1.
Vote. No vote. Vote?!? No.
Twenty-two million souls breathe
a sigh of relief
2.
What? Doitlooklike
I’mleftoutBadandBoujee?
Mic. Mic. Mic…………Mic…………<drop>
3.
Rihanna in love.
Yasss! Wait. That guy? RIHANNA
NEEDS TO GO TO CHURCH
4.
Aging Romanov
rails into the Android light:
Bloody face Mika.
5.
A Sprint to Get In
RocNation. A business, man.
Tidal wave of Juice.
Have a lyrical weekend. I am so grateful for you. Note: raceAhead returns on July 6.
On Point
| The fallout from the Binary Capital scandal spreads to include the entire venture capital industry |
| Writers Jessica Guynn and Jon Swartz explore the growing crisis around Binary Capital and the entire venture community, in this must read report. The ugly charges of sexual harassment leveled at Jason Caldbeck, aided and abetted by the silence of his peers, has increased the number of people publicly calling for change. “More women have begun speaking out, flooding social media with raw recollections ripped from their work lives of being subjected to leering bosses, crude remarks and being groped and assaulted,” they report. And, in case you were wondering, women, African Americans and Latinx professionals are still significantly underrepresented in venture capital, according to a December analysis. |
| USA Today |
| The Trump Administration will review transgender murders as possible hate crimes |
| It’s a rare bit of empathy from an administration that is not known to lean that way. In response to the alarming uptick in crime against transgender people – 22 were murdered in 2016, and 14 so far this year – Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered a review of these cases to determine their causes. “I specifically directed that the files of these cases be reviewed to ensure that there is no single person or group behind these murders, or to what extent hate crime motivation lies behind such murders,” he said. |
| Newsweek |
| The Trump Administration rescinds protections for transgender students in ongoing “bathroom debate” |
| Back to business as usual: The President pushed past his own education secretary to rescind rules that allowed transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. The move was endorsed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has strongly advocated against the expansion of rights and protections for the LGBTQ community. The already painful debate is now entering a new phase, one that casts Sessions in an odd light.“His allyship falls somewhere between ‘keep the students in the right bathrooms’ and ‘let's make sure there's not a serial killer on the loose,’ observes Fortune’s Stacy Jones. |
| New York Times |
| The Montreal Pride Parade raised questions about systemic racism |
| The controversy stems from a video of the lead float, which was designed to commemorate the founding of Montreal. But the optics were off – four young black men were seen pushing the float, which bore a white singer and white pianist playing “People of the Land” on a white piano. The subordinate position of the black men compared to the position of the white stars spurred a debate on social media. “The organizers didn’t have a sense of black history to see right away what this looked like,” said the president of one organization focused on inclusion. Another video commenter posted, “If the organizers of the event had a minimum of sensitivity and understanding of social realities for people of color, this mess would never have happened.” |
| New York Times |
The Woke Leader
| Your raceAhead summer reading list! |
| I recently asked some raceAhead experts a simple question: What book would you recommend to someone seeking to better understand the diverse world around them? I specifically targeted corporate librarians, academic experts, and D&I practitioners for their best advice. They did not disappoint. It’s been a true delight to collect these heartfelt recommendations and share them with you – now updated with even more wonderful ideas. Due to overwhelming demand (thanks!) we’ll be making this a regular feature. But for now, hit the beach on Independence Day with some reads designed to free your mind. |
| Fortune |
| Ai Weiwei is reunited with “Trace,” his Lego-based portrait series about free speech |
| Ai created the series of detailed portraits of political prisoners and activists, all made from Lego pieces, while he was under house arrest in China. (He’d been beaten so badly by Chinese authorities that he needed brain surgery.) The exhibit was first shown at Alcatraz, San Francisco’s famous former penitentiary, in 2014, but the artist was unable to attend as he was prevented from traveling. Now, reunited with his passport, Ai is in the U.S. for the first-ever gallery showing of the works, which recently opened at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. Get there if you can; the show runs through January 1, 2018. Click through for a preview video, and watch Ai see his exhibit for the first time. He looks happy. |
| NPR |
| African Americans are three times as likely to die from exposure to unhealthy air than the general population |
| In the most comprehensive study to date on air quality and pollution, Harvard researchers found that not only does dirty air make Americans sick, but it kills thousands in the U.S. every year. African Americans, many of whom do not have access to adequate health care, are three times as likely to die from exposure to polluted air compared to the general population. According to the researchers, small remedies would help reduce this deadly pollution: About 12,000 lives could be saved each year by cutting the nationwide level of fine particulate matter in the air by just 1 microgram per cubic meter of air below current standards. |
| NPR |
Quote
|
|---|
