#336: Turning Red

Happy Thursday, loyal readers. Thank you very much for being here. If you’re new(ish), welcome! The Highlighter is all about reading the best articles on race, education, and culture. I hope you like what you read.

Last weekend, I watched “Turning Red” and found the movie delightful. So I was surprised that the Pixar and Disney film has received only a 73 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The reason? Maybe nothing nowadays – not even a cute coming-of-age movie – can escape the scrutiny of the culture war. While critics claim that kids should not learn about menstruation in a feature film, I’m wondering if the race and the gender of the protagonist have something to do with the negative reviews. After all, some American adults may not appreciate watching a brash Asian girl who unabashedly likes boys and boy bands.

Today’s issue begins with a review of “Turning Red,” then follows with an article exploring the hubbub about the movie. Then after the break, we expand our view to consider the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes: increasing 73 percent in 2020 and then another 339 percent in 2021. If you have time to read just one article this week, make it “How The Atlanta Spa Shootings Tell A Story Of America,” by May Jeong. The last piece, “Asian Americans Have Always Lived With Fear,” is also very worth your time. I hope that this week’s selections resonate with you.

+ Have you seen the movie? If so, what did you think? Leave me a voicemail or hit reply to share your thoughts.

Turning Red Made Me Feel Understood As A Chinese-American Teen

Representation matters, writes 14-year-old Tabitha Yuen in this review of “Turning Red.” Like Mei, the film’s main character, Tabitha feels overwhelmed with the “awkward stage” of puberty and its “huge hormonal changes,” wishing she could transform into an adorable red panda when she gets “mega-emotional.” She loves Blackpink and Olivia Rodrigo like Mei likes 4*Town. Most important, Tabitha is afraid of disappointing her parents, but appreciates “wrapping baos and dumplings” and doing #VeryAsian things with her mother. (4 min)

Pixar’s Turning Red Is An Unlikely Culture War Battleground

Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with Tabitha Yuen’s assessment of “Turning Red.” It’s not relatable, writes a middle-aged white male critic. It’s uncomfortable to watch a movie about a teenage girl experiencing puberty, writes another. Mei is “willful,” “annoying,” and “loud” – negative character traits, especially for (Asian) girls. Worst of all, the film teaches young people to disobey their parents, a terrible sin. Culture reporter Aja Romano summarizes the hullabaloo. (10 min)

How The Atlanta Spa Shootings Tell A Story Of America

May Jeong: “Before the immigrant becomes an immigrant, before this single act comes to define her, she is preoccupied with what lies ahead. She knows that this leaving will take her away from home. But what she often does not know is that folded into the decision to go away is also the decision to potentially never see her family or homeland again. On one side of the scale, she has put the sum of her life thus far. On the other is America and some vague yet hopeful feeling that life will be better there. And because she has to, or because she wants to, she chooses that one vague and hopeful feeling over everything else—an act that speaks to the vast and violent inequalities that exist in the world.” (34 min)

+ Eight people, including six Asian women, were killed in the Atlanta spa shootings last year.

Asian Americans Have Always Lived With Fear

Min Jin Lee: “Asians and Asian Americans pay the price of nativist fear. Ordinary nativists and the disenfranchised attack people who look like me and far too many others. The assailants may also believe that we are weak physically and politically, unwilling to organize, react or speak up. For some, deep down, my ordinary Korean face — small, shallow-set eyes, round nose, high cheekbones, straight dark hair — reminds them of lost wars, prostitutes, spies, refugees, poverty, disease, cheap labor, academic competition, cheaters, sexual competition, oligarchs, toxic parenting, industrialization or a sex or pornography addiction. What feelings do such reminders arouse? Distrust, defeat, uncleanness, humiliation, sickness, death, terror, envy, anxiety and contempt.” (11 min)

+ Reader Annotations: Several of you shared your appreciation for last week’s issue focusing on education in the Bay Area. A former middle school principal in Oakland, VIP Jamie wrote, “Good collection of local ed stuff, Mark!” That’s kind of you, Jamie. VIP Clare was inspired by Prof. Scott Galloway’s piece on the conflict in Berkeley, writing that she’ll be adding “Life finds a way.” to her list of most useful phrases. “The rest of the articles,” Clare added, “made me sad and angry and also committed to doing what I do and always learning to do it better.” Thank you for your contributions, loyal readers. Please keep them coming.

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy it? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our five new subscribers – including Tyler, Niam, Nick, and So-Jung – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Eve! Eileen! Erica!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal reader Rex, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.

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#335: The State of Education In The Bay

Last night I attended a celebration for VIP Abby, an accomplished Bay Area educator, to honor her contributions as a teacher, teacher-leader, consultant, advocate of project based learning, champion of the graduate profile, and proponent of authentic performance assessment. It was wonderful to gather with outstanding educators to laugh and smile and remember why we do what we do.

It’s not news that things have been hard out there in the education world. That’s why last night was a gift. Depending on whom you ask, the pandemic has created, worsened, or illuminated the inequities and challenges we face. This week’s issue offers a snapshot of what’s happening in schools in the Bay Area, where many of us live.

Out here we might not have mean-spirited debates about mask mandates or Critical Race Theory or banning books from the school library. But the discord is deep, ranging from school closures in Oakland, Board recalls in San Francisco, lawsuits in Berkeley, and rancor at Lowell High School. Is this the sign of a fatally broken system? Or is it just democracy in action?

