Our weekly recap highlighting the best feature stories from around the internet.
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Alton Sterling and When Black Lives Stop Mattering – by Roxane Gay, The New York Times
“I don’t know where we go from here because those of us who recognize the injustice are not the problem. Law enforcement, militarized and indifferent to black lives, is the problem. Law enforcement that sees black people as criminals rather than human beings with full and deserving lives is the problem. A justice system that rarely prosecutes or convicts police officers who kill innocent people in the line of duty is the problem.”
For My Son, In The Event The Police Leave You Fatherless – by David Dennis Jr, Bossip
“I’ve been so accustomed to getting over Black death that I’d ignored the reality of Black survival. Of what it was like to bury a parent as the price paid for inequality. The pain of what it’s like to have to wake up the next day knowing that injustice took mom or dad away.”
Advertising and feminism: How to sell a social movement – by Jeremy Olds, Sunday Magazine
“Revolutionary for its time; but these days, feminism is mainstream, and advertisers have taken note. Now, feminism lines store shelves and fills bulk bins. Makeup, hygiene products, dolls, sportswear, cereal, cell phone carriers and undies are all marketed using the language and energy of the movement. You can smear it on your face, rub it under your armpits, eat it with milk for breakfast every morning and feel more empowered by the mouthful.”
A week at Te Puea – by Madeleine Chapman, The Spinoff
“Throughout the week I have heard volunteers talk in a way that suggests they live on the marae too. I start to wonder if perhaps they are actually residents and are helping out while waiting for a home but soon learn that for some of them, like Johnboi, who’s lived there for almost nine years, the marae is their home. They are not simply inviting whānau into their community, but literally into their home.”
The Days That Keep Us Together – by Amani Bin Shikhan, Buzzfeed
“On a good year, Eid is one of the rare times I’ve ever felt like I truly belonged: the anxieties of division or hierarchy in Muslim communities by way of racial or cultural differences, schools of thought, or clothing scrutiny were replaced with big hugs, greetings shouted across streets. Unsaid words or grudges were put to rest for the sake of families and friends, minuscule in the grandiose nature of the day.”
The Kevin Durant Haters Are on the Wrong Side of History – by Bethlehem Shoals, GQ
“Of course he doesn’t want to die ring-less and alone, and many will perceive this choice as a shortcut, even a cheat. But free agency has “free” in it for a reason. Laying a guilt trip on KD accomplishes little more than advancing our own need for athletes to think and behave in the way we think they should.”
