Oct 21, 2016We weren't "journalists." People had that experience. Like, if we found an article we liked, but it was written in some esoteric or intellectual, jerk-off crap, we would just re-write it so our brothers on the street could understand it.... A lot of how the way media works now is what we were doing.
↩︎ East Bay Express
The Black Panthers turn 50
A look back on the war against the Panthers is uncomfortably relevant today
Though this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of the start of the Black Panther movement, in just a few years, we will be noting the 50th anniversary of its demise, which began when the Chicago Police Department and Cook County State's Attorney's Office, with assistance from the FBI, assassinated Panther Fred Hampton in his bed in Chicago in 1969. This was the two-year peak of the FBI's COINTELPRO surveillance of and war against the Panthers.
It's difficult to not look at this history of federal and local law enforcement surveillance of black communities and be reminded of the times that we live in right now. Federal and local law enforcement agencies still target and monitor black activists closely—the Chicago Police Department in particular is up to its old tricks again, funneling civil asset forfeiture profits into surveillance equipment—and though black activists have been found dead under suspicious circumstances, none have been linked to law enforcement (yet).
“When you’re young, ‘fear’ is really not in your vocabulary”
Compelling brief audio testimonials by former members of the Black Panthers.
The Editors' Longreads Picks
- An excellent essay on poverty and writing by Starr Davis. Updated May 31, 2022
- Novelist Héctor Tobar tries to understand the 1992 Los Angeles riots through the experiences of a single high school.
- Steven Johnson with a long assessment of the current state of A.I. and language. (The illusion has gotten very good.)
Welcome to The Morning News Tournament of Books, 2017 edition.
- Our championship match is decided in the Tournament of Books, with news of a Rooster surprise debuting this summer. Updated Mar 31, 2017
- In Thursday's action, Reyhan Harmanci sets up a colossal final.
- The Zombie round opens with Buzzfeed's Isaac Fitzgerald reading The Nix and The Underground Railroad.
Все ваши Белый дом принадлежит нам.
- "Will Putin expose the failings of American democracy or will he inadvertently expose the strength of American democracy?" Updated Mar 3, 2017
- Wilbur Ross just wanted to make some money in ethically gray areas (that should've prevented him from taking office).
- Jeff Sessions's spokeswoman can't help but continue to lie.
The oceans are under assault, and not just from the White House and friends.
- Trump's assault on the environment begins with American headwaters. Updated Mar 1, 2017
- Don't just blame the oil companies for destroying the oceans—blame sushi restaurants.
- Nothing escapes the deepest trenches of the ocean floor. Not light, not nutrients, not pollutants.