Daily Archives: February 1, 2022

Kristin Richardson Jordan, now a New York City Council member, at a rally to end police brutality in July 2021. (Rainmaker Photos / MediaPunch/ IPX)

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Harlem, New York CityWelcome to the hot, punishing glare of New York media, Kristin Richardson Jordan!

The 35-year-old political newcomer shocked Harlems Democratic Party machine last year, defeating longtime City Council member Bill Perkins, 71he served two terms, totaling 11 years, with a 10-year stint in the state Senateby only 100 votes. That was thanks largely to the citys new ranked-choice local voting system, in which being enough voters second choice pushed her ahead of Perkins, who led by 500 votes in the first-choice tally.

But the victory of this self-described Black, queer democratic socialist, who ran on a platform of radical love, got almost no media attention, outside of a few hyper-local news outlets. I pretty much had the story to myself when I profiled her early last July.

All that changed when two New York Police Department officers were shot responding to a domestic violence complaint in Jordans district. One, 22-year-old Officer Jason Rivera, died at the scene; his partner, Officer Wilbert Mora, succumbed to his wounds a few days later. The alleged killer, mentally ill felon Lashawn McNeil, also died of gunshot wounds from a third officers gun after a brief hospitalization. MORE FROM Joan Walsh

Jordan happens to be an advocate of prison and police abolitionwhich she described to me in July as long-term views, but I actually believe in moving towards a world without cops. She helped run some of the neighborhoods Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyds murder by Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin in the spring of 2020. Suddenly, Rupert Murdochs empire found her. TheNew York Post (which, to be fair, had briefly profiled Jordan and her views on policing after her primary win) immediately pilloried the newcomer for tweeting about a district community garden controversy the day the officers were shot. She said she was told not to tweet about the crime, later sent her condolences to both officers families, and headed to Harlem Hospital with the citys new mayor, Eric Adamsa Black former copand other elected officials that night, as Mora fought for his life.

A right-wing Post columnist even depicted her as a would-be cop killer herself. Its really, really hard not to picture a thought bubble over this bitter womans head: One cop down, 35,999 to go, he opined.

But the paper really began its attack when she sent condolences to McNeils family, along with the slain officers families, after Mora and McNeil died of their gunshot wounds. My deepest condolences to the families of Officer [Jason] Rivera, Officer [Wilbert] Mora and Lashawn McNeil, she wrote on Twitter. Lives lost due to broken public safety & mental health systems that spare nobody. Harlem stands with the families of the fallen and we will not stop fighting for a safer world for all. The Post piece quoted three NYPD officers, anonymously, blasting Jordan for putting the names of our dead cops with their killer in the same breath she wishes condolences, in the words of one of them. Current Issue

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Fox News also piled on. How ludicrous this is. How many of her constituents want to abolish the police and eliminate the police? The police are needed more than ever by communities of color, which this person represents, former New York City Police commissioner Ray Kelly told Fox News (where his son Greg is an anchor).

When Jordan included McNeils family along with Riveras and Moras in her condolence message, former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer turned rabid. This is whats happening when you abandon morality, and then you try to find justifications for the killing of police. For anybody in public life to express sympathy to her killer? I wish we had recalls, that person should be thrown out of office. (Fleischer, of course, doesnt live in Jordans Harlem district, or in New York City, but in wealthy suburban Westchester County.)

Then came maybe the most stinging media blow: Jordan wound up on the front page of The New York Times on Wednesday, the first time the paper of record had covered her except for a brief mention of her upset victory over Perkins. Of course, the shootings were an irresistible news hook, but the Times seemed to make up for ignoring Jordans unlikely win by paying attention almost exclusively to her views on policing, which Jordan acknowledges are radical, and her including McNeils family in her condolence wishesmessaging that is vastly out-of-step with many of her fellow Democrats, the paper wrote.

All of the criticism ignored that rookie Officer Rivera was himself a critic of the NYPDs historic approach to communities of color, particularly its now-abolished stop and frisk program, a version of which Adams is considering reviving, under another name. Growing up in Inwood, Manhattan, therelationship between the police and the community was not great. I remember one day when I witnessed my brother being stopped and frisked, he wrote in his letter applying to the Police Academy. My perspective on police and the way they police really bothered me, he added, though he said he saw the relationship changing. This was when I realized that I wanted to be part of the men in blue; better the relationship between the community and the police, the letter concluded.

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The Times evident disapproval stung, Jordan saidbut the Fox News attacks brought the death threats. Ive never really felt safe, she told me, as a Black lesbian socialist domestic violence survivor. But shes paying more attention to safety issues, she admitted, concerned about her staff as well as about Harlemites who visit the community center where shes based her office.

Personally, Im not a police or prison abolitionist; Im in favor of reforming and reimagining but not defunding the police. As one of Jordans constituents, Im also worried about the recent spike in gun violence; a teenager shot and gravely wounded two other teens a few doors down from where I was having dinner in September; I watched the wiry young shooter tear past the restaurant (he was quickly apprehended by police). Still, the media pile-on seemed disproportionate to this political neophytes power. In our conversation, I asked about whether the hike in gun violence is shifting her views at all (Absolutely not!) and whether she sees the potential for backlash dooming her push for greater attention to poverty and mental health issues (I understand on an intellectual level that when people feel unsafe, thats what typically happens, she admitted).