My hope is that you find time to read at least one article in today’s issue, then share with me your thoughts. I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to record a voicemail or hit reply. Please enjoy!

Why Do So Many Families Opt Out Of Oakland Unified?

This school year, 61 percent of children in Oakland attend a district school, while 28 percent go to a charter school and 11 percent opt for a private school. Certainly the pandemic has contributed to an exodus of families, with homeschooling a popular choice. But this article takes a longer view in explaining why fewer kids are attending Oakland Unified. The root causes include the ascent of charter schools, the instability of school closures, and the district’s open enrollment system. District 3 school board Director VanCedric Williams believes that we should not treat the education of young people as a capitalist enterprise. “We have turned our schools into a free-market-based system where there are winners and losers,” he says. As always, the perennial questions remain: What does it mean to be a public? What rights should families have in a democratic society? (15 min)

Will The New School Board Listen To Black Families In San Francisco?

The situation is no more optimistic across the Bay in San Francisco, where voters ousted three Board members last month. Many Black parents are skeptical that the district will put down politics and focus on academics, especially for their children. “It’s not designed for African American boys,” Joan Thomas said. With just 19 percent of Black students passing the state’s reading test (compared with 31 percent statewide), the problem is “not just a gap anymore in San Francisco,” Yvette Edwards says. A mother of two boys in San Francisco Unified, she adds, “It’s becoming a gulf.” (9 min)

+ If you hit a paywall, I suggest incognito mode.

College Town: The Conflict In Berkeley

Until three days ago, when Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law to allow admitted UC Berkeley students to enroll in the Fall, a contentious lawsuit between city residents and the university about the availability of housing had threatened the college plans of 2,600 students. In this clear piece, Prof. Scott Galloway blames recalcitrant homeowners who want to protect their high-priced property in a state whose dream Proposition 13 killed. It’s great to have an elite university in the neighborhood, he argues, but only if not very many kids get to go. In addition to ranting, Prof. Galloway offers six ideas to revamp higher education for the better. (9 min)

Lowell: What Happens When an Elite Public School Becomes Open to All?

Nathan Heller: “Lowell, founded in 1856, is the oldest public high school in the West and a long-admired jewel of public education. For decades, Lowell has been one of two public high schools in San Francisco to use selective admissions, with a grade- and test-score cutoff for most applicants. In 2020, when the pandemic made universal standardized testing impossible, Lowell suspended its admissions standards in favor of a randomized, lottery-like system. Parents cried out. Alumni threatened and launched lawsuits, and a few current students protested. Lowell, once a meritocratic beacon, had become something else: a bellwether for the uncertain future of selective public education.” (37 min)

+ Thank you to VIP Gail for recommending this.

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy it? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our two new subscribers Retha and Vanny, I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Deron! Derran! Deran!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal reader Teri, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

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#334: He Paid For America’s Fear

Happy Thursday, loyal readers. Thank you for opening this week’s issue.

I was reminded last Thursday at HHH of the kindness and joy of our reading community (photo evidence here and here and here). As usual, our gathering was sold out! I’m looking for (non-Zoom) ways to bring together loyal readers who don’t live in the Bay Area. After all, reading is often made better in conversation with other thoughtful and generous people. I’d love to hear your ideas.

The first two articles in this week’s issue discuss the power of fear in our society. This lead article, “He Paid For America’s Fear,” tells the story of Hamid Hayat, born an American citizen of Pakistani descent, who was swept up by the FBI after 9/11 and wrongfully convicted of terrorism. If you can, please read this piece along with “The United States Is Not A Nation Of Immigrants,” which explores our country’s longstanding xenophobia and fear of enemy invasion. Rounding off today’s issue are a statistical and analytical takedown of the U.S. News and World Report’s college rankings and a heartfelt and personal reflection on fatherhood by a man living with cancer.

I hope that you’ll read one or more of these pieces and that you have a great (reading-filled) weekend coming up!

He Paid For America’s Fear

Hamid Hayat was born in Lodi, California, spent his childhood in Pakistan, and was locked up for 14 years in a secretive prison in Indiana after being wrongfully convicted of terrorism after 9/11. In this special report, investigative reporter Jason Fagone tells Mr. Hayat’s story in comprehensive detail, focusing on our country’s Islamophobia and the pressure our government faced to incarcerate suspected terrorists without sufficient evidence or fair trials.

Mr. Fagone writes: “His country once looked at him and imagined a terrorist. Americans feared his anger, and for that, he lost nearly everything. So if he does feel anger now, he isn’t free to show it. He still worries what co-workers and neighbors will think when they learn about his story. He still feels the need to show that he has a good heart, a good mind. He is still afraid of America’s fear.” (75 min)

+ Mr. Fagone is is well known around these parts. He wrote “Love And Loss In the Age Of AI” (Issue #306), “The Race Realist on Campus,” (Issue #300), and my favorite, “Jerry and Marge Go Large,” one of the best articles of 2018. I got to interview Mr. Fagone in July 2020 for Article Club.

