Author: TheGuardian

One history textbook exclusively refers to immigrants as “aliens.” Another blames the Black Lives Matter movement for strife between communities and police officers. A third discusses the prevalence of “Black supremacist” organizations during the Civil Rights movement, calling Malcolm X the most prominent “Black supremacist” of the era. Legislatures and boards of education around the United States are currently engaging in acrimonious battles about how issues of race and equity are taught in public K-12 classrooms. It is the latest culture war in a decades-long fight around whose stories and contributions get highlighted in school. But largely left out...

One month after leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their first NBA title in half a century, Giannis Antetokounmpo teamed up with the city’s other major pro sports franchise by joining the ownership group of the Milwaukee Brewers. Antetokounmpo modeled a Brewers jersey with No 34, the same number he wears on the basketball court, at an August 20 news conference. Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio joked that he wondered whether president of baseball operations David Stearns might want to try out the 6ft 11in forward at first base. “Man, this is unbelievable,” Antetokounmpo said. “This is a dream come...

There has been a serious and systemic failure to tackle antisemitism across the five biggest social media platforms, resulting in a “safe space for racists,” according to a new report. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok failed to act on 84% of posts spreading anti-Jewish hatred and propaganda reported via the platforms’ official complaints system. Researchers from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a UK/US non-profit organization, flagged hundreds of antisemitic posts over a six-week period earlier this year. The posts, including Nazi, neo-Nazi and white supremacist content, received up to 7.3 million impressions. Although each of the...

The 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks is a natural time to assess our nation’s response over the last two decades and chart a course for the future. Our single-minded focus on defeating terrorist groups claiming to act in the name of Islam over all other priorities, international or domestic, has allowed vulnerabilities to fester. The biggest problems our nation faces today have little to do with the terrorist groups that have consumed so much of our attention. Far-right militants launched a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. Systemic racism continues, vividly illustrated by the killing of unarmed...

The United States is becoming a land filled with “democracy deserts,” where gerrymandering and voting restrictions are making voters powerless to make change, like in Wisconsin. And the new round of redistricting could make things even worse. Since 2012, the Electoral Integrity Project at Harvard University has studied the quality of elections worldwide. It has also issued bi-annual reports that grade U.S. states, on a scale of 1 through 100. In its most recent study of the 2020 elections, the integrity of Wisconsin’s electoral boundaries earned a 23, worst in the nation. That ranking was on par with Jordan,...