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The Roundup Top Ten for September 3, 2021

Uncovering and Protecting the Black History of Nantucket

by Tiya Miles

"Although the Black community of New Guinea has passed into history, its mark on the landscape remains, a reminder that Nantucket was once a place of working-class ingenuity and Black daring."

What if the Coronavirus Crisis Is Just a Trial Run?

by Adam Tooze

The disjointed and haphazard global response to the COVID pandemic bodes poorly for the world's capacity for coordinated action to face inevitable crisies in the near future. The problem isn't a lack of means but a lack of commitment to collective action.

70 Years after the UN Refugee Convention, the US Needs to Commit to Help Displaced People

by Linda K. Kerber

The UN Refugee Convention does not impose any real obligations on any nation to offer asylum. The United States must lead the way in recognition of the deeply interconnected world created in large part by American power.

Hurricane Ida Shows the Climate Dystopia Ahead for All of Us

by Andy Horowitz

"Structural problems need structural solutions. Don’t give charity to Louisiana because it’s unique. Demand that Congress take meaningful action, because Louisiana is not unique, and you may be next."

Daddy Issues

by Bethany Moreton

White American Christians have embraced aggressive patriarchy as access to social and economic power has become more concentrated in fewer hands. 

Black Women and Civil War Pensions

by Holly A. Pinheiro, Jr.

Widows and surviving children of Black veterans of the Civil War used their status as pensioners to claim belonging in the nation, but authorities frequently allowed notions of respectability rooted in white supremacy to undermine them. 

The Agency of the Irresponsible

by Sarah Swedberg

When universities bend to political pressure and adopt "personal responsibility" policies for vaccination, masking, and social distancing they give agency to the irresponsible and take it away from those who are actively working to protect public health. 

Don't Buy Egyptian Antiquities – Even Fakes

by Erin L. Thompson

Buying antiquities without due diligence into their provenance feeds a black market for looted archaeological objects. 

There's No "Labor Shortage," Just a Shortage of Wages and Worker Protection

by Lane Windham

American workers, especially women, aren't being lazy. They're taking part in an unrecognized general strike against low wages, inadequate childcare, and dangerous workplaces made more dangerous by COVID. 

Socialist Actor Ed Asner Fought for Labor

by Jeff Schuhrke

Ed Asner fought for the representation of small-time actors in the Screen Actors Guild and protested American support for right-wing autocrats in Central America.