
Related: Trump a ‘diminished leader making a last stand’: analysis. By Frank Yemi / Alternet
Related: Siding With Russia Is a Double Betrayal. By Mark Hertling / The Bulwark
Justice Kagan warns Supreme Court rulings are fueling polarization and undermining democracy. By Lindsay Whitehyrst / AP
In a speech two weeks before the pivotal midterm elections for control of Congress, the liberal-leaning justice sharply criticized how the majority’s rulings have affected the nation’s political environment.
“The court has kind of blinded itself to the very deleterious effect of their rulings on how the political system works and has created a democracy that does not work as well as it should,” she said during a talk before students and professors at Catholic University’s law school in Washington, D.C. Read more
Related: The Supreme Court Is Coming for Affirmative Action—Again. By Elie Mystal / The Nation
Related: The right to enforce civil rights is under attack in the US. By Christopher Rhodes / Aljazeera
Can Justin J. Pearson Win in Tennessee? Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor / The New Yorker
Republicans eliminated the state’s only Black-majority district, in Memphis, so Pearson took a campaign about economic inequality to rural white voters.
The hope for Pearson is that his name recognition can help him win votes beyond Memphis. But he is facing a considerable challenge. For the past decade, the other fourteen counties that make up District Nine—including Giles County, the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan, in 1865—have been Trump country. But Pearson said that he’s been surprised at times by his rural support. Read more
Related: For Black Memphis, Tennessee’s New Map Means Fighting Again for Representation. by
Byron Donalds faces tighter race among Latino voters in Florida governor contest. By Peter Kerich / The Grio
A new Florida poll shows Democrat David Jolly leading Republican Byron Donalds among Latino voters, while Donalds maintains a statewide advantage.
Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds is facing a more competitive picture among Latino voters than the statewide numbers suggest as Florida prepares for its 2026 gubernatorial election. An N+ Univision/YouGov poll conducted October 2–15 found that Donalds led Democrat David Jolly statewide, but Jolly held a five-point advantage among Latino voters. Read more
Related: Could Latino voters actually turn Texas blue? | The Excerpt
Could Mississippi Elect Its First Black Senator Since Reconstruction?
On a recent Sunday morning at the Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in Natchez, Miss., a large sign facing the worshipers described the congregation’s goal for 2026: “The Year of Re-Alignment.”
The banner proclaimed a spiritual aspiration, not a political objective. But the warm shouts that greeted Scott Colom, the Democrat seeking one of Mississippi’s U.S. Senate seats, suggested hope for political change in a state that has not elected a Democratic senator in 44 years. Read more
This Overlooked Congressional Race Could End a Historic Barrier in the South. By Brandon Tensley / Capital One
How one campaign aims to show Black candidates can build political power even in places where voting maps are stacked against them.
A Democrat challenging Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill for Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District, Jones could become the first Black person the state sends to Congress. The redrawing of Arkansas’ congressional map after the 2020 census split Pulaski County, which is partly in the 2nd and includes heavily Black Little Rock, among three districts. Read more
Related: Jim Crow Returns…One Congressional District at a Time. By Reveal / Mother Jones
JB Pritzker’s midterm strategy wins the attention of Black and Hispanic Democrats. By Aaron Pellish / Politico
The Illinois governor is boosting candidates in early states and cultivating relationships with Black and Hispanic officials ahead of a possible 2028 run.
Much of that spending has gone to candidates of color, some of whom haven’t drawn much other investment from national Democrats. Pritzker is also investing in races in all six early states on the Democratic presidential nominating calendar, which was rearranged earlier this year to give prize spots to five states with significant Black or Hispanic communities: South Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, Virginia and Michigan. Read more
Obama: Omar investigation should ‘outrage all Americans.’ by Finya Swai / The Hill
Former President Obama has weighed in on the federal government’s criminal investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) over accusations of immigration fraud, accusing the Trump administration of targeting its political opponents.
In a lengthy post on the social platform X, Obama claimed the probe was an attempt to strip Omar of her U.S. citizenship and possibly deport her over her public criticisms of President Trump. Read more
Related: What’s at Stake in the Ilhan Omar Case. By John Ganz / Dissent
Black Unemployment Hints at a Job Market in Worse Shape Than It Seems. Talmon Joseph Smith / NYT
The Black unemployment rate climbed a percentage point to 7 percent in September, almost double the rate for white workers.
