It's Your Week. In 1961, seven days changed history.
President Joe Biden's getting the booster. Darius Rucker is changing country music's perception. And religion is trying to win back the "nones" with some fascinating tactics.
It's Kristina and Lindsay, and this is Your Week, an exclusive Monday newsletter for Paste BN subscribers that surfaces the top news you simply can't miss.
To watch this week: With two huge Biden priorities and an Oct. 1 government shutdown looming, we're in for a pivotal week in Washington. The House will begin debate Monday on Biden’s $1 trillion collection of roadway and other infrastructure projects. And, Biden and Democrats continue negotiations to resolve internal divisions over a separate $3.5 trillion package of proposals to strengthen the social safety net and climate programs.
First, our must-read news coverage
- Five things people get wrong about IRAs: Bankruptcy protection limits, inheritances and more.
- Is a housing crash on the horizon? Experts weigh in on the possibility.
- History shows why moderate Democrats may be hesitant about Biden's agenda as the 2022 elections loom.
- Is your pet wearing a Seresto flea collar? The company failed to report thousands of adverse incidents.
- A Cheer choreographer allegedly pushed his boyfriend off a third-floor walkway, then livestreamed the aftermath.
- From Connie Schultz: Channeling my mom (but never her hair), I see reason for hope this fall: Kids' vaccines are coming.
Americans stood up to racism in 1961. We share their fight, in their words.
Progress can be slow. Opposition can be violent. But despite it all, sustained action can create change.
Paste BN invites you to dive into the game-changing year for civil rights with its new project, "Seven days of 1961." It was a year that set the foundation for sweeping changes in American society – and continues to shape ongoing debates over voting rights, police brutality and white supremacy.
Nearly every few weeks in 1961 there was a critical battle for civil rights, where children, young adults and longtime activists risked their lives to fight for voting rights and the integration of schools, businesses, public transit and libraries. They were set on fire, imprisoned, beaten, forced to work in chain gangs, attacked with dogs.
Despite those challenges, these Black Americans and their allies made significant strides in knocking down the walls of segregation. And in a critical shift, more organizations joined together in the fight and made voting rights a central focus of the civil rights movement.
How did it all happen? How does this all relate to today? Hear from those who made history and dive into the project here.
Watch, read, listen and feel:
- This animated video explores how Black organizers created formalized protests to challenge white supremacy and forever change the nation.
- ‘You could be killed any minute’: Civil rights era veterans share the danger and horror of standing up to white supremacy. Hear history from the people who made it.
- Listen to protest songs from the 1800s to today, from “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” to “Fight the Power.”
- Join Paste BN to discuss community leaders’ roles in helping fight systemic racism at our event on Sept. 29.
More reads worth your time
Going 'off the derech' | There are few statistics available on the number of people who leave strict Jewish communities. But the departures are common enough that the ultra-Orthodox have a name for the defectors: Off the Derech, or OTD ("derech" meaning "path" in Hebrew). The departures stem from a sense of disenfranchisement, more so than any doctrinal differences, said Mark Zelcer, a professor in New York who grew up ultra-Orthodox but has left the community.
Know thy tenant | Philadelphia had 20,000 eviction filings a year before the pandemic. Of those, roughly 5,000 ended in eviction. After the city passed sweeping reforms mandating landlords apply for rental relief and participate in diversion programs, 92% of evictions were resolved. People stayed in their homes. Landlords got paid. As communities across the nation prepare for a tsunami of eviction filings with the recent end of the federal COVID-19 eviction protections program, Philadelphia provides a model for a more humane and effective way of getting landlords and tenants help.
Crisis in Haiti | The images of U.S. border agents using aggressive tactics to keep Haitian migrants from crossing the Rio Grande have rippled across America. But in Les Cayes, a port city in southern Haiti devastated by last month's 7.2-magnitude earthquake, there are more urgent, more dire concerns. "I lost everything. I don't have a house to go to," said Bernade Jean, a mother of three.
Biden's falling poll numbers | This week brought new lows for President Joe Biden: Gallup found his rating has fallen to 43%, a 6-percentage decline since August and the lowest of his presidency. The drop comes as his social safety-net and climate agenda are in peril as progressive and moderate Democrats battle over their size and scope. Perhaps most troubling for Biden: His support among independent voters – who helped carry him to victory over Donald Trump in last year's election – has cratered.
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Thanks for reading,
Kristina and Lindsay
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