starter links for understanding + covering these protests
starter links for understanding + covering these protests
I’m eager to share with you guys my thoughts (and some free books!) on a fave summer read below, but first I want to include a few links to help answer basic questions about what’s been going on re: the protests against police brutality from the past few days.
It can be easy to forget, especially when you’re just scanning your specific Twittersphere or spending most of your time talking to other uber-media-savvy people about current events, that there are a ton of people who are looking for an entry point into these conversations without feeling intimidated or condescended to — so here are a few resources that I’ve been linking out personally to family and loved ones to help shed light on the basics, should you or someone you know need them:
Police shootings and brutality in the US: 9 things you should know <- This Vox explainer is from 2016 but does a thorough job covering the basic problems between American policing and black communities
A century of American protest <- This 6-minute New Yorker video highlights visual parallels across major protests in recent U.S. history and shows how these “modern” ones a) did not just come out of nowhere and b) employ tactics adapted from successful movements from our past
Why the CVS burned <- This piece from Slate was published during the 2015 Baltimore protests following the death of Freddie Gray, and I think this is the most straightforward, economic-centric explanation for the kind of mass outrage usually written off as “hooliganism.”
Related: Trevor Noah explains here how the essential question — which forms of protest are “acceptable” and which are not — is actually a problem in itself, too
Also, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had an op-ed in the LA Times this weekend that also is a good explainer in that everything will sense to you only if you understand how high the stakes are for black Americans
Hope these are helpful!
Kind of awkwardly switching gears now, but: If you’re looking for a summer read that’s as heady with dreamy desire as it is clear-eyed about the politics undergirding why we want the people we want, you should read Matt Ortile’s The Groom Will Keep His Name, out this week. It’s a book of ten essays that cross-examine the specifics of Matt’s early 20s dating life, but it’s his reflections on modern costuming and the trickiness of “allegedly candid authenticity” that really got me.
I interviewed Matt last year about his work at Catapult (and later wrote for him, fwiw), but even readers who aren’t familiar with his very frank, very heartfelt writing will read this and feel like they’ve known him for ages. (For starters though, you should def read his latest for Condé Nast Traveler if you have Kleenex on hand).
Anyway, to get your summer reading started, I’m giving away ~5~ copies of the book away this week! Details below:
Here’s how to enter:
Tweet out a link to any edition of Deez Links between today and the end of Thursday. Make sure you include the words “Deez Links” in your tweet so I can find it! (Plus, you can use the “share” button at the bottom or link to it from deezlinks.substack.com!)
Make sure you’re following @Ortile on Twitter
I’ll pick 5 winners at random on Friday morning and tweet ‘em out!
A message from our syndication buddy, Study Hall…
Study Hall member Rae Nudson compiled a collection of advice for covering protests:
Tips for safely covering protests, from Poynter, Global Investigative Journalism Network, and News Safety.
What to do if you're exposed to tear gas, from Popular Science.
How to use active voice in your writing to be clear about who is doing what to whom, from the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.
On the stressors Black journalists are facing right now, from the New York Times.
Study Hall publishes newsletters about the media industry and runs a digital community for media workers. More information is on our website, studyhall.xyz.