The disappearance of diversity, equity and inclusion positions in big companies has heavily affected Black women; a federal government firing spree that eliminated hundreds of thousands of jobs had a heavy impact on Black workers, who are disproportionately represented on federal payrolls; and the slowdown in white-collar hiring rates has felt particularly acute for some Black businesspeople without elite networks as expansive as those of their white and Asian peers. Read more
Education
Supreme Court to hear case on race in middle school admission. By Moriah Balingit / AP
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a case about the role race plays in middle school admissions, three years after a majority on the high court struck down affirmative action in college.
The case involves admissions to four selective middle schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, a diverse suburb of Washington, D.C. A group of parents said in a lawsuit that the district’s admissions policy for four magnet schools, while race-neutral on its face, is designed to boost the admission of Black and Latino students while disadvantaging Asian American kids. Read more
Erika Donalds is wrong: Florida needs stronger public schools, not an exit door. By Antonio White / Miami Herald
Florida cannot build a stronger public education system by encouraging its teachers and families to abandon it. The educators and parents I speak with every day want qualified teachers, help for struggling readers and reliable services for students with disabilities. They need lawmakers to solve those problems, not offer another exit door.
In her recent Miami Herald op-ed, Erika Donalds, wife of Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds, calls for startup support for new schools, access to vacant public buildings and cuts to what she calls red tape. She presents this as trusting teachers. But if lawmakers trust teachers to build successful schools, why won’t they give those same teachers the resources and freedom to improve the public schools where they already work? Read more
A Ku Klux Klan Image Shines Another Uncomfortable Spotlight on U. of Maryland. Annika Bereny / The Chronicle of Higher Ed.
A Ku Klux Klan-themed image shared by students at the University of Maryland’s flagship has put a fresh spotlight on an institution that’s spent much of the past decade confronting charges of racism.
On Thursday, a group of Maryland students disrupted the annual “State of the Campus” speech given by President Darryll J. Pines. They were protesting the university’s response to the controversy, in which Maryland’s club tennis team sent out programming material to students at other institutions, including Howard University, that featured a version of the state flag with Ku Klux Klan imagery on it. The club team has been suspended indefinitely. Read more
World
Like it or not, we have all benefited from the slave trade. By Phil Hamlyn Williams / The Guardian
Thank you for the excellent research into the rightwing backlash against the Church of England’s proposals for reparations (Lobbying, lawyers and a media blitz: the fight to kill the Church of England’s £100m slavery compensation fund, 13 October). May I offer observations in two areas?
We are all beneficiaries of the slave trade, like it or not. The work that the Guardian is doing on the actions of its founders will enhance the historical record, but it is unlikely to change the broader picture identified by Eric Hobsbawm and others. Read more
Trump’s Obsession With Somalia Isn’t Just Racist. It’s Been Lethal. By Nick Turse / The Intercept
Beyond targeting Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Trump administration has killed, arrested, deported, and demonized Somalis at home and abroad.
The Trump administration is waging a multi-pronged war on Somali people, painting them as criminals, murderers, and terrorists and using multiple federal agencies to target them at home and abroad. The campaign includes military attacks in Somalia, as well as arrests, deportations, and the weaponization of federal law enforcement agencies against immigrants and the Somali American community in the United States, including the recent use of Homeland Security agents as a goon squad to target Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Read more
Related: Islamophobia is getting louder. Why isn’t the response? By Astead Herdon / Vox
America Is Now an Ally of Russia. By Tom Nichols / The Atlantic
Donald Trump has abandoned the Western order.
To judge from the available evidence, he has not done so out of a cold calculation of the national interest. Instead, he has based his decisions on his own interests; his open admiration for Russia’s dictator; his resentment of Ukraine’s democratically elected president; and quite possibly other factors that so far have remained obscured from the American public. Read more
Related: Zelenskyy warns: “We will not prevail” if U.S. backs Russia. By CK Smith / Salon
Related: Zelensky Says Trump Risks ‘Historic Mistake’ If He Backs Russia. Constant Méheut / NYT
Palestinian Voters Could Determine Israel’s Future.
