(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Black Kos Tuesday: Excellent libraries at home and in the world [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-03 Excellent Libraries at Home and in the World Commentary by Chitown Kev As a person who has read books, magazines, newspapers, comic books, and even matchbook covers for as long as I can remember, I have to confess that I simply do not understand this craze of a few for banning books. I’m pretty sure that the earliest materials that I ever read were one of those pocket copies of The New Testament with the Old Testament books Psalms and Proverbs and my Mom’s Alfred Hitchcock Presents magazines. I have never lived in a home without what Jane Austen would properly describe in Pride and Prejudice as “an excellent library.” To be sure, home “libraries” as I was growing up were in various states of disrepair and disorganization (especially the ones in my room and this remains true!). The newspaper archives in the bathroom(s) might have had a two-week old Detroit Free Press on top and the current Detroit News buried under a month of newspapers. I could literally swim in the waters of the comic books that my cousin kept in the small attic of his own room. And sure, the adults knew where to keep the various X-rated materials from the nosy eyes of us “youngins’“ and we youngins’ surely knew where those materials were and filched them when we had the opportunity. This description of home libraries remains the case in nearly all of the homes of my familial peers. To be sure, not every nephew, cousin, or one of our youngins’ likes to read— a few hate it, in fact— but just in case they come around, all of us have various books and genres to choose from. This week is Banned Books Week; an annual campaign promoted by the American Library Association and Amnesty International since 1982 in response to a host of challenges to the value of free and open access to books in schools, libraries, and bookstores all over the world. According to PEN America, not only are challenges to book access on the rise but the specific book being challenged also feature authors and titles written by and about people of color and LGBTQ+ people; that is, folks like myself. During the first half of the 2022-23 school year PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans lists 1,477 instances of individual books banned, affecting 874 unique titles , an increase of 28 percent compared to the prior six months, January – June 2022. That is more instances of book banning than recorded in either the first or second half of the 2021-22 school year. Over this six-month timeline, the total instances of book bans affected over 800 titles; this equates to over 100 titles removed from student access each month. This school year, instances of book bans are most prevalent in Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina . These bans are driven by a confluence of local actors and state-level policy. The implications of bans in these five states are far-reaching, as policies and practices are modeled and replicated across the country. Overwhelmingly, book banners continue to target stories by and about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. In this six-month period, 30% of the unique titles banned are books about race, racism, or feature characters of color. Meanwhile, 26% of unique titles banned have LGBTQ+ characters or themes. I remember when I was 15 years old and I was pretty sure that there wasn’t book in one of our many home libraries that could tell me anything about being gay. I went to the public library and found a couple of books that helped me out. I didn’t let on to my folks, of course, that I now knew more about myself than they would have liked, quite frankly. That was between myself, the public library and, perhaps, individual librarians. Such is the power of books that it’s always what the reactionary forces of a society go after in an attempt to build up some sort of walls around what we can and cannot learn and what we can and cannot know. And such attempts must always be resisted. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ultimately, these rulings subvert equity in educational access while taking a toll on Black mayors tasked with city growth and workforce diversity. We don’t have to speculate about the outcomes. The experiences of California and Michigan make it crystal clear: Black students lose out on opportunity in “race-blind” admissions. In California, Black enrollment at top institutions dropped by over 40% after the ban. At the University of Michigan, Black enrollment also dropped. We also witness that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in corporate circles face potential demise because of these rulings. As companies receiving public benefits are retreating from DEI commitments, we will hold them accountable, especially in sectors where the stakes are high, such as healthcare and education. Indeed, the decline in racial diversity in colleges will undoubtedly affect the future leadership of companies settled within our cities. So, what should Black mayors do about this? First, we must use our mayoral powers to their fullest effect. While our mayors have varying levels of executive authority, we always have the moral authority as our cities’ chief growth officers and champions to sign executive orders, push local ordinances in our city councils, and demand our city managers or commissioners implement substantive policy changes to counteract these rulings. This includes collaboration with educational institutions to safeguard ongoing efforts to recruit and support Black students such as implementation of an income-based admissions strategy to ensure diverse backgrounds in college recruitment. We must fight for investment in organizations and programs geared towards college preparation and success, and ensure that resources flow into nonprofits, college preparation programs, and entities like Los Angeles’ Black College Success Initiative. Cooperation between cities, corporations, and philanthropic partners is a necessity to bringing local resources to successful organizations. