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January 26, 2024

Weekend Edition: An executive order recap, TikTok takeover, how climate change disrupts education and why your furniture sucks now.

Did you know about William D. Foster, who built one of the first Black-owned film production companies while working as a railroad porter?

Or Pauli Murray, the nonbinary labor lawyer whose legal theories laid the groundwork for both civil rights and women's rights victories?

These are just two of the stories you'll discover in our "28 Days of Black History" newsletter series this February, which starts on Saturday! We're exploring the theme of labor and liberation, highlighting the innovators, organizers, and dreamers who rebuilt America's understanding of work while fighting for freedom.

Each daily email includes discussion guides and concrete ways to carry their legacy forward.

Join us by subscribing to the series or following us on Instagram for daily posts. And please share with leaders and educators in your community!

Rupture and Repair in the Workplace

Tuesday, February 11 | 3-5pm EST

This two-hour intensive session focuses on navigating moments of tension and conflict as they arise in professional settings. Participants will learn practical, real-time strategies for de-escalating situations, intervening effectively, and rebuilding trust after moments of rupture.

Through hands-on practice and scenario work, we’ll develop a personalized toolkit for addressing workplace tensions while maintaining cultural awareness and psychological safety.

Everything Trump did in the first executive orders and actions of his presidency. Through a rapid series of executive orders, Trump used his first days in office to concentrate executive branch power and move the country sharply rightward. Here’s a helpful and quick recap. AP >

Biden pardons the late Black nationalist Marcus Garvey. Biden posthumously pardoned Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, a political activist and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) who influenced Malcolm X and other civil rights leaders. Advocates argued his conviction and deportation to Jamaica was an attempt to  minimize his influence. AP News >

• Learn about the life and legacy of Marcus Garvey.

• Here’s a list of all the pardons done at the end of Biden’s term.

• Despite pardons, many formerly incarcerated Black people still face uncertainty.

• Immigrant activist Ravi Ragbir speaks after Biden’s last-minute pardon saved him from deportation.

Senate narrowly confirms Pete Hegseth to lead Pentagon. The Senate voted 51-50 on Friday night to confirm Hegseth, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. 19th News >

Why were Black Altadena residents not warned to evacuate in time? Delayed evacuation orders and profit-driven utility failures robbed families of safety in a close-knit Black community, residents say. Capital B News >

What happens to kids when their schools are destroyed? Disasters like the California wildfires are costing kids their education. as climate disasters become more frequent, disruptions to education will become more frequent, evident by the increase of school closures due to hurricanes and extreme heat. Grist >

Schools are no longer protected from immigration raids. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security lifted the practice of avoiding immigration enforcement at locations where students gather. K-12 Dive >

Trump leaving the Paris Agreement is ‘mostly symbolic.’ What does it actually mean? In his first hours as president, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the global campaign to stem catastrophic warming. Here’s what the biggest impact on global emissions will be from the new president’s deregulatory agenda. Grist >

What will Trump’s executive order on private prisons really do? Donald Trump reversed former President Joe Biden’s executive order on private prison, no longer contracts between the Department of Justice and private detention centers. Private prison stocks have soared since Trump won the election, driven mainly by his immigration deportation efforts. Marshall Project >

Advocates warn that Trump’s executive order would restore the Muslim “travel ban.” An executive order signed on Monday relies on the same statutory authority used to justify Trump's 2017 travel ban, and offered even "wider latitude to use ideological exclusion to deny visa requests and remove individuals" from predominantly Muslim or Arab countries. Reuters >

Arrested by AI: Police ignore standards after facial recognition matches. At least eight people have been wrongfully arrested after being identified through facial recognition, and agencies aren’t taking accountability for its misuse. Washington Post >

LGBTQ+ mental health crisis center says calls have surged with Donald Trump’s inauguration. “The nonprofit group reported over 1,400 calls to its national hotline by early afternoon—a significant surge that coincided with Trump’s speech and the anti-LGBTQ+ policies he outlined.” Advocate >

After Gaza cease-fire, the labor movement isn’t done fighting for Palestinian freedom. Networks of U.S. union organizers are calling for an end to a system of apartheid in Israel and cessation of all armed conflict in the region. In These Times >

The White House is in talks to have Oracle and U.S. investors take over TikTok. “Under the deal now being negotiated by the White House, TikTok's China-based owner ByteDance would retain a minority stake in the company, but the app's algorithm, data collection and software updates will be overseen by Oracle.” NPR >

• With the Supreme Court approving the TikTok ban, the U.S. is embracing the type of internet authoritarianism it long opposed.

• Am I being censored? Some US TikTok users say app feels different after ban lifted.

Stolen Indigenous land is the foundation of the land-grant university system. Climate change is its legacy. Many land-grant universities were built upon land taken from Native tribes. This article looks at the impact of the resulting agricultural practices and resource extraction on those lands, a sad story of historical dispossession and climate change. Grist >

“This Is Why Your Furniture Sucks Now.” The team at More Perfect Union break down how bad trade deals and IKEA ruined Americans’ couches and tables, and draw correlations between workforce equity and sustainability. Read >

Bad Bunny's politics of presence. On 'DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,’ – my favorite album of recently – the Puerto Rican star moves beyond millennial nostalgia, finding radical resonance in the oldest rhythms of his people. NPR >