[explore-blog]

This gorgeous 7-foot steel-and-etched-glass lotus blossom by cross-disciplinary artist Sanford Biggers, a 2016 TED Fellow, pays homage to the Buddhist symbol for purity and sacredness. But its petals, upon closer inspection, are made of 18th-century diagrams of slave ship cargo holds depicting the configuration of human cargo. Chills.

[think-progress]

Across The Country, There’s No Evidence That Planned Parenthood Is Breaking The Law

After a months-long investigation, a Texas grand jury decided not to indict Planned Parenthood on Monday — providing more confirmation that there’s no solid evidence to support the accusations against the national women’s health organization.

[liberalsarecool]

Republicans invent scandals. They invent myths. They have no ability to legislate or win public opinion, so they fabricate narratives.

[charliemielczarek]

The trouble with saying you don't want children - BBC News

When Holly Brockwell spoke to the BBC about her decision not to have children, the abuse she received was so extreme she deactivated her Twitter account.

[micdotcom]

Here’s what politics looks like if you take out the men 

Out of the 22 people running for president in 2016, only two of them are women. Elle U.K. is confronting this imbalance directly through the magazine’s #MoreWomen campaign, launched on Oct. 1 to celebrate women’s global power. Their eye-opening launch video shows how easy it is to make full rooms seemingly sparse.

[mattbors]

First They Came for the County Clerks

[guardian]

One year ago, the world turned to Ferguson after an 18-year-old unarmed teenager named Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer. The movement that emerged in the wake of his death and the coalition of activists that came together started a civil rights movement unlike anything ever seen. The Guardian spoke to 18 leaders about what has changed after Ferguson, and what has not – yet.

‘Things will never be the same’: Read the oral history of a new civil rights movement

[actjustly-deactivated20181001]

Today marks one year since Mike Brown was murdered by Darren Wilson. 

Mike Brown (May 20, 1996 – August 9, 2014)

[charliemielczarek]

Rest in power Mr. Brown

[gold-kushkloudz]

[thefashionaddics]

This is not life…

[sorrychangedmyurlagain-deactiva]

Wow wow wow

[emosforjesus]

oh but nigga we ignorant tho

[sipnsyphe]

._.

[m--xx]

1958 THESE ARE SOME OF YOUR GRANDPARENTS!!!! 

“slavery was hundreds of years ago. get over it" 

shut THE fuck up. 56 years ago black children were zoo attractions.

the same thing is happening in india as of LAST YEAR. Native Jarwawa peoples are tracked down like creatures on a safari and are forced to dance for food. x 

fuck you. fuck yourself. fuck your “reverse racism”.

[allblackerrthingus]

fuck everyone  thinks its okay and all shall get over such fucked up happenings from the past, this is just fucked upp.

[dynastylnoire]

Son, my mom was born in 57.  Like….

[jeankd]

My mom was only burn the year before.

[dudleydemented-deactivated20150]

i feel like throwing up. look at this baby. 

[murderingmoonlight]

Hello, Belgian historian here! Ever thought of telling the whole story behind the picture, instead of calling it a human zoo and pretending this was something that happened frequently or even permanently? 

This is a picture from Congo Booth at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels. This girl is Congolese, Congo was our colony back then. The Congo Booth was set up so people could see what Congolese people were like. They weren’t threatened like animals, they just played a show: they made food, they navigated with traditional boats, they practiced their culture and religion … The Belgians found the Congolese children cute, so they gave them candy and fruit. And every evening when the World’s Fair closed the adults went to Belgian parties. They were popular because they were spontaneous and good dancers. Erik Kennes, an expert, says this way ‘white superiority’ even diminished. Belgium left Congo in 1960, only two years later, and nowadays we’re still ashamed of what happened before 1908 (Congo used to be the personal property of our king who commanded to cut of the hands of those who didn’t work hard enough, but that didn’t happen after protest from Belgians and inspections from an ethic commission).

First of all: there were almost no blacks in Belgium back then, for our grandparents it was the first time they ever got to see black people. It wasn’t really racism, because they were just curious. No, I’m not ignoring the fact that this is about white superiority, but please think about the context. Yes, considering our 2015 standards, it is very very very racist to have a booth with black people. But in 1958 this was not racism, this was a way to understand what Congolese culture was about.