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ California’s governor chose a labor leader turned power player to serve in the Senate, and an adviser told POLITICO there were no preconditions about whether she could run in 2024. Politico: Newsom picks Laphonza Butler as Feinstein replacement ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler to fill the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, elevating the head of a fundraising juggernaut that works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, according to a person familiar with the decision. Newsom is moving swiftly to name the next senator, two days after Feinstein’s death and just as a perilously split Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown. Senate Democrats are in need of every vote in the closely divided chamber. The announcement was expected to come Monday, and an adviser to the governor, Anthony York, told POLITICO that Newsom is making his appointment without putting limitations or preconditions on his pick running for the seat in 2024. That means Butler could decide to join the sprawling and competitive field of Democratic contenders seeking to succeed Feinstein, with special elections now layered on top of the March primary and November runoff. Butler is expected to be sworn-in to the U.S. Senate on Wednesday by Vice President Kamala Harris. Newsom’s selection of Butler comes at a moment of immense change in California’s political establishment, with millions of people still mourning the death of Feinstein, the barrier-breaking Senate lioness. Meanwhile the California governor, who was mentored by Feinstein, has been grappling with his own personal grief and the political ramifications of his choice to succeed her. Laphonza Butler ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elon Musk's electric car company allowed rampant racial harassment of Black employees, according to federal lawsuit The Root: Elon Musk Is in Hot Water And This Time It Has Nothing To Do With Twitter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elon Musk is at the center of yet another racism controversy, only this time, we’re not talking about his social media platform. On Thursday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dropped a bombshell lawsuit against Musk’s electric car company, Tesla. The lawsuit alleges that the company allowed pervasive racial harassment of Black employees at their Fremont, California plant. The allegations are jarring. According to the lawsuit, Black employees were routinely called racial slurs, including the n-word, which was uttered on a daily basis. Nooses and swastikas were allegedly drawn over the facility’s public spaces, which, if true, feels like kind of a big thing for the company to miss. The issues allegedly spanned across the company. Employees who complained about this mistreatment were allegedly terminated, transferred, or had their responsibilities shifted. This also isn’t the first time Musk’s companies have come under fire for alleged workplace misconduct. It’s not even the first time this specific plant has faced allegations of racism. Tesla was previously sued by seven women in 2021, who claimed that the company allowed rampant sexual harassment to occur. Tesla had to pay $137 million in damages when an employee claimed they’d dealt with racist abuse at the very plant site at the center of this lawsuit. Oh, and last month, the Justice Department sued Musk’s company, SpaceX, over allegations that SpaceX discriminated against refugees and asylum seekers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the 1960s, Floyd B. McKissick, a prolific civil rights activist, embarked on an ambitious idea: What if Black Americans could build and lead their own city? A place centered on the idea of racial equality and economic power, where everyone, especially people of color and the poor, could thrive? That idea turned into Soul City, North Carolina: the Black-led capitalist utopia that almost came to be. At the time, the federal government was encouraging the idea of new cities. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development opened up a process to finance new towns built by private developers. McKissick took the opportunity to pitch his idea and hoped to secure federal funding to finally make his dream a reality. But to do it, he also made an unlikely ally: Republican President Richard Nixon. By 1972, Soul City was approved for funding, and McKissick broke ground on hundreds of acres of former tobacco plantation land in Warren County, North Carolina. Designs were drafted. Land was cleared. An electrical grid and water system were constructed. Infrastructure was built, like roads, a public pool, a health clinic, and a massive industrial building called “Soul Tech One,” meant to be a manufacturing hub. But within just seven years of breaking ground, McKissick’s dream of Soul City was cut short. x YouTube Video . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ President William Ruto says Kenya is positioning itself as “Africa’s business process outsourcing and creative economy hub". The Grio: In San Francisco, Kenya’s president woos American tech companies ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kenya’s president is wooing American tech companies, promising a business-friendly environment — even though he has raised taxes on businesses at home. President William Ruto made the appeal in an address to leading U.S. technology companies and investors on Friday in San Francisco, highlighting investment opportunities in his country and lauding his government’s “strategic priorities.” “For the sake of stability, we have a tax code that is simple to enforce, consistent, fair and predictable” — one that won’t change in the next three years, he said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The UN security council has voted to send a Kenyan-led multinational security force to Haiti to help its government combat violent gangs, which have driven the Caribbean country into anarchy. A US resolution to approve the force, six years since the closure of a previous UN stabilisation mission, drew 13 votes in favour with Russia and China abstaining. The Multinational Security Support mission has been authorised for a year, to be reviewed after nine months. Kenya’s foreign affairs minister, Alfred Mutua, said in a BBC interview that Kenyan troops should be in Haiti by the end of the year. Jamaica, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda have also offered to send officers for the force, whose size has yet to be determined. The US has offered logistic support and $100m in financing. The UN will face a serious challenge and many doubts, over the ability of an outside force with its own record of abuses to combat the Haitian gangs. The country’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, and his government called for help from a foreign force nearly a year ago, as gangs took over more and more of the country, driving a surge in homicides, rapes and kidnappings, which have contributed to dire poverty and severe hunger. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY PORCH [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/3/2196591/-Black-Kos-Tuesday-Excellent-libraries-at-home-and-in-the-world?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/