The United States Is Not “A Nation of Immigrants”

“The United States has never been a nation of immigrants,” argues Prof. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz in this well-written essay, in which she explores the problems of multiculturalism and assimilation. Instead, at the core of American history is settler colonalism. Efforts of inclusion, including diversity training, the notion of “people of color,” and “the production of Hamilton,” amount to the erasure of Indigenous peoples and “arrivants,” which include enslaved Africans, refugees, and immigrants forced out of their homelands. (15 min)

+ Prof. Dunbar-Ortiz is the author of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States.

How Columbia University Gamed The U.S. News And World Report Algorithm

If you like statistics, and if you don’t like the snootiness of elite college rankings, then you’ve come to the right place. Michael Thaddeus, a professor of Mathematics at Columbia University, breaks down how the school has soared to the top of the U.S. News and World Report. (The answer? Fudged numbers + inaccurate data + tons of money). “Students are poorly served by rankings,” Prof. Thaddeus writes. “No one should try to reform or rehabilitate the ranking. It is irredeemable.” (Ivy Day is March 31 this year.) (20 min)

Fatherhood, Cancer, And What Matters

Jonathan Tjarks is 34 years old and has metastatic Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. But instead of brooding about his illness, Mr. Tjarks focuses on how he can best raise his 2-year-old son Jackson, who loves cars because they’re fast. Having cancer “leaves you with a lot of time to think,” he writes. “I usually end up thinking about my son.” Mr. Tjarks also thinks about his dad, who died early of Parkinson’s, and the importance of investing in friendships at his church, in order to build supports for his son after he’s gone. (12 min)

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy it? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our five new subscribers – Virgil, Beatrice, Rina, Moster, and Chris – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Craig! Carina! Char!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal reader Kim, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

📬 Forward today’s issue to a friend and tell them to subscribe

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On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT.

#333: What Doctors Don’t Hear, Interpreters Do

Welcome to March, loyal readers. Thank you for being here.

This week’s issue explores the effects of losing or lacking connection. The lead article, “Unspeakable Pain: What Doctors Don’t Hear,” examines the ethical dilemmas medical interpreters face when doctors and patients do not share a common language. In the second piece, “When Black Excellence Isn’t Enough,” a Black graduate student seeks common ground with her Black peers in a predominantly white elite university. If you have time, I suggest reading both articles as a pair. Though entirely different, they talk to each other.

Then comes a thoughtful video on the 10th anniversary of Trayvon Martin, followed by a profile of a champion auctioneer facing the demise of his industry. If you’re taking a respite from reading, good thing I’ve included an outstanding podcast for you – about Siegfried and Roy. Please enjoy!

+ What connections do you see among this week’s selections? I’d love to hear what you think. Hit reply or record a short voice message.

+ Tonight’s HHH is sold out! If you’re one of the lucky 24 people who were able to snatch up tickets, I’ll see you there. One of you will win the grand prize. If you couldn’t make tonight’s gathering, HHH will return in June.

+ This month at Article Club, we’re discussing “On White Violence, Black Survival, and Learning to Shoot,” by Kim McLarin. Everyone is welcome. Here’s more information and here’s where you can sign up. If you’re looking to read more deeply with a kind, thoughtful community, AC is it.

Unspeakable Pain: What Doctors Don’t Hear

When Lina María Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas goes to serve as a volunteer medical interpreter in a free clinic in Chicago, her trainer says, “Remember, you are not really there. Never, ever, add a single word to what is said. That is not your job.” Prof. Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas wants to follow the rules. But an interaction between an insensitive doctor and a frightened patient (who looks “just like and nothing like me”) prompts her to go off script. (14 min)

+ Trigger warning: This article includes a discussion of a suicide attempt.

When Black Excellence Isn’t Enough

C. Syl’violet Smith: “I don’t fully know why I keep putting myself through their fire. I keep reassuring myself that to be where I’m unwanted, or at the very least unexpected, is an act of resistance and self-affirmation, and other self-righteous pandering that feels good in the ear, but I’m becoming annoyed at how often I catch myself leaning so confidently on half-truths. The whole truth is, I still, no matter how hard I resist or deny it, long for their approval. The validation from Ma, Daddy, The Culture, isn’t, by far, enough, even though I want it to be. I want them to want me. ‘Who are “they”?’ My white therapist, white professor, white classmate ask. C’mon now, you know who they are, I think.” (14 min)

Eli Detweiler Is The Auctioneer

Growing up, Eli Detweiler Jr loved going to livestock auctions, where his dad would buy cows to milk. He wanted to become a professional bid caller, but his Amish upbringing forbade the career. So when Mr. Detweiler turned 18, he left his family to pursue his dream. Years later, he became the Wisconsin state auctioneer champion. That same year, in 1995, eBay launched its first online auction. Jarrett Van Meter poignantly tells Mr. Detweiler’s story while exploring how online platforms have decimated the live auctioneering industry. (17 min)

+ Listen to the audio clips of Mr. Detweiler’s precise chant. They’re awesome. Here’s another example, because I find the bid assistants hilarious.

‎Wild Things Podcast: Siegfried & Roy

German-American magicians and feline fans Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn made up one of the most popular acts in Las Vegas history. But during a show in 2003, white tiger Montecore attacked Mr. Horn, nearly killing him. This podcast explores the tragedy from many angles, criticizing the era’s homophobia, considering whether the attack was an inside job, and questioning if Siegfried and Roy told the truth of what happened. Somehow, in what could have turned out to be a campy conspiracy theory-laden production, Steven Leckart does a great job reporting and telling the story. (41 min)

+ Big thanks to VIP Jessica for recommending this podcast. The whole series is good!