Our interview, on the eve of a Friday Mass for Rivera at St. Patricks Cathedral, thronged by thousands of cops from around the country and which Jordan also attended, has been lightly condensed and edited.

How are you doing?

Hangin in there.

This is the first piece about you in the Times, right?

Yeah, this is the first time weve seen anything, and theres plenty to report on in our district. To be perfectly honest I feel that it was very irresponsible reporting. We had a two-hour conversation about the vision and purpose of abolition and about how at its core, its about radical love, which is the platform I ran on. Which is about valuing human life. Personally, I see nothing inconsistent between mourning the loss of human life that is caused by our violent police state, and mourning these two officers as well. For me, its all about the loss of human life.

You got pushback for expressing condolences to the family of the accused killer, who was shot by a third officer during the attack and later died

Not only have I gotten pushback, Ive gotten straight-up white supremacist threats, including threats of physical violence and harm, for showing condolences and sympathies to Lashawns mother and his family. It really says something about our current state three mothers lost a son in this incident.

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Can you say any more about the threats?

They came vastly from white people with white supremacist views who do not live in Harlem and by and large dont live in the city of New York either. Because Fox News did a segmentanother example of irresponsible reportingthe alarm was sounded in the spaces and places of white supremacist thought.

Fox got the story from the Times?

Nope. Fox actually reported it first.

Ah, somehow I missed that. But Im wondering: Has the recent uptick in violence here in Harlem, and elsewhere, has given you any pause in your thinking about abolition of police and prisons?

Absolutely not!

We have these cycles of violenceand [eventually] we realize we need to address the root causes of crime itself. Then we have an uptick in crime again, and were back in the cycle. What Ive been articulating: This is where we need to disrupt the pattern of violence. We need to look at how poverty and violence are inextricably linked. What are we doing to address poverty? Mental health and wellness and violence are inextricably linkedwhat are we doing to invest in mental health? What we need to do is invest in solutions and prevention, which Ive been saying from day one.

The mayor wants to change policy so that if juveniles are arrested in gun crimes, and they give up whoever provided the gun, theyll be tried in family courtbut if they wont, theyre tried as adults. What do you think about that?

Im very concerned about that. Im very concerned about the criminalization of our youth. I stood in solidarity with our public advocate Jumaane Williams when he talked about changes to the mayors plan. One of the things he was putting forward was to target high-level gun traffickers, instead of 16- and 17-year-olds. To trace guns instead of tracing gangs. What we need is an approach that doesnt see people as the problem, but sees gun violence as the problem.

Those of us who want to see structural police reform often say we want to see social workers, not cops, responding to domestic violence calls. But when I heard about this recent shooting, I had to acknowledge that sometimes domestic violence calls involve guns, and I had to wonder what would have happened if two social workers wandered down that hall

The first thing I want to say is that what I think this recent tragedy shows us is no one is able to escape the violence of the system weve currently created. Even those we think are protectors and are somehow immune from it or safe from it, are not. No one is safe in this system. The second thing, and it goes to what youre expressing: I do believe social workers are needed in situations like this and are a better response to domestic violencebut not just in a crisis moment, or inconsistently. We need community-based public safety models, where weve set up networks of care, and weve set up ongoing relationships. So that way its not a stranger barging in.

Im also hearing from people who work with community-based violence interrupter programs that some of their staff and volunteers are falling victim to this surge in gun violence. Theyre being hit by the violence theyre trying to interrupt. This is not like the 80s or 90s, but in recent memory, weve seen a big jump in gun violence.

I can definitely empathize with feeling discouraged because our current climate hasnt made it easy. But I think the uptick in violence is connected to the state that were in: the pandemic, economic deprivation, no universal health care. In this moment I would point to the evils of capitalism, and say that until we eliminate poverty, were going to be in situations like this, where the most vulnerable are left with no options

But because Im old, and Ive lived through these cycles before, I do know that times like this often lead to backlash politicswhen people are afraid, and you know its not just white people, or white supremacists

Yes

And then it becomes hard to marshal the political will to spend on the kind of programs youre talking about. Even Eric Adams, a former cop, is being criticized for not being aggressive enough on crime, and he hasnt been in office even a month yet.

I think theres a leaning toward a crackdown in crime that is dangerous. I think some of the mayors proposals, like a residency requirement for police and funding for cure-violence initiatives, are a step in the right direction. But I dont think rolling back bail reforms [which Adams is proposing] that has nothing to do with this recent high-profile incident, and its not connected with stopping gun violence. Its a step backward.

Mental health issues are at an all-time high. Were in an extremely stressful climate and theres been nothing to address that. I am genuinely concerned about what I see and feel is a lack of empathy and compassion. I understand on an intellectual level that when people feel unsafe, thats what typically happens.

Have you spoken one-on-one to the mayor?

I was at Harlem Hospital with him on the night this violence occurred, but I havent gotten to sit down and have a longer conversation. I would welcome that. But I dont know if thats going to be an option, to be honest. Theres been an attempt to reach out that hasnt been reciprocated.

You have reached out?

Yesnot recently; we did very early on, without reciprocation. Its hard in our current political climate. But we dont have to agree on everything to have a working relationship around the basics.