Losing Cuba, the global trickster. By Mario Reinaldo Machado / Aljazeera
Cuba is once again in the United States’s crosshairs. Washington’s operation in Venezuela at the start of the year is largely seen to have paved the way for a similar undertaking on the Caribbean island. Recent media reports have revealed US military activity nearby while US officials have repeatedly said they want “Cuba to be free”. When and how the US may strike is still unclear. But indications are that the Cuban Revolution may be nearing its end. That is reason enough to pause and reflect on the outsized role this nation of 10 million has played on the world stage. Read more
Can This International Force Stop Haiti’s Gangs? By Frances Robles et al. / NYT
A new U.N.-backed military force is fighting to wrest control of the Haitian capital from violent gangs. Previous efforts by international troops failed to restore security. Can this one succeed?
The U.N.-backed GSF is severely understrength, operating at roughly 30% to 50% capacity with around 2,000 troops deployed out of a planned 5,500-person mandate. Gangs still control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince. A major escalation occurred when an armored vehicle was ambushed in Croix-des-Bouquets, leaving four Salvadoran soldiers missing and forcing a high-stakes rescue operation. Watch video
Ethics / Morality / Religion
The Greatest Threat to America May Be White Christian Men. By Neal Gabler / WhoiWhat Why
How important the cultural dissatisfactions of white Christian men has been to our politics and to Trump’s popularity has largely been scanted by the legacy press. They much prefer to discuss economic disaffections because it is more digestible than saying that one of the two largest cohorts in the nation — men, much less white men — may be furious at the other cohort — women — and that they are eager to do something about it.
The legacy media don’t want to say that these white Christian men are nostalgic for the good old days, even though many of them and their would-be Republican saviors are now emboldened to say so. Various Republican officeholders have told us that women shouldn’t have the vote; that the days of slavery weren’t so bad; that every technological advance has been the product of white men. Read more
Related: “Can Religion Save Democracy”? Yes, But Not Like This. By Jeffrey Bilbro / Christianity Today
Clergy in swing states are training to help maintain order on Election Day. By Morning Edition / NPR
In swing states around the country, clergy from all faiths are training to become election day “poll chaplains.” They will be stationed 100 feet from some voting sites to help voters and lower the temperature, in an election year in which elected officials are facing high levels of threats and harassment.
BREANNA ILLENE: So each poll chaplain will wear a vest, just as a kind of identifier of, hey, we’re doing something semi-official. SILVER: Illene says there’s lots of effort these days by politicians and others to change rules and influence how elections go. ILLENE: Our goal is to be this trusted on-the-ground set of people to say, hey, our elections are safe. Our elections are trusted. We are here to vote, and we are here to protect the vote. Listen here
New anthology explores the myriad ways of being Black and Jewish. By Andrew Esensten / Christian Century
“Black, Jewish, and Beautiful,” published October 15 by Syracuse University Press, includes essays by and interviews with 14 Black Jews from across the United States, Ethiopia, Cameroon, and Uganda. The book highlights the stories of people who were raised Jewish or converted, as well as two who learned as adults from genetic tests that they have Ashkenazi ancestry.
Black Jews are a minority within a minority; just 2 percent of US Jews identify either as Black or “White and Black,” according to the Pew Research Center. Many have reported feeling marginalized in Jewish spaces because of their race. But philosopher Lewis Gordon, who was born in Jamaica, said during a book pre-launch event in March that he chose to focus on the joyful parts of his identity in his essay, “A Jewmaican Blewish Reflection.” Read more
The Jokes Animating Black Christian Comedy. By Randi Richardson / Christianity Today
Whitney Moss, Marcus D. Wiley, and Mike Goodwin want to use their craft to share their faith and ‘bless’ their followers.
Whitney Moss’s 1 million Instagram followers tune in for her comedy sketches about Christian dating. Marcus D. Wiley jokes about discovering how much groceries cost and taking food from his parent’s pantry. Mike Goodwin amuses crowds with Southern hospitality gimmicks and tales of how 40-year-olds are treated as babies or museum fossils depending on who’s talking.
Historical / Cultural
Army finalizes plans to return Confederate statue to Arlington National Cemetery. By Joe Heim / Wash Post
The Trump administration has moved forward with its effort to return a controversial Confederate statue to Arlington National Cemetery next year.