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy it? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our four new subscribers – Matthew, Jed, Char, and Aid – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Brenda! Bora! Ben!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal reader Kim, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

📬 Forward today’s issue to a friend and tell them to subscribe

☕️ Buy me a coffee, like loyal reader Alison (thank you!)

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On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT.

#332: Great Articles Come From Great Writers

Happy Thursday, loyal readers. Thank you for being here. If you’re a new(ish) subscriber, welcome. I hope you come to like The Highlighter.

This week I’m trying something different: celebrating the writers who bring us these outstanding articles. Over the past two years, I’ve had the opportunity to interview talented authors, who generously participate in Article Club, our thoughtful reading community that discusses one great article every month. It’s been an honor to speak with every single writer. This week, I want to share some of my favorite interviews with you.

You’ll hear from Brian Broome, Paul Tough, Stephanie McCrummen, Hafizah Geter, and Kathryn Schulz. They’re among the best writers out there – and they’re pretty great people, too. I encourage you to scan the blurbs, see which ones interest you, and take a listen to at least one of the interviews. My hope is that the conversations will inspire you to read the articles. They’re all outstanding.

+ If Article Club interests you, please sign up. We’d be very happy to have you. It’s a month-to-month commitment. If you like the month’s article, you’re in for the discussion! If not, that’s OK, too.

+ Highlighter Happy Hour is nearly sold out! HHH is a joyful gathering of our kind, thoughtful reading community. We’re meeting at Room 389 in Oakland on Thursday, March 3, beginning at 5:30 pm. There are four tickets left. Get yours here!

So far at Article Club, we’ve read 24 great articles by 24 great authors, who have generously participated in our reading community by recording a podcast interview or by joining our online discussion. More information is at highlighter.cc/articleclub and at articleclub.org.

Brian Broome, “79”

When I featured “79” as one of 2018’s best articles, naturally I wanted to speak to author Brian Broome. In this interview, Mr. Broome talks about how he became a writer in rehab, how the first piece he ever submitted got published, and how “79” began as a rant against white supremacy. We also explore the effects of capitalism and white supremacy on Black people and the perils of respectability politics. (34 min)

+ Since “79,” Mr. Broome has published Punch Me Up to the Gods, which won the Kirkus Prize for nonfiction. He also joined us at Article Club last October to discuss “The Key,” a chapter from his award-winning memoir.

Paul Tough, “Getting an A”

I’ve loved Paul Tough’s writing on education since Whatever It Takes, so when The Inequality Machine came out in 2020, I knew I wanted to read the book and invite him to Article Club. In this interview, Mr. Tough and I discuss “Getting An A,” a heartwarming chapter about an introductory calculus class at the University of Texas featuring a first-generation college student named Ivonne and a talented math professor named Uri. Despite all the challenges in higher education, Mr. Tough still believes that college can be a path toward social mobility in the United States. (31 min)

Stephanie McCrummen, “Miranda’s Rebellion”

In this interview – about “Miranda’s Rebellion,” her outstanding article following the political transformation of a white suburban woman in Georgia during the run-up to the 2020 election – Stephanie McCrummen shares her philosophy of reporting and her high expectations of journalism. I especially enjoyed hearing how Ms. McCrummen joined Miranda and her friend Liz on long weekend hikes through the woods, trailing a few steps behind, remaining within earshot to diligently take notes along the way. (20 min)

+ Ms. McCrummen won the Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for her investigative reporting on a Senate candidate’s sexual harassment of teenage girls in Alabama.

Hafizah Geter, “Theater of Forgiveness”

“Theater of Forgiveness“ explores the intergenerational rage that emerges from our society’s expectation that Black people forgive the atrocities that white people commit. It was one of the best articles of 2018. In this interview, author Hafizah Geter speaks to me and Sarai Bordeaux about her writing process and about the power of Black joy (and its danger to white people). Ms. Geter also reflects on the importance of reading. She says, “Reading is the most important thing. People always say, Reading is a solitary activity, which I don’t understand. The first time you experience a book, someone is reading to you, so you can never ever be alone again.” (57 min)

+ Since “Theater,” Ms. Geter has gone on to write Un-American: Poems and The Black Period: On Personhood, Race & Origin, a memoir coming out in September.

Kathryn Schulz, “When Things Go Missing”

One of my favorite essays of the past five years, “When Things Go Missing” is this month’s selection at Article Club. It’s about losing (and finding) things, and it’s beautifully written. Author Kathryn Schulz is one of my favorite writers, and in this interview, she talks about how she organized the piece, how she thinks about a concept she calls “and-ness,” what her dad meant to her, why she included certain details and not others, and why she ended an article on loss with the phenomenon of finding. (28 min)

+ Ms. Schulz won the Pulitzer Prize in 2016 for “The Really Big One,” about the imminent catastrophic earthquake that will hit the Pacific Northwest.