Second: if you want to prove there’s still a lot of racism, then please use a picture of the Jarwawa. Because YES it does happen in 2015. But I can also use a picture of 1989 and say the Russians are evil, you know. Or call Obama a communist because he’s quite a socialist. That doesn’t make any sense either.

Last: dear USA citizens, dive into your own bosom. Calling other countries racist for something that happened long ago, when in fact the Michael Brown murder happened in your country in this century, is not very nice of you. Things like the Michael Brown murder and the unfair trial afterwards simply can’t happen in Belgium, because we have a commission for equal rights that handles racism, homophobia, gender inequality etc. At least Belgium learned from its past mistakes, while the USA votes a black president but doesn’t sentence the murderer of a black teenager. Hypocrites.

I’m not defending racism, but if you don’t know what really happened in the picture, then just get out. Everyone’s misusing history for their own agenda, without using valid arguments. We, historians, have to fight a lot against the misuse of history for the sake of populism. I know it’s important to appreciate black people, since they went through a very long struggle for equal rights and they’re not finished yet, even though they deserve these rights. And yes, racism happened frequently in the past. But does that mean you can just use any historical event you want and pretend it’s really important as an evidence for racism in 2015? As a historian, I find the Jarwawa ‘human zoo’ a better evidence because it still happens nowadays. If you really want to fight racism, you show the people what happens in 2015. And not what happened in 1958.

Thanks.

[ghanalife]

It’s very important to post images like this one because we learn from it so we can do everything possible not to repeat it. Justice requires us to look back and analyze all injustice, you just don’t ignore history, past informs present.

[charliemielczarek]

No. I mean, yes and no. There’s a history of racism in Belgium and a very real, very current racism that Belgians like to ignore. I lived there and dated a black man who was living there as well and I saw it regularly. I saw their attempts to defend Zwarte Piet, I saw it in the way they treated my partner, I saw it in the way they tried to explain their past. “It wasn’t the Belgians who were in the Congo,” I would hear, “It was Leopold. It was his doing. We had nothing to do with the slaughter.” So sure, maybe that image of a child in an enclosure with lots of white Belgians gawking at her has more story to it than the “Human Zoo” title, but don’t you dare try to turn around and point at America and claim that some how we’re more racist that Belgians. Racism is a problem world wide. It’s 100% a problem in the EU, and it’s more than alive in Belgium.

[funnyordie]

John Oliver Investigates Mandatory Minimum Sentences For Drug Offenders

If ’80s anti-drug hysteria taught us anything it’s that possession of a tiny amount of pot deserves a life sentence. Also that drugs are a great way to meet your favorite cartoon characters IRL.

[hennndo]

[kuhree]

Just press play or unmute. No questions.

[micdotcom]

11 incredible Bernie Sanders quotes show he’s the progressive we’ve been waiting for 

To say Bernie Sanders is the most liberal candidate in the race is not just an understatement, it fundamentally misstates his place on the political spectrum. From a policy perspective, Hillary Clinton has more in common with Republican hopefuls like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush or Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) than Sanders, who advocates for single-payer health insurance, free college for all Americans and rewriting U.S. free-trade agreements. And he has a strong message for his 2016 rivals.

[pleatedjeans]

@keeltyc

[charliemielczarek]

Monica Lewinsky, The Price of Shame: "We all deserve compassion"

[charliemielczarek]

"The government has taken necessary legal action and obtained a restraining order from the court disseminating the contents of the film," according to the statement. India's constitution guarantees free speech with a caveat that it could be restricted when speech is deemed a threat to public order, incitement to an offense or an act of contempt of court.

India: Rape documentary excerpts 'incite violence against women' - CNN.com

[charliemielczarek]

He invited them to attend church service at the county jail.

Graham sheriff bans sex offenders from church

[charliemielczarek]

The Ohio Supreme Court is considering whether the state's sex-offender labels amount to cruel and unusual punishment if the classification is a significantly harsher punishment than an offense warrants.

Are Ohio's sex-offender labels cruel and unusual punishment?

[charliemielczarek]

So far, the governor's characterization of “affirmative consent”—a new “yes means yes” definition of consent he has pushed for colleges’ adjudication of sexual assault allegations—hasn't included LGBT people.

LGBT advocates differ on Cuomo's sexual assault rhetoric | Capital New York