Assaults On the Memory of Emmett Till; Black Students and ‘critical race theory’

This week’s roundup of race and racism news

Stephanie Siek
Momentum

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Emmett Till. Image: Getty

You may have noticed that last week, the Race/Racism column took a hiatus. Though there’s no shortage of stories about race and racism, there are only so many hours in a day, and only so many of them that I can allocate to this roundup while still pursuing my other interests — my own writing, and as of this month, teaching.

So Race/Racism is moving to an every-other-week feature here at Momentum.

I hope you’ll continue to check us out for the stories about anti-Black racism and examples of Black excellence. Today you’ll find stories about the destruction and continual reconstruction of historical markers commemorating Emmett Till, a highway expansion that is again threatening black neighborhoods in South Carolina, and Black high schoolers speaking out about attempts to sanitize or erase lessons about America’s history of racism. And at the end, I’ve got a great suggestion for weekend entertainment — how about streaming some lesser-known highlights of Black cinema via the Black Film Archive?

Unable to erase the memory of Emmett Till’ some try to obliterate his historical markers instead

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Stephanie Siek
Momentum

Stephanie Siek is a writer and editor who loves cats, cookie dough and aborted alliteration.