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy the change of pace with the inclusion of author interviews? Or do you prefer all articles, all the time? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our five new subscribers – David, Denise, Jonathan, Fabrice, and Brandon – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Alison! Allison! Allyson!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal reader Brittany, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#331: Black History Is Your History

Happy Thursday, Loyal Readers. According to viral post yesterday on Twitter, a counselor in Indiana is letting parents opt their children out of lessons related to “Black History Month and Valentine’s Day.” Making his case to families, the counselor argues that “a greater understanding of diversity in the classroom and the outside world” will lead to “better grades” and “greater career success.” I wonder what Ijeoma Oluo, author of today’s lead article, “Black History Is Your History,” would say about this unfortunate ridiculousness and the state of white supremacy in our public schools.

In addition to Ms. Oluo’s piece, I encourage you to check out this week’s other articles, which cover a variety of topics, in typical Highlighter fashion – from the backlash against trans rights, to the challenges of in vitro fertilization, to the glories of whole grain flour. Please enjoy!

+ You’re warmly invited to Highlighter Happy Hour #16 on Thursday, March 3, beginning at 5:30 pm at Room 389 in Oakland. HHH is a joyful way to connect with other thoughtful readers. Space is limited to 24 people. The grand prize will be a particularly joyous one. Get your free ticket here!

Black History Is Your History

Ijeoma Oluo: “For white America, a true study of Black history will indict. A true study of Black history will remove the cover of claims to individuality and reveal the strategic and collective action of whiteness beneath it. A true study of Black history will reveal whiteness as not only a set of skintones and hair textures, but a social and political power structure willingly entered into, upheld, and defined by every individual white person in the collective. A true study of Black history will reveal the ways in which white America has never been able to survive without Blackness, and never will. A true study of Black history is one that, even at its most triumphant, is one that white America cannot celebrate no matter how often it tries to claim only the best and brightest of it.” (8 min)

+ Ms. Oluo’s writing has appeared several times in the newsletter. My favorite continues to be her vicious takedown of Rachel Dolezal, highlighted in Issue #89 in 2017.

Kris Wilka Just Wants To Play Football

Kris Wilka lives in Sioux Falls and loves playing video games, talking with his friends on Discord, writing Lana Del Rey fanfic, and most of all, playing football. Except his neighborhood junior high school told him he couldn’t play because Kris is trans. Ever since he was 2, Kris has wanted to be “just a normal dude,” but meanwhile, South Dakota legislators are passing laws prohibiting trans kids from playing sports and doctors from performing gender-affirming surgeries. Kris says, “All I want to do is be a kid and play what I love, which is football and sports.” (17 min)

A Passage To Parenthood

Akhil Sharma never wanted kids. Maybe that was because he felt guilty being healthy alongside a brain-damaged brother and a mentally-ill mother. Or maybe because he felt he had nothing to offer. But at 49 years old, Mr. Sharma realized he “was overflowing with love” for his wife Christine, 50, and “wanted a place to put that love.” You’ll either love or loathe this well-written, unfiltered account of one couple’s pregnancy journey, filled with the author’s off-center reflections and hopes that his daughter will grow up to be like Janet Yellen. (22 min)

The Differences Between Processed White Flour And Whole Grain Flour

The pandemic made bakers of many of us, at least for a few months. But during the Great Baking Boom, we unfortunately mostly relied on white flour (King Arthur if we were fancy), whose industrialized consistency lacks nutrition, freshness, and character. In this well-reported article, Dayna Evans asks why we’re grinding our own beans at home but not milling our own grain, and why our demands of buy-local-and-fresh have not yet made their way to bran, endosperm, and germ. (30 min)

+ Ms. Evans emphasizes that the few people who are buying wheat (for $1.90 a pound) from local stone mills are almost exclusively white and wealthy.

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy it? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our five new subscribers – Nic, Holly, Alan, Toronzo, Lisa – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Zaneta! Zaire! Zennifer!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal reader Phil, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#330: 10 Years Since Trayvon

As always, thank you for being here. And welcome, new subscribers!

This week’s issue is dedicated to the memory of Trayvon Martin, who was murdered 10 years ago, and to the contributions of Black Lives Matter, which was founded after George Zimmerman’s acquittal.

Usually, this newsletter features articles from a variety of publications. All four pieces in today’s issue, however, come from one source, a recent special edition of New York Magazine. It’s excellent. I read (and recommend) all 20 articles, but I’m highlighting my favorite four: a comprehensive timeline of the past ten years, a profile of Trayvon’s mother, a profile of Trayvon’s friend, and an essay pondering the definition of racial progress. My hope is that you find at least one piece significant, and if you do, I’d love to hear from you.

+ If you hit a paywall, I suggest trying incognito mode or another browser. Another option is to support the magazine and purchase a subscription.

10 Years Since Trayvon

Lindsay Peoples-Wagner and Morgan Jerkins: “On February 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, because as a Black boy walking in a gated community, he was deemed ‘suspicious.’ Zimmerman’s acquittal appalled a nation often willfully blind to the vulnerability of living while Black. Ten years later, Black Lives Matter has grown from a hashtag to a protester’s cry to a cultural force that has reshaped American politics, society, and daily life.”

