The Reading List: June 13, 2020
Shannon
This interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates was encouraging.
How do we change America? (Hint: not with old-school politicians.)
Rethinking what “normal” means for the future.
The Vogue Challenge shows us what truly inclusive fashion publishing could have looked like.
Elizabeth
I am still reading and educating myself on Black culture, but I am also a stress shopper, so I appreciated this list of 200 Black-owned businesses! I ordered some candles last week, and I cannot wait for them to arrive.
Signing a petition is one of the easiest — and free! — ways to support Black Lives Matter. This list of pending petitions that haven’t met their goal is a wonderful resource. I bookmarked it, and I’m checking back every 2-3 days to add my signature.
I know it seems like ages ago the world was all talking about Alison Roman being…well, racist…but this long-form article about the global pantry and white chefs “dumbing down” international cuisine really provided a ton of insight into how pervasive this is within food culture.
I had no idea why watermelons were a racist trope, but this 2014 article was illuminating.
Y’all know Moira and I are both bath enthusiasts, so obviously, I found this read about bath culture fascinating.
This “secret project” is so cool.
Moira
Because time is one thing we all seem to have a surfeit of in this time of social isolation, I’ve been taking long walks and discovering new blocks in my neighborhood, and revisiting favorite ones over and over. Turns out, I’m not the only one.
I love this Cup of Jo article from a couple of years ago about “bad running.” I hesitate to say I’m a bad runner because if you’re running, you’re not a bad runner, but I am a runner of consistent ten-minute miles—if not back of the pack, then front of the back of the pack. But the fact that people lap me constantly doesn’t bother me too much, it’s way more about what I’ve gained from adding running into my life.
My father is a university professor (at USNA, so he’s unaffected by the current fiscal crises at other schools), but he and I loved this McSweeney’s article about universities refusing to dip into their billions of dollars of endowment reserves, and furloughing/laying off/cutting the pay of faculty.
Very Smart Brothas on D’Angelo’s “Untitled (How Does it Feel)” the song to which at least a few million babies have been conceived.
