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8 powerful speakers that might make you think differently about racism

8 powerful voices share what it's like to be black in America, and why white people must break the racist status quo.

  • Black communities have been telling the nation, for more than a century, that they have been targeted, beaten, falsely accused and killed by the police and other institutions meant to protect them.
  • They have not been believed until recently, when the rise in camera phones and social media finally enabled them show and disseminate proof.
  • Even after the video of George Floyd's death on May 25, 2020, there remains defensiveness and denial among white Americans and institutions—a defensiveness that prevents change to the root of the problem: systemic racism. In this video, eight powerful voices share perspectives on being black in America, and why white inaction and white politeness must end.
To learn more about what you can do to end the racist status quo, educate yourself and take action. Here is Robin DiAngelo's list of resources.
activism global issues government history inequality justice system policy politics poverty prison protests race slavery social change united states

Politics really do alter your perception of reality

According to Harvard economists, Democrats and Republicans both perceive reality very wrong.

(Photo: Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
  • A working paper by Harvard economists shows how political perceptions deform our understanding of otherwise verifiable facts.
  • Both Democrat and Republicans overestimate social mobility, underestimate the top tax bracket, and have no clue what's happening with foreign-born citizens.
  • The researchers hope their findings will help us understand how to intervene in the cycle of misinformation.
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    democracy government immigration inequality policy politics united states education

    Does rioting work? Here are five times it did.

    Expert opinion is divided on how effective riots can be on causing social change. However, these five examples show they can do something.

    (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
    • We often hear that riots are not an effective means towards social change, but what do the experts say?
    • Experts are still working on it, but it is agreed that it is at least occasionally effective.
    • We include five cases of when rioting clearly led to desired social change.
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    activism politics united states policy violence social change history

    Two arguments for limited government and expanded civil society

    The associations of civil society give us freedom to find systems that meet our needs.

    • There are three subsets of civil society: primary, secondary, and tertiary associations.
    • Rochester Institute of Technology professor Lauren Hall says there are two arguments for expanding civil society and limiting the power of government, and they include elements of efficiency, morality, and coercion.
    • Ideally in civil society, secondary associations give you more freedom to meet your needs in various ways. If we relied more heavily on civil society rather than government, we'd have more wiggle room to find systems that work for us.
    democracy education government history identity policy politics population self society united states scoiety

    Restoring a healthy economy will require a local focus. Here’s why.

    How will the current challenges to the global economy pressure it to change?

    • Life is different everywhere—it is determined by the context of a unique culture and a unique geography. The same goes for economies. Local economies are unique to their contexts, says John Fullerton, founder and president of Capital Institute.
    • "[I]magine if you thought about human economic development from a place-based perspective," says Fullerton. "You would have, instead of a global corporation like Apple, thought of as a single thing, you would have Apple's manufacturing plant in China as part of the Chinese bioregional economy."
    • The pressure on the current global economy will cause it to shift and evolve into a healthier state of community-based economic development.
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    behavioral economics capitalism economics finance global development global issues government money policy population poverty society state-building
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