Do you feel unsafe, personally, because of all this?

[Long pause] I have never felt safe.

Less safe?

Even the question gives me pause because I think the combination of my identitiesbeing a Black queer woman in America, being a survivor of domestic violence myself, safety has always felt like a privilege I dont have.

Yes, but there are degrees of being unsafe

I definitely feel more unsafe, if we think about it as a spectrum. I can say that. I do feel like Im in a position that has heightened the unsafety that was already there. Im a very spiritual person, so for me Ive been taking comfort in leaning on faith and praying with friends and family and staff. Weve also talked concretely about what we can do in terms of a safety plan. I pride myself in being accessible and thats something I dont plan on stopping. But I do think about what we can do, especially in terms of staff. Weve rented space in a community center. Which is greatIm very excited about the space, and what it says about the resources and presence I can bringbut we have to look at it creatively and intentionally to make sure its safe for everyone.

Have you thought about going to the services at St. Patricks Cathedral tomorrow?

Oh yes. I plan to go Even with my views on abolition, my grandfather was a police officer and my great aunt was a corrections officer. Beyond that suit is a human being. One of the things I believe the most in terms of having a transformative public safety system, and making police as we know them now obsolete, is that everyone is a human being and theres one human family. I mourn the loss of literally all human life. I dont see it as contradictory to mourn the life lost of Lashawn as well as the lives of Officer Rivera and Officer Mora.

It seems they both went into policing for the right reasons.

I teared up when I heard some of what Officer Rivera wrote. He was really for a different type of policingits not exactly my viewbut he was clearly for reforming the police department. But some of these people are trying to manipulate his death, as a reason to go backward. He was against stop-and-frisk, but some are leveraging this as a reason to bring back stop-and-frisk, in some form.

The rest is here:

She Ran on a Platform of Radical Love. Now Shes Facing Radical Hate. - The Nation

New York City is pushing forward with an artwork to celebrate the abolitionist movement that some detractors have said is too abstract in a city where so few monuments honor Black people with figurative sculptures.

The citys plan, still undergoing review, features a design by the artist Kameelah Janan Rasheed that incorporates messages of social justice into the benches and borders of a new $15 million park in Brooklyn named Abolitionist Place.

The site belongs to a corner of Downtown Brooklyn that adjoins 227 Duffield Street, which received landmark status last year for its connection to antislavery advocates of the 1800s.

The citys Public Design Commission said it had tabled the discussion of the design plan last January, after a group of preservationists and activists said they thought the plan should feature statuary of the abolitionists. But in September, the city said it was moving forward with the design, prompting a legal challenge filed this month by critics who asked a judge to review the citys approval process.

We are frustrated, said Jacob Morris, the historian who is challenging the decision by the Public Design Commission, which reviews all permanent monuments on city property. He said the agency violated its own rules when it declined to hear additional public testimony before voting for conceptual approval of the $689,000 project in a September meeting.

This is our last resort, Morris added.

For several years, Morris and others have worked to erect a figurative sculpture called Sisters in Freedom in the same spot in Downtown Brooklyn. It would honor historically significant Black women like the investigative journalist Ida B. Wells and the educator and abolitionist Sarah J. Garnet.

When he was Brooklyn borough president, New York City Mayor Eric Adams had supported the traditional monument that Morris would like to see built. In 2019, Adams wrote a letter to city officials saying that the artwork would elevate these great, empowered women further into our consciousness.

A spokeswoman for the mayor, Amaris Cockfield, did not respond to questions about where he stands on the decision to proceed with a more abstract effort at Abolitionist Place.

City officials said that the plan to install the Rasheed work is not final as yet and announced that the artist began holding online community engagement sessions this week to hear thoughts about her design. In addition, the Public Design Commission said it would continue to review the design and seek public input.

We plan to have another public hearing on this when it returns for preliminary review, Keri Butler, executive director of the agency, said over email.

One expert on the citys public design approval process said she thought the legal challenge to the commissions approval last fall faced an uphill fight.

A legal challenge to get the monument back into a public hearing seems a bit extreme, said Michele H. Bogart, an art historian specializing in the citys public works. Hes trying to force them to change the way they operate, to make room for more public comment.

Police Commissioner: Keechant Sewell. The Nassau County chief of detectives becomesNew York Citys first female police commissioner, taking over the nations largest police force amid a crisis of trust in American policing and a troubling rise in violence.

Commissioner of Correction Department: Louis Molina. The former N.Y.P.D. officer, who was the chief of the Las Vegas public safety department, is tasked with leading the citys embattled Correction Departmentand restoring order at the troubled Rikers Island jail complex.

Chief Counsel: Brendan McGuire. After a stint as a partner in a law firms white-collar practice, the former federal prosecutor returns to the public sector to advise the mayor on legal mattersinvolving City Hall, the executive staff and administrative matters.

Shawn Lee, whose family has fought for preserving the neighborhoods abolitionist history, supports the lawsuit. I would like to see the Public Design Commission change their process and become more inclusive to the community, she said. Art is a form of expression, but are you allowing us to express our concerns?

The park in which the abolitionist artwork will be featured is being steered by the citys economic development agency and the artist has been commissioned by the Department of Cultural Affairs.