+ In addition to serving as a table of contents to this powerful collection, this resource offers an outstanding timeline of events over the past ten years, focusing on the police killings of unarmed Black people, the rise of Black Lives Matter, the white backlash to racial progress, and the uprising after the murder of George Floyd. (30 min)

Sybrina Fulton Found Her Painful Place In American History

Derecka Purnell, quoting Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin: “ ‘What makes me angry is the fact that you have so many people that want to do something, but they don’t. You got so many people who comment and who post and who are talking heads on the news, and what are they doing? Nothing.’ Fulton’s eyebrows arch inward, and she raises her pitch and pace. ‘You have to be active. You have to participate. You have to get involved. Those are the types of things that make me angry. You can’t just share a story on social media and figure, Okay, I did my part, you know?’ ” (14 min)

Ashley Burch Remembers Her Friend Trayvon Martin

Bridget Read: “When Ashley Burch remembers her friend Trayvon Martin, she thinks of him walking around Carol City, the neighborhood north of Miami where they were teenagers together. They weren’t old enough to drive, so Trayvon walked nearly everywhere when he couldn’t catch the bus, sometimes so far that he would call Ashley to come and pick him up. ‘With what?’ she would ask. He would joke his Cadillac was in the shop — the nickname he had for his bicycle.

“Burch rarely talks openly about Trayvon. She has tried to move on and into her adult life. But she has never changed the background of her Facebook profile: a now-infamous black-and-white photo of Trayvon in his hoodie, looking straight on, taken by his computer camera. ‘I don’t want anybody to forget about him,’ she says.” (5 min)

The Fallacy Of Representation

Camonghne Felix: “President Obama was president for eight years. I’m 30 now and staring down the greatest threat to African American voting rights in generations. A climate crisis threatens the livelihoods of the Black and poor, of the Black and coastal, of the Black and immigrant. We face a wealth gap that has only worsened in the last decade, leaving Black communities even more vulnerable to the failures of late-stage capitalism than they already were before the First Black Presidency. As the killings of Trayvon Martin and Freddie Gray, the loop of uprisings that followed, and the anti-capitalist, socialist movement of Occupy Wall Street shaped our perspectives, young people of the Black Lives Matter generation learned quickly, and with much devastation, that representation had a hole in it where our ideas of justice rooted in policy dematerialized.” (8 min)

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy it? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our nine new subscribers – Alicia, Sandra, Estephanie, Rachel, Kelley, Ebony, Riever, Tim, and Miami – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Yolanda! Yan! Yudy!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal readers Jenn and David, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#329: Now We Know Their Names

Happy Thursday, loyal readers, and thank you for being here.

Over the past almost-seven years, I’ve liked finding the best-written articles for you to read, no matter their source. Today’s issue includes pieces from well-resourced mainstream publications that everyone knows about (i.e., The Atlantic and The Washington Post) and from newish bootstrap magazines with small circulations that maybe you’ve never heard of before (i.e., The Drift and Pipe Wrench). My hope is that you appreciate the range of publications.

In my humble opinion, everyone should read this week’s lead article, “Now We Know Their Names,” in which author Clint Smith writes poignantly about a memorial in Maryland dedicated to two lynching victims. The other pieces – exploring platform capitalism and movie theater concessions and hospice vigil volunteers – are worth your time as well. Please enjoy!

+ Several of you reached out last week to share with me which article resonated with you the most (thank you!), but sadly, no one left me a voice message. (It’s fun, I promise.)

+ This month at Article Club, we’re reading and discussing “When Things Go Missing,” my favorite article of 2017. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Kathryn Schulz has generously agreed to participate. So you should, too! More info is here, and you can sign up for our Feb. 27 discussion here.

How Should America Confront Its History Of Lynchings?

Clint Smith, on lynching and campaigns that seek reconciliation: “One of the most unsettling yet ubiquitous aspects of lynchings across the country is that the people who committed these crimes, who took these artifacts home as souvenirs to share with their families, were rarely two-dimensional caricatures of evil; they were everyday people in the community: the grocer, the postman, the teacher, the doctor.

“This history is never distant; it follows us everywhere we go. It lives under the soil of the playgrounds where we bring our children to play, under the concrete we drive on in our neighborhoods, and under the land upon which we live. It rests beneath our feet in ways that we are — that I am — still discovering.” (19 min)

+ Mr. Smith acknowledges the power and promise of soil-collection ceremonies, the work of community members in partnership with Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative.

Vibe, Mood, Energy: Or, Bust-Time Reenchantment

Back in the day, the terms vibe, mood, and energy belonged to the counterculture and the occult. But now with platform capitalism, centered on harvesting our personal data for profit, companies have co-opted the sensibilities of youth culture and sold them back to the mass public. After all, businesses don’t sell actual goods anymore, and commodities in late capitalism are experiences, each with their own energy and mood. If you get the vibe right, you’ll get rich. (26 min)

+ There’s a ton more in this hard-to-blurb article by Mitch Therieau, who also writes about lofi music and pre-distressed jeans.

Making Concessions: A Tale of Capitalism, Control, And Snacks

Before the pandemic, when people went to the movie theater, did you smuggle in popcorn (or a full burrito) to save money on concessions? Be honest! This article chronicles the history of concessions, charting how theater owners convinced their captive audience to associate seeing a feature film with chomping on Jujyfruits and Junior Mints, thereby protecting profits and staying in business – that is to say, until recently. (26 min)

+ AMC now sells its popcorn outside its theaters. Want it delivered to your couch? Sure. The money is in the concessions, after all, not the ticket sales.