The Office of Army Cemeteries submitted final plans to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday to return the Confederate Memorial to a small section of the cemetery where more than 400 Confederate soldiers were reinterred in the early 1900s. Read more
‘They were brilliant people’: fascinating film reveals a Harlem Renaissance reunion. By Andrew Lawrence / The Guardian
In the dazzling archival documentary Once Upon a Time in Harlem, a 1972 cocktail party brings together various creative luminaries as they discuss and debate
More than a flowering of the arts at the dawn of the 20th century, the Harlem Renaissance marked the breakthrough moment when Black Americans asserted their creative control, defining a culture that had been purpose-built to exclude them. Once Upon a Time in Harlem looks back – to the August day in 1972 when Liani’s grandfather, the prolific and pioneering film-maker William Greaves, threw a cocktail party at Duke Ellington House, invited over the surviving luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance and switched on the cameras. Read more
Related: The little-known friendship between Nina Simone and Langston Hughes. By Adria Walker / The Guardian
Nas Calls Out the Exploitation of Black Music Artists in New Open Letter. By
Nas says Black music’s pioneers have been ripped off, and decades of disputes over royalties, ownership and recognition help explain why.
Rapper Nas is sending a message to his fellow Black artists about the state of the music business and how it has exploited our legends. And if we’re keeping it all the way 100—he has a point. Let’s talk about it. Read more
What Is Code-Switching? The Unspoken Pressure Black Professionals Face In The Workplace. By Shannon Dawson / Newsone
Black professionals often navigate an invisible code-switching dynamic at work, adjusting their communication style and behavior to fit workplace expectations. Let’s unpack it.
Code-switching is the latest topic of discussion on NewOne’s brand-new episode of Life, Liberty and The Pursuit Of Happiness titled “Working Doubles.” For many Black Americans, navigating professional spaces can mean adjusting their personalities, speech, and even physical appearance to fit into environments where they may feel pressured to conform. While these changes can sometimes help individuals navigate workplace dynamics, they can also be exhausting. So, what exactly is code-switching, and why does it remain such a common experience for Black professionals? Read more
June 17, 1994: Millions Watched Police Chase O.J. Simpson in a Bronco. Christina Morales / NYT
The chase occurred days after his ex-wife and her friend were killed. New details shed light on the role that a mobster might have played in helping Mr. Simpson.
It was the beginning of people’s fascination with Mr. Simpson’s case, which “marked a new chapter in electronic journalism.” And now, a new investigation by The New York Times indicates that an accomplice may have helped him to clean up his tracks and facilitated a potential escape at the end of the car chase. Read more
Sports
‘He Called You Stupid!’: Stephen A. Smith Shredded Over ‘Dummy Mission’ Dinner With Trump. By Ben Blanchet / HuffPost
Jemele Hill, Smith’s former ESPN colleague, laid out exactly why the president would not be on her “priority list” for dinner.
“Oh, by the way, ain’t this the same dude that basically called you stupid? He called you stupid!” said Hill on her “SPOLITICS Live” podcast while referring to Trump insulting the sports personality back in June. Read more
The NBA Has A Black Father Problem, And The Problem Isn’t Black Father. By Stephen A. Crockett Jr. / Newsone
For decades, the NBA has profited from Black excellence while the men who helped raise those extraordinary athletes have been reduced to stereotypes, punch lines, and inconvenient footnotes.
On the debut episode of Ultimate Dads: Unplugged, Justin Tatum, father of Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum, joined Dwyane Wade Sr., father of Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, LaVar Ball and Quenton Brown, father of former Celtics star Jaylen Brown, to discuss what they believe is the NBA’s effort to push Black fathers out of their sons’ lives once those sons become professional basketball players. Read more
Jalen Hurts shows the price of being unapologetically Black. By Rann Miller / Salon
The Eagles quarterback’s health crisis exposed a double standard that goes far beyond the NFL
Questions have largely landed on Hurts. Questions about his leadership, aptitude, and attitude as the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback, and now about the severity of a blood clot and his commitment to the season amid roster challenges. The most egregious came from Michael Robinson of the NFL Network, who said that, in relation to Hurts’ current injury, Hurts seemed to be saying, “If everybody’s hurt, then I’m hurt too.” Read more
Related: For Jalen Hurts, getting appreciation is challenge of a lifetime. By William C. Rhoden / Andscape
“Certain Loneliness at the Top”: Mike Tomlin Reveals Hardships of Managing His Own Staff After Steelers Exit. By
You know, assistants make suggestions and head coaches make decisions, and you have to be comfortable with that,” Tomlin said on Coach2Coach with Jason Garrett. “Certainly, you got to take in information, and when you have experienced assistance as I did, man, that information is often times very good, but you got to be really comfortable with the fact that the responsibility is yours. Read more
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