Rasheed, a former public-school teacher whose text-based banners have adorned the Brooklyn Museums facade, has drafted a design that includes a free-standing sculpture, mosaic reliefs and messages of social justice spread across the park.

Kendal Henry, assistant commissioner for public art with the citys cultural affairs department, characterized the artists vision as deeply rooted in collaboration.

We welcome the input of everyone with a good-faith interest in working with their neighbors to create a monument, Henry added in a statement.

Earlier this week, Rasheed, in one of her online sessions, engaged with the public and explained that community input would determine many core elements of her installation, like the texts. We can only do this if we can respect each other, she said.

She later sent The New York Times a statement in which she said: I want to be mindful of creating something that invites conversation, rather than stating historical facts.

She said Morris and others were misrepresenting her work.

The questions and texts that will be used in the work are designed to elicit discussion, Rasheed said. And I am excited that this project is not and will never be the only project addressing abolition in Brooklyn.

Continued here:

The Art Design for Abolitionist Place in Brooklyn Moves Forward - The New York Times

When we speak about black history, we tend to conjure up a familiar gallery of intellectuals and freedom fighters. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X, CLR James, Frantz Fanon: the legacies of these leaders are celebrated worldwide. Less well known, in the English-speaking world at least, is Anton De Kom; but he is no less deserving of a place in history.

De Kom is to Suriname what Mandela is to South Africa: a heroic patriot, an advocate of the oppressed, and a symbol of resistance against colonialism. His magnum opus, We Slaves of Suriname originally written and published in 1934 was the first history of slavery and Dutch colonialism in Suriname written by a Surinamese man. It was composed while he was exiled to the Netherlands and under surveillance for anti-colonial protests. After its publication, he and it were censored and neglected for years by the Dutch, let alone the West in general.

But then came the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, and a renewed interest in examining the racial injustices of the past. There has since been a surge of interest in De Kom. Last February, the Dutch government pledged to honour him with a generous gesture. He became the first Surinamer to be included in the canonof Dutch history, alongside Vincent van Gogh and Anne Frank. And this month, the first ever English translation of We Slaves of Suriname will be published, 88 years after its completion.

The book is, in part, an ode to De Koms homeland: a beautiful, tropical wonderland, teeming with life. But it also tells the history of Suriname, from the beginning of European settlement which very quickly led to the catastrophic demise of the nations aboriginal peoples to when the Dutch fully colonised it in 1667, turning it into a plantation colony. From this point onwards, thousands of enslaved Africans were imported, to work producing sugar and coffee to export back to the mother country.

For De Kom, slavery was personal. He repeatedly refers to the enslaved as our fathers and our mothers, and deftly weaves his own autobiography into the history of Suriname. His father was born a slave, and later became a farmer. He was part of the generation of slaves emancipated into free citizenship under Dutch rule, yet haunted by memories still fresh in their minds, and stories passed down by their elders.

Early in the book, De Kom invites the white reader, who he believes will be sceptical of what he writes, to contemplate a sailing ship. For De Kom, the image is not one of freedom; it represents instead the torture of his ancestors:

But we do wish to warn you. From your lofty seat, do not venture down the futtouck shroud Up here you can smell the invigorating smell of tar and the salt sea wind Down there it already reeks a mile leeward of the sweat and excrement of a thousand slaves packed into a hold.

Up here you can hear the cries of the albatross, the song of the sailors, and the crash of the wave Down there you can hear the cries of the slaves, the wails of the women in labour, and the crack of the whip coming down on the backs of blacks.

When the history of European colonialism is interrogated, the focus tends to be on the British and French (and, to a lesser extent, Spanish) empires. The role of the Netherlands is rarely noted, though it had one of Europes oldest empires, including colonies in Suriname, Java and Southern Africa. And, as Pepijn Brandon has argued, the Netherlands was also a key player in the Atlantic slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. Dutch planters had a reputation for being especially cruel and sadistic in their treatment of slaves.

The typical colonial narrative argues for the civilising influence of the imperial power. De Kom counters this with brutal expositions of what Dutch rule really meant for the Surinamese, documenting gruesome accounts of the torture frequently dished out to those seen as slacking or insubordinate. A common technique was the notorious Spanish billy goat, where the slave would be mercilessly flogged while his two hands were tied together, his knees pulled up through the arms with a stick inserted between them and planted onto the ground. The frequent sexual abuse of black women by their masters, long a taboo subject, is also given in-depth treatment by De Kom.

Despite all this, De Kom is uneasily ambivalent towards the end of slavery in Suriname. In 1863, 100,000 or so slaves became free citizens in name, but not in essence. The physical instruments of torture, De Kom lamented, have largely been replaced by mental torments, poverty and want. While former slave-owners were compensated for the loss of their property, former slaves received no reparations. They werent given any land, training, education or credit unlike European settlers, who had received all these things upon arrival, to help them make a living.

Instead, former slaves had little choice but to enter coolie contracts under state supervision for ten years before they could even be officially free. It was basically another form of slavery; in other words, the abolition of slavery was managed in the interests of plantation owners, rather than the individuals theyd exploited. It was a sham.