On The Obligation To Prevent People From Dying Alone

Ken Budd used to call his mother every night to check in. Then she died while he was out of the country. Since then, Mr. Budd has served as a vigil volunteer for a hospice organization, doing what he can to make sure nobody dies alone. This article discusses what people need in their final moments, and reminded me, as all pieces on death do, that what’s important is to be present, to listen, and to connect with those I love. (20 min)

+ A national organization with 1,500 local programs, No One Should Die Alone believes that small acts of compassion can have a profound impact on the lives of hospice patients.

+ Reader Annotations: Loyal reader Kati appreciated last week’s lead article, “Free Country,” and shared: “I am always dismayed when guns are considered a partisan issue, and even more dismayed about ‘laws’ that wipe away all common-sense regulations on gun ownership.” I always ask myself, Do these same people who hoard guns and ammo ‘for the apocalypse’ also keep fresh stocks of food, water, medicine, fuel?” Kati, thank you very much for reaching out and sharing your perspective.

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy it? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our four new subscribers – Andrea, Alex, Matthew, and Neeta – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Xiomara! Xavier! Xuan-Vu!), you’re pretty great, too. VIP Jessica, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#328: Free Country

One of my favorite things about putting this newsletter together is hearing from loyal readers who have taken a break for a while and then come back. Last week’s issue, one of the most popular in Highlighter history, elicited many kind words and well wishes – for which I am very grateful. I don’t thank you often enough for being part of this reading community. Nearly seven years in, I’m appreciative every day.

This week’s issue includes four outstanding articles focusing on the expansion of gun rights, the long-term effects of school shootings, the importance of accepting death, and the reminder that beauty is right in front of us. If you have time to read just one article, I recommend “Children In The Garden.” What begins as a piece on endurance running develops into a meditation on joy and play and wonder and being a kid.

+ Say hi! I’d love to hear from you. Hit reply or send me a voice message.

+ I encourage you to check out Article Club! Everyone is welcome. We dive deep and discuss one great article every month. Bonus: The author participates, too! Article Clubber Kati says, “Article Club is about the power of reading in community. It’s amazing how quickly strangers from across the country can build trust and go deep.” Let me know if you want to give Article Club a try.

Free Country

Michael Cargill lives in Texas and believes in the Second Amendment. He’s a military veteran, a firearms instructor, and a gun shop owner. He’s also Black and gay. While he fights for the right to bear arms, and appreciates that more Americans are becoming first-time gun owners, Mr. Cargill does not endorse the latest trend among gun proponents: unrestricted permitless carry, now legal in 21 states.

In this well-researched article, Rachel Monroe charts how open carry, mostly nonexistent until the 1980s, has gained popularity as a result of racist fears of urban crime, the Obama presidency, and the pandemic. She also explains why state lawmakers in conservative states feel emboldened (and sometimes compelled) to pass lenient gun laws, when their constituents would prefer stricter regulations. (25 min)

+ If you hit a paywall, try incognito mode or another browser.

+ Ms. Monroe also wrote this great piece on van life back in 2017.

The Survivors: The School Shooting Generation Grows Up

In the 1980s and 1990s, decades before school shootings became commonplace (there have been 96 since 2018), young survivors received little mental health treatment. Most suppressed their feelings, soothed with drugs, formed informal therapy groups, and felt guilty to seek therapy, because they suffered less than their friends. Now in their 30s and 40s, they’re coming to terms with their PTSD and deciding what to tell their own children about their experiences, if anything at all. (22 min)

On Death And Love

Our problem as humans, Melanie Challenger argues in this thoughtful essay, is that we deperately want to avoid death. She reminds us, “Everything that we have cherished, each hope or triumph, however small or glorious, will be gone. And so, too, will the unique form of our bodies. Our smiles and the cut of our buttocks, our hips and the hue of our eyes—all will one day be swallowed back into the immensity of the cosmos.” If we accept death and spend less time convincing ourselves that we are exceptional, somehow superior to animals, then we’ll love ourselves and each other more, offering us a better chance to construct a healthier world for future generations. (16 min)

Children In The Garden: On Life At A 3,100-Mile Race

Even if you’re not a distance runner, you’ll appreciate this profile of the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3,100 Mile Race, in which participants run around a half-mile block in Jamaica, Queens, over and over, for 52 days. In this beautifully written piece, Devin Kelly starts with running and extrapolates to the philosophical and existential: What is beauty and what is joy in our pandemic world? He writes, “I think we often chase epiphany, despite the fact that, at all times, the possibility of epiphany is right here, exactly where we are. The word itself has nothing to do with how it is commonly portrayed, which is that epiphany occurs out of nowhere, as if what is surprising someone didn’t exist before the moment of their surprise. In reality, the idea of epiphany has to do with seeing things exactly as they are.” (33 min)

+ Reader Annotations: Last week’s lead article, “My Penis, Myself” was immensely popular and resonated with many of you. And several of you shared your reactions upon seeing the subject line in your inboxes. Loyal reader Eunice, who was substituting for a third grade teacher at a small school in rural Michigan, needed to email a writing assignment to the secretary to print. She wrote, “I had the computer up for a previous impromptu addition to the class conversation and didn’t realize my email headers would be so titillating. Thanks for the excitement and forcing a quick browser close.” I’m pleased that you still have your job, Eunice!

