(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Black Kos, Week In Review [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-28 Voices & Soul by Justice Putnam, Black Kos Editor The Song which is America is harmonized by many diverse voices. Some of those voices sing America from an unbridled joy deep within them, while others sing America from the constant anguish brought by generation after generation suffering under the manacle and the lash, a sad refrain sung from that inner pain brought from the loss of ancestry and Home. The melodies of both interweave and play a coda on the landscape and the Soul of America. It is on that landscape that the first faint strains of the Song that is America became the forceful tacet of an American Exceptionalism. A certainty of purpose, a zeal, an almost religious devotion to save those not touched by the benevolence of an American God on high, transubstantiated through an imperial noblesse oblige and granted by the chosen ones to those lucky enough to be caught up in the net and displayed on the auction block. It is the Greek chorus weaving among Georgian colonnades singing that they must be saved and it's for their own good. And God knows, it’s for their own good. Even if they don’t know how good they got it, or how good it’s going to get. Good God knows they must be saved from themselves, and Good God knows just the right, prayerful people to do the saving. Good God Almighty knows. Just ask them. They’ll tell you. - JP All day she heard the mad stampede of feet Push by her in a thick unbroken haste. A thousand unknown terrors of the street Caught at her timid heart, and she could taste The city of grit upon her tongue. She felt A steel-spiked wave of brick and light submerge Her mind in cold immensity. A belt Of alien tenets choked the songs that surged Within her when alone each night she knelt At prayer. And as the moon grew large and white Above the roof, afraid that she would scream Aloud her young abandon to the night, She mumbled Latin litanies and dream Unholy dreams while waiting for the light. - Helene Johnson "A Missionary Brings a Young Native to America" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The study dissects racial representation in mid-level jobs in Senate offices, career pathways for Black staffers and confronts issues with data availability. Politico: Inside the numbers from new study on Senate staff diversity ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Only 21.4 percent of mid-level Senate staffers are people of color — about 20 points lower than the proportion across the general U.S. population — according to a new report on staff diversity in the Senate. The study, courtesy of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, dissects racial representation in mid-level jobs in Senate offices, career pathways for Black staffers and confronts issues with data availability. One other critical finding in the report: Black mid-level staffers are less likely than other racial groups to see internal promotions to top positions. Both parties in Congress have a perennial problem when it comes to building and retaining a staff with comparable levels of diversity to the country’s population. Democrats as a whole still employ more mid-level staff of color than Republicans, though, according to the report. Here’s a more in-depth breakdown of the study’s findings: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It starts with a voice message. “Hello, it’s Alice Diop, I haven’t been well since the elections. And I'm not the only one. Many of us are afraid. I would like to tell you about a collective that has just been created to encourage residents of working-class neighborhoods to vote.” A discussion begins remotely. It lasted for days. The filmmaker, awarded at the Venice Film Festival for Saint-Omer , is caught in a whirlwind. Everything mixes: anger, fear, hope, revolt. It's going in all directions. The early legislative elections are fast approaching, on June 30 and July 7. The possible success of the National Rally disrupts his days, his nights and his life. Alice Diop has lost her bearings. How to find them? The 45-year-old filmmaker launched a collective four days after the dissolution announced by the President of the Republic. The name is simple: “We vote”. Friends, artists and cultural figures. A small group and a goal: to mobilize young people from working-class neighborhoods who watch the rise of the far right in France with a sense of dread. “There’s an elephant in the room and no one seems to see it,” “The question of racism is not being clearly asked. I hear different analysis of the motivation of the vote for the Front National [now renamed National Rally], there are lots of things being said, and which I can share, about the complexity of this vote. But what is the common denominator of all these people? It’s racism, it’s a vision of the world, a will to return to a certain idea of France, a fantasy past where I would be perceived as a foreigner, an enemy.” “Everyone should ask themselves where they stand on the issue of racism. It’s not enough to say the National Rally is a xenophobic party. What is a xenophobic party?” Diop grew up on an estate in the Paris banlieue and her early films documented the nuances of the lives of residents in the outskirts of the capital. “When you are a black woman in France, your whole life is shaped by how to react to the racist microagressions that you are likely to experience in every milieu: in intimate, social and professional interactions. There is no space where you are not obliged to find strategies to resist the box people want to put you in.” “Everyone can puff up their chest and say they saw the danger coming, but that’s all nonsense until it become real” — Alice Diop ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At least five people reportedly shot dead at rally against legislation to raise taxes during cost of living crisis The Guardian: Kenyan police open fire on protesters as crowd tries to storm parliament ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Police have opened fire on protesters outside the Kenyan parliament as they attempted to storm the building in Nairobi while MPs inside passed legislation to raise taxes. At least five people were shot dead, according to Reuters, amid chaotic scenes in which police started shooting after teargas and water cannon failed to disperse a crowd of thousands who had overwhelmed officers. Flames could be seen coming from inside the building. A paramedic said at least 10 people had died and a Reuters journalist outside the parliament counted the bodies of at least five protesters. “We want to shut down parliament and every MP should go down and resign,” one protester, Davis Tafari, told the news agency. “We will have a new government.” The demonstrators oppose tax rises in a country reeling from a cost of living crisis, and many are also calling for President William Ruto to step down. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/28/2248735/-Black-Kos-Week-In-Review?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/