Likewise, Surinames autonomy was also a sham. The nation was still seen as inseparable from the Dutch kingdom. De Koms raison detre for writing We Slaves of Suriname was to unshackle his compatriots from their inherited sense of inferiority and to rouse the self-respect of the Surinamese people so that they could extricate themselves from the Dutch yoke.

Nevertheless, despite his fervent indictments of the evils of slavery and Dutch colonialism, De Kom was unlike some of his contemporaries, in that he did not subscribe to the back to Africa agenda. The decolonisation struggle he envisioned was not meant to be a violent one, or a regression into narrow tribalism: What I was after was organisation, not a bloodbath. He firmly believed that the mosaic society of Suriname composed of blacks, Indians and Javanese could unite in the spirit of solidarity to liberate their nation, and achieve a dignified human existence for all citizens.

On the last page of his book, De Kom dreamt of the day he would return to a free Suriname:

Sranang my fatherland.I hope to see you again once.On the day when all misery shall be erased from you.

The lines are particularly poignant if you know that, when he wrote them, he would never see his treasured homeland again. Shortly after the German invasion of Holland in 1940, De Kom joined the Dutch resistance and wrote for the censored De Vonk, a paper affiliated with the Dutch Communist party, which mainly documented the abusive activities of fascist gangs in the streets of The Hague (in particular those against Jews). On the 7th August 1944, he was arrested by Nazi forces and sentenced to forced labour at Neuengamme concentration camp, where he died of tuberculosis and was buried in a mass grave. Ever since, his legacy has risked fading into history.

His work is poignant, too, because Suriname has suffered since then. National independence, like the abolition of slavery, has not been a glowing success. Since 1975, when Dutch rule finally came to an end, Suriname has endured civil war, dictatorships, tribalism and corruption similar to that which plagues a lot of post-colonial nations. The nation is still haunted by the abuses of empire.

Anton De Koms work doesnt tell an uplifting story, then; but it is a common story, of how our modern world came to be. Black labour, in the form of chattel slavery, played a significant role in creating the wealth of the West. This is the price we pay for the sugar you eat, cries out the limbless and nameless Negro slave (owned by a cruel and unscrupulous Dutch merchant) in Voltaires Candide. Human beings turned into commodities: this is our history whether we are comfortable with it or not. And De Kom, despite all the efforts to silence him, will not let us forget it.

Read this article:

The anti-racist who shames the Dutch - UnHerd

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

The first spring plenary session of the Azerbaijani parliament in 2022 will be held on Feb. 1, Trend reports.

The agenda includes the following issues:

1. Draft decision of the Azerbaijani parliament on the plan of legislative work of the spring session of parliament for 2022.

2. Draft decision of the Azerbaijani parliament on the establishment of the Disciplinary Commission of the parliament.

3. Draft decision of the Azerbaijani parliament on the establishment of the Counting Commission of the parliament.

4. Bill "On approval of the Shusha declaration on allied relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkey".

5. Bill on the approval of the "Agreement between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Government of Serbia on the mutual abolition of visa for holders of ordinary passports".

6. Bill on changes to the law "On the suspension of inspections in the field of business";

7. Bill on changes to the law "On the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan" (first reading).

8. Bill on changes to the law "On Road Traffic" (first reading).

9. Bill on changes to the Code on Administrative Offenses (first reading).

10. Bill on changes to the law "On gas supply" (first reading).

11. Bill on changes to the Code on Administrative Offenses (first reading).

12. Bill on changes to the law "On freedom of religion" (first reading).

Go here to read the rest:

Azerbaijani parliament to discuss several issues on Feb. 1 - Trend News Agency

Reading Will Huttons piece on the threat posed by the police and crime bill to our democratic right to peaceful protest got me thinking about how we should challenge it if it is eventually passed (Attempting to ban protest is usually the mark of a repressive state. Thats not us, is it?, Comment). I am dismayed at the lack of coverage being given to the dangers of climate change; it is as if Cop26 never happened. Government, big business, the media and the public are rejoicing at the prospect of resuming foreign holidays, cruises, driving to work again and consuming. What happened to building back greener? I would like to see a grand coalition of environmental groups joining forces and getting out on to the streets. A few thousand Extinction Rebellion protesters blocking roads may be dismissed as crusties. Hundreds of thousands of middle England members of the RSPB, National Trust, Wildlife Trust, Woodland Trust et al could not be so easily ignored. Even this government cant arrest and imprison us all.Geoff JonesLincoln

The treatment of Kate Clanchy by her publisher, in dropping her from its list and dropping a book of poems by her pupils, makes one wonder what has happened to the tradition that publishers stick by their authors (The hounding of author Kate Clanchy has been a witch-hunt without mercy, Comment). It also makes one feel helpless: how to show solidarity with this exceptionally humane woman in the face of treatment such as this? One solution might be for Pan Macmillans authors to sever their links with this disgraceful publishing house. One thing publishers cant do without is authors. I have published several books with Macmillan, but that was years ago and theyre now out of print. If I was still publishing with them, Id break my contract and publicise the reason why as widely as possible. Behaviour like this brings the entire industry into disrepute.Ruth BrandonLondon NW3

Eric Williamss Capitalism and Slavery was certainly recognised as an important book in the 1960s (Hidden history of why the British abolished slavery back on the shelves, News). I still have a copy of the 1964 Andr Deutsch edition. It was recommended to me as a sixth former in the late 60s and my history teacher, Patrick Richardson, who was an expert on 18th-century history, also used it in his published work which included work for school students. He also taught us to balance sources and historians, so Williams was one voice among many. It was also among the works on my reading lists at university.