In addition, I’d like to thank loyal reader Albina, who sent this delightful and heartwarming comment my way:

I am a recent subscriber and my inbox definitely did not need another newsletter subscription, so I have been unsubscribing from a ton of newsletters that I find are just “noise.” Yours however is one I really enjoy! I’ll admit I don’t always have the time to read all of the articles you recommend, but reading your summaries alone feels like a kind point in the right direction :-) Thank you a lot!

Thank you for being wonderful, Albina – and don’t worry, you’re not alone. Even though I highly encourage everyone to read every single article (because they’re so good!), many loyal readers tell me they’re most passionate about the blurbs.

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy it? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our two new subscribers Jeanie and Cory, I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Wenner! Wendy! Wes!), you’re pretty great, too. VIP Caitlin, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#327: My Penis, Myself

Happy Thursday, loyal readers. Thank you very much for opening today’s issue of The Highlighter. I’m a big fan of all four of this week’s articles. Although they focus on a range of topics (phalloplasty, anti-Asian violence, voter suppression, gentrification), the pieces all explore a common theme: the power of people authentically living their full identities in the face of a society that wants to marginalize them. You’ll meet Gabriel Mac, Marian Chia-Ming Liu, Crystal Mason, and Lucía Obregón Matzer, each of whom, I think, will bring you connection and expand your empathy.

+ Don’t have enough time to read all four? Hit reply and I’ll recommend the one article that I think you’ll appreciate the most.

+ This month at Article Club (one of my three reading-related hobbies!), we’re reading and discussing “Good Mother: Custody and Care in the Shadow of Colonization,” by Sierra Crane Murdoch, a Pulitzer Prize finalist. It was one of my favorite articles last year. Article Club is a thoughtful reading community made up of kind people from across the country who love to discuss great longform nonfiction on race, education, and culture. We’d love to have you. Here’s more information about this month’s discussion on Sunday, January 30. Let me know if you have any questions.

I Didn’t Need A Penis To Be A Man. But I Needed One To Be Me

Gabriel Mac, who identifies as a transmasculine person, has wanted a penis for a long time. Nearly everybody he’s met – including most doctors and other transmasculine people – find the idea “disgusting” and “insane.” Only a few surgeons perform phalloplasty, and only a few states mandate health coverage for trans people.

In this illuminating article, beautifully and evocatively written, Mr. Mac shares his journey, alternating between emotional epiphanies and dispassionate descriptions. Once you start this piece, you’ll want to read it the whole way through.

Mr. Mac writes, “I’ve never seen or heard of a book or show character or even another person who is an asexual gay man with a penis and a vagina. But after I got out of the hospital, standing in the bathroom washing my hands, with most of my body, much less my genitalia, well outside the mirror’s frame, I looked up and suddenly, for the first time in my life, recognized my own face.” (27 min)

+ Thank you to loyal reader Tess for sending this outstanding article my way. Also, if you hit a paywall, I suggest trying another browser.

The Power Of Reclaiming My Asian Name

Journalist Marian Chia-Ming Liu, who reports on anti-Asian hate crimes, was used to wearing sunglasses in public to avoid potential violence. Besides, she thought, it was better to blend in. As a kid, she was taught, “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.” But an incident at a Vietnamese restaurant in Florida causes Ms. Liu to change her approach, calling out racism and requiring people to use and pronounce her full name correctly. “Racism against Asians is not going to stop with everyone changing their names to Jason and Mary,” she writes. “What will make a difference is for Asians to have a seat at the table, be in positions of power.” (17 min)

When The Myth Of Voter Fraud Comes For You

You have a better chance of being struck by lightning twice than you do of committing voter fraud. Don’t tell that to Crystal Mason, sentenced for five years in prison for inadvertently casting an ineligible provisional ballot in Texas. Ms. Mason’s prosecution is part of a campaign led by purveyors of the Big Lie, who seek to disenfranchise Black and Latinx people using overt and subtle tactics of fear and intimidation. Author Vann R. Newkirk II writes, “Jim Crow was not imposed by a single stroke. It was built community by community, year by year, ruined life by ruined life, law by law, and lie by lie.” (20 min)

+ Mr. Newkirk knew what he was talking about a long time ago. Here he is in Issue #67, after the 2016 election. I’m hoping he’ll join us at Article Club soon.

The Gentrification Of Consciousness

Born in the Mission District of San Francisco to Salvadoran parents, author Robert Lovato knows about gentrification. Now that physical displacement has transformed his community, Mr. Lovato turns his attention to a new, spiritual phase of gentrification brought on by the coming psychedlic-industrial complex. When white Silicon Valley entrepreneurs see profit, Mr. Lovato writes, they perform extractivism, separating hallucinogenic drugs of their Indigenous historical and religious significance. The practice disrupts the psychological fabric of the community and leads to a trauma of psychic placelessness. (24 min)

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy it? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our five new subscribers – including Lucy, Mahesh, Fawn, and Thomas – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Violet! Vince! Virginia!), you’re pretty great, too. VIP Jamie, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!