“Stronger Than Ever” art by Dia Pacheco

Written by Jackson Bird

As we pass the halfway mark of 2020, we’re reflecting on what our present means for our future and taking a look at what actions will take us to a better tomorrow.

What we’re checking out

As calls to defund the police continue and some cities take baby steps towards police accountability, Zack Beauchamp dove deep into the ideology of police officers.

And if “defund the police” is a newer concept for you, or you’re trying to explain it to someone in your life, Zak Cheney-Rice broke it down for The Intelligencer.

One of our favorite discussions to emerge from the Time100 Talks this year was between Dr. Bernice A. King and Mayor Michael T. Dubbs on how universal basic income could help close the racial wealth gap.

This week, the Supreme Court made a landmark decision that affirmed that much of Oklahoma is tribal land. For background on the case and the events spanning multiple centuries that led to it, we recommend the podcast This Land from Crooked Media, hosted by Rebecca Nagle.

Kate Stayman-London penned a sobering and heart-breakingly human piece for Glamour about her realization that the pandemic may mean she will never have kids.

A lot of people have mused about how the year 2020 might be covered in textbooks in the future. James West Davidson wrote it.

As social media platforms continue to reckon with their out-sized role in our society, Hank Green investigates what it would look like if we treated those platforms like we did our governments.

In case you missed it, our reFRESHing Talk of the Week comes from the Movement For Black Lives, who produced a powerful video about what the Fourth of July means for Black Americans, performed by Hamilton actor Daveed Diggs.

What We’re Watching…

Brittney Cooper and Alicia Garza appeared on a PlayersTV special panel event with Representative Ayanna Pressley and Brittany Packnett Cunningham discussing the history of #SayHerName and the justice still being sought for Breonna Taylor.

Jamia Wilson appeared on an ERA Coalition virtual town hall alongside other phenomenal panelists discussing the ERA from the perspective of women of color. You can watch a replay here.

Dena Simmons appeared on a panel with Haymarket Books discussing antiracist education and abolitionist teaching. Watch the conversation here.

In the most recent episode of Becoming Less Racist, Simran Jeet Singh spoke with activists Jeff Yang and Phil Yu about anti-Asian bias in America. Watch a playback here.

The latest from our speakers…

Aimee Allison appeared on the Race and Coronavirus podcast, discussing what her organization She the People is doing to make sure everyone’s voice is heard this election season.

Veronica Chambers’ new picture book Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb is coming out July 28. Get your preorders in now!

Alicia Garza was profiled in National Geographic about co-founding Black Lives Matter, and why she’s hopeful for the future.

Jamil Smith wrote for Rolling Stone about President Trump’s proposed visa ban for international students, and how he’s politicizing the nation’s survival for his own re-election.

Mychal Denzel Smith received a starred Kirkus review for his upcoming book, Stakes Is High: Life After the American Dream. Coming out September 15!

Ai-jen Poo wrote, alongside Palak Shah, about what the real future of work looks like (hint: it isn’t robots).

Ann Friedman and her co-host––and now co-author––Aminatou Sow’s upcoming book Big Friendship received a glowing review in The New York Times.

Susan McPherson joined the Project HR podcast to discuss what corporate social responsibility looks like in our changing world.

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