It is often asserted (by Sathnam Sanghera, among others) that slavery was not taught in schools until recently. This is certainly not true. I taught it as part of the curriculum in comprehensive schools in the 1970s and the well-known Jackdaw series for schools had a whole pack on the African slave trade, with graphic images. Later, when I was visiting a range of schools for a publisher in the 1980s, slavery/the slave trade was in the curriculum, placing it of course in its full historical context. To assert that modern academic historians dont recognise the context of abolition is not sustainable.Peter LangworthLondon NW1

Poor people become poorer because wage negotiations and benefit rises are based on inappropriate inflation indices (Poor people face a perfect storm. Let no one tell you its their fault, Comment). The CPI and RPI underestimate inflation for poorer people by including items such as new cars and consumer durables that generally have a lower inflation rate than food, energy and rent. We need an additional index based on, say, the spending of the poorest 20% of households.Richard MountfordHildenborough, Kent

Kenan Malik is wrong in claiming that the Labour government ignored the recommendations of the 1999 select committee report following the Garnock Court fire (Grenfell delivers yet more horrors. But the guilty still fail to take responsibility, Comment).

As minister responsible for the building regulations from 1997-2001, I gave evidence to the select committee and responded to all its recommendations. In the government response, I agreed to introduce the new full-scale test methodology as recommended by the committee and confirmed that I had begun the process to secure its adoption as a British Standard. I made it clear that when this was achieved the government would amend the guidance (Approved Document B) to reflect its status as a British Standard and review whether the reference in the guidance should be strengthened. On the committees tragically prescient concern about the possibility of a serious fire resulting in many people being killed, I strongly endorsed the committees view, explained the mandatory requirements of the building regulations in this case to resist the spread of fire over the external wall surfaces and the role of the guidance document and added: The department considers that if this guidance is followed, then the risk to life safety as a result of fire spread via the external cladding system will be minimal.

Sadly, the shocking evidence that has been emerging from the Grenfell public inquiry has illustrated serious subsequent failures to adhere to the requirements of the regulations and the advice in the guidance in Approved Document B.

In the amended online version of the article, Kenan Malik maintained that the retention of approval for Class 0 materials was a loophole, which undermined the governments response. However, the governments technical advisers (the Building Regulations Advisory Committee), which had recently conducted a review of Part B of the building regulations, made no recommendation to withdraw approval from Class 0. The select committee emphasised that the main focus of concern was the adequacy of the previous small-scale arrangements for testing the performance of materials, which is why the government supported the introduction of the large-scale test. Like all other materials, Class 0 should have been subject to the new, more rigorous testing regime designed to demonstrate the performance of cladding materials in a live fire situation after the test methodology was adopted as a British Standard.

A reading of the government response to the select committee report illustrates the degree to which the government at that time was seriously committed to enhance fire safety and, far from ignoring the committees report, engaged fully and constructively with the committee, and many others, to this purpose.Nick RaynsfordLondon SE10

Farmers dont need to plant trees as they have already been planted in their hedges (Farmers dilemma: if we plant trees, will we take a cash hit?, News).

The trees already in our hedges have a good rootstock, are healthy, indigenous and can start absorbing carbon immediately if hedges are just faced but not topped with the tractor flail every year. If farmers were paid for the trees already growing on their land, rather than wished for, we could make a major and immediate impact on carbon absorption, rather than waiting 20 years for newly planted trees.Bob HarveyBlackawton, Totnes, Devon

William Keegans comparison of Boris Johnson to Falstaff is extremely apt. Im reminded of Falstaffs catechism on honour: What is honour? A word. What is that word honour? Air Therefore Ill none of it.Roger CottrellKenninghall, Norwich

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Letters: take to the streets to defy police and crime bill - The Guardian

Delhi University has officially notified that it would be scrapping its MPhil programme from the coming academic year (2022-23), in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), which mandates this.

When and how did DUs decision come?

The decision to scrap MPhil was first recommended by a 42-member High Powered Committee chaired by the then Acting Vice-Chancellor and consisting of several high officials in August last year.

In the minutes of its meeting dated August 18, the Committee said, The existing M.Phil. Programme was recommended to be discontinued from the academic year 2022-23 in line with the NEP 2020.

The recommendations were adopted and the decision finally taken in a marathon meeting of the Academic Council (AC) in the same month. There were 16 dissents, but the proposal was passed. Subsequently, DUs Executive Council (EC) gave its go ahead.

The decision was notified on January 27, when the office of the Chairperson Research Council said, In the light of E.C. Resolution No. 8 dated 31.08.2021, the existing MPhil Programme run by various Departments of the University of Delhi will be discontinued from the Academic Year 2022-2023 in line with the NEP 2020.

What does the NEP say about MPhil?

The National Education Policy document simply states that the MPhil programme should be discontinued. The document does not provide a reason or rationale.

HEIs will have the flexibility to offer different designs of Masters programmes: (a) there may be a 2-year programme with the second year devoted entirely to research for those who have completed the 3-year Bachelors programme; (b) for students completing a 4-year Bachelor s programme with Research, there could be a 1-year Masters programme; and (c) there may be an integrated 5-year Bachelors/Masters programme. Undertaking a Ph.D. shall require either a Masters degree or a 4-year Bachelors degree with Research. The M.Phil. programme shall be discontinued, the NEP states.

Will the current batch of MPhil students be affected by the decision?

The decision to scrap the MPhil programme will only be implemented in the 2022-23 academic session, and will not affect the current batch, said a senior official.

Why will it affect them? There is nothing like that. Their course will continue as it is. This decision will only mean that no new MPhil students will be taken in the coming year, he said.

Is there a problem with scrapping MPhil?

Some teachers have pointed out that the MPhil is a shorter research degree, which gave them exposure to research work.

The MPhil course, over several generations, has played an important role in DU and other Indian universities in developing research aptitude through robust course work and introduction to higher research. It has been a degree by itself separate from and above the Masters degree. It is extremely unfortunate that the NEP 2020 discontinues MPhil, AC member Mithuraaj Dhusiya, who teaches English at Hansraj College, said.

Democratic Teachers Federation (DTF) secretary Abha Dev Habib said, As opposed to PhD, MPhil is a short-term research degree for students which provided them an exposure to research work and added to their CVs. Social scientists believe that students with MPhil did better in their PhDs.

This degree is being discontinued not because of any organic need of the system but because of NEP 2020, which is all about widening the gap between have and have nots Students with disadvantageous backgrounds, especially women, looked up to MPhil as a research degree they could afford before going towards teaching jobs.

Prof Ayesha Kidwai of Jawaharlal Nehru University, which decided to scrap MPhil before DU, pointed to a question of gender.

The MPhil is often the only research degree that women (as well as other disadvantaged sections) can pursue PhD degrees require an investment of time and a loss of earnings that patriarchal society lets only a few afford and the need for its immediate abolition is difficult to fathom. Unless the NEP is keen to push women out of higher education, why must a degree programme that has proved its usefulness in furthering research in the social sciences and humanities, which imposes no extra demands or costs on infrastructure or teaching resources, and has ensured greater participation of women, need to be eliminated? she said.

What do DU officials feel about the scrapping of MPhil?

While the university has said it is scrapping the MPhil programme, it has not officially put out any statement on the relevance or irrelevance of the programme. However, officials largely feel the decision is correct.

See, it is not possible to implement the NEP and not scrap MPhil. We have to adopt this provision too if we are saying we will implement the NEP from the coming academic year. We cannot pick and choose, an official said.

Moreover, this (the scrapping of MPhil) is a good thing. Now students dont need to do that extra 1.5-2 years of research work. They can directly go from MA to PhD, and complete their education faster. It benefits the students, the official said.

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Explained: The end of MPhil; why has DU killed the degree? - The Indian Express

How did the boring, conformist 50s lead to the cultural upheavals of the 60s? Civil rights, LGBTQ rights, womens rights, the environmental movementall emerged full-blown in the 60s but, according to journalist and historian James R. Gaines in his new book, The Fifties: An Underground History, all had their origins in the sometimes little known struggles of the previous decade.

It seemed to me history just doesnt work that way, its not usually defined by decades, Gaines told The Daily Beast. Why did a period so well known for conformity lead to one known for the opposite? So I started looking for the roots of that outburst in the 1950s, and found people who gave me a different idea of how change happens. It occurred to me that people who are change makers in a time so difficult to do that deserve some acknowledgment.

Gaines book isnt a broad overview, but more an up close and personal look at the lives and careers of activists who recognized various societal problems and fought them. Some are well known, like murdered civil rights pioneer Medgar Evers or author Rachel Carson, whose book Silent Spring warned about the effect of pesticides on the environment. Others, like Harry Hay, an organizer of the Mattachine Society, the first gay rights group, and Norbert Wiener, a pioneer in the study of thinking machines and their effect on humans and the natural world and the man who coined the term cybernetics, have been nearly forgotten over time. But all had one thing in common: the courage to stand out from the conformist crowd and address issues that had been swept under the table.

There is a clarity about these issues that arose from intimate problems within themselves, says Gaines of these forerunners. All these people were very stubborn, and flawed, and unique as individuals. They were all intimately affected by the causes they took on. It was out of their personal struggles that they got the courage to begin change.

If theres one of these activists Gaines admires more than any other, its, Pauli Murray a light-skinned, gay Black woman who helped found the National Organization for Women, and believed that discrimination based on race, class and gender were all connected. She began with such a burden, says Gaines, her autobiography is painful to read sometimes, the assault on her for her light skin, and societys assault on her for her confusion about her gender. The fact she was the only woman in her class at Howard University Law School, was discriminated against and wound up first in her class. And she came out with a law school thesis that helped Thurgood Marshall make his argument in Brown vs. Board of Education. Its a great story of courage against long odds.

Also a great story of courage is the Black World War II veterans who came home to a world of racism and helped jump-start the civil rights movement. Medgar Evers and Anzie Moore of the Mississippi NAACP, Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Floyd McKissick of the Congress on Racial Equality, James Forman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, and more, men who, says Gaines in his book, believed that non-violence without the support of armed resistance to racist violence amounted to surrender.

But, Gaines told The Daily Beast, theres a reason why the military backgrounds of these men, who were familiar with weaponryEvers carried a .45 with him when he traveled and slept with a shotgun at the foot of his bedseems to have taken a historical backseat to the non-violent protests of the era. The character of the non-violent movement predominated, he says, and it was almost an image-making problem. The idea that Blacks would revolt with arms I think would have inflamed the American public. It was a tactic of the Martin Luther King movement not to emphasize that, despite the fact that Kings home was on occasion an armory.

Gaines feels the environmental movement has not accomplished what it needs to, and civil rights is still a work in progress."

The Fifties also includes the little known story of President Harry Truman and his support of civil rights. It seems Truman was angered by two high-profile cases of World War II veterans who returned home to racist violenceIsaac Woodard, blinded by a white cop when he didnt address him as sir, and George Dorsey, murdered by a white mob for protecting his brother-in-law after an altercation with his landlord. Truman responded to these outrages by naming a commission to analyze the problems in the South, and gave support to its final agenda, which included anti-lynching legislation, abolition of the poll tax and laws to ensure equal access to housing, education, and health care. When an old friend castigated him for this, Truman responded that the main difficulty with the South is that they are living 80 years behind the times and the sooner they come out of it the better it will be for the country and themselves.

Trumans liberal stance, says Gaines, came from his experiences as an officer in World War I. It angered him, the reception black veterans got when they came home. He did things no president had ever done before. He acted on his convictions.

Despite the courage and convictions of all the people in the book, Gaines admits the various issues they addressed have succeeded or failed to varying degrees. Although not enough, he sees the most progress in the gay and womens movements, thanks in part to a generation coming up now that is far more egalitarian in terms of gender than previous generations.

But Gaines feels the environmental movement has not accomplished what it needs to, and civil rights is still a work in progress. The initiative preventing people of color from voting, how could that be? The fact the Supreme Court has done nothing to stop it is sickening.

And yet, Gaines feels that readers of The Fifties should get the feeling that there is progress, and even when you think its least likely, there are people who will stand up and make the argument for change and eventually be supported by our Constitution, and their demonstration of courage and farsightedness.

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These Heroes Demolish the Clich of the Conformist '50s - The Daily Beast

Its difficult to grasp that the Civil Rights Movement occurred only within the last 100 years, and that the painfully unjust stories, agonies, and triumphs of Black people are not historical but present. And while we, as a society, are late in appreciating those who deserve to be appreciated, the U.S. government has decided to commemorate Maya Angelou, a Black female poet, singer, dancer, actress and civil rights activist, by minting her face on the quarter.

Maya Angelou lived a life of extraordinary strength and intelligence. She was the first female Black director in Hollywood. She fought alongside Martin Luther King Jr. until his assassination, after being politically awakened by his moving speeches. She aided his civil right organisation, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, by collecting funds through staging a revue. Angelou was also a companion of Malcolm X. The two developed the Organization of Afro-American Unity. She continued to inspire countless lives even after passing in 2014.

Angelou advocated for racial justice, inaugurated Bill Clinton, fought for same-sex marriage, and she was the only female editor of a newspaper, The Arab Observer. She fought for economic justice by demanding fair wages for workers and the abolition of poverty. Angelous writing was comprised of her experiences in regard to childhood trauma, sexual assault and racism. She wrote her own narrative; one that shows the beauty, intelligence and wit of both women and Black people. While her stories are painful, it is necessary that the young and old are acquainted with them and their messages. They depict a harsh reality of what Black people had to face, and still must face. Her writing is a continuous reminder of American societys deeply evil past.

Now, she is featured on the U.S. quarter with arms wide open. I cant think of a better pose for her than one that shows how free, brave, and unapologetic she was in doing the right thing. Angelou is the first of many in the American Women Quarters Program. The effort will also commemorate physicist and first woman astronaut Sally Ride, as well as the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller. The magnitude of the importance of these women, including Angelou, can be seen in the line of individuals featured on coins prior. It was all white men, and many of them were slave owners. It is time to strike out the names of all those who erased the Black narrative and create an environment where only those who deserve the appreciation receive it.

Angelous honesty and expertise in writing and art is essential in inspiring all ages. The power of language can turn the most ignorant hearts into empathizers. The beauty of art is that it shows different perspectives, it strengthens our will for change, and is one of the greatest weapons at our disposal.

While some may argue that this commemoration on a coin seems insignificant, this is no small feat in the battle for racial justice. All progression is good progression. As a Middle Eastern Muslim woman who finds inspiration in writing, I look at Maya Angelou and see a woman who pushed the barriers forced upon her, on a literary, artistic, and social level. She took control of her future, but her work isnt over. Racial injustice, ethnic cleansing, poverty, and prejudicethese are all things still prevalent within our society. Keeping her legacy alive empowers change.

Maya Angelou was a pivotal inspiration to women and Black people within the U.S. and outside of its borders. She pushed the boundaries of the rigid frameworks presented to her within the art world, and she executed her art to perfection. Maya Angelou risked her life for the sake of justice and truth. Truth remains consistent, and prevalent, and that which she fought for will always live longer than any of us will. She will remain the heart of justice.

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At the heart of justiceMaya Angelou - The Medium