“A former Ku Klux Klan hall in Texas is becoming an arts center — one of several racist landmarks across the U.S. that communities are trying to turn from symbols of terror into sites of reparation,” Axios reports.
“Years after the backlash against Confederate monuments, new fights have emerged over what to do with remaining physical reminders of particularly hurtful racism — tear them down, preserve them, reinterpret them or return them to communities harmed by them.”
Wall Street Journal: “The unprecedented mid-decade redrawing of maps by both parties has shaken voters across the country, but it is having an amplified impact in many Southern states where Black voters are set to lose power. Those states, including Alabama as well as Tennessee and Louisiana, have new freedom to draw maps without having to carve out majority-minority seats under rules that emerged from the civil-rights era.”
“The Trump administration is conducting a far-reaching investigation into whether Yale University’s admissions practices violate anti-discrimination laws, prompting one of the country’s most elite schools to pursue settlement talks with the government,” the New York Times reports.
“The Justice Department last month accused Yale’s medical school of giving illegal preferential treatment to Black and Hispanic applicants. But the department’s review is reaching beyond the medical school, the people said, encompassing undergraduate and law school admissions as well.”
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Axios: “The holiday’s staying power shows how Black history can be absorbed into calendars, payroll systems and public rituals even as the post-2020 commitments that gave it renewed force are renamed, narrowed or abandoned.”
“The holiday is enduring by becoming quieter, more internal and routine.”
“Juneteenth remains a federal holiday, and President Trump cannot cancel it unilaterally despite his attacks on it.”
Richard Kahlenberg: “Racial preferences in college admissions have long been deeply unpopular, and three years ago, the Supreme Court declared them unlawful, in a sweeping ruling that portended doom for other race-conscious policies to promote diversity or remedy past discrimination. Some research indicates that, in the aftermath of the civil-rights era, the achievement gap between rich and poor students now dwarfs the gap between white and Black students.”
“Even so, well-intentioned blue-state Democrats keep pushing for race-based affirmative action, to their own political detriment, rather than supporting a much fairer policy of providing a leg up to economically disadvantaged people of all races.”
“William Paul, the son of Sen. Rand Paul, drunkenly hurled antisemitic insults at Republican Rep. Mike Lawler at a Capitol Hill bar and restaurant on Tuesday evening,” NOTUS reports.
An internal government database reviewed by the Washington Post demonstrates the vast scope of the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to revise or remove information on African American history, climate change and other topics at hundreds of national park sites.
“Brother Newsom could’ve taken a humanistic approach! He could’ve said, ‘I’m just like you. I was born of a woman. I’ll face loss, pain, and death just like anyone else.’ But instead, when he thinks of Black people, he brings up low SAT scores. That mindset sits at the core of white supremacy—the belief that Black people are less beautiful, less moral, less intelligent! Don’t play with us like that Gavin Newsom!”
— Cornel West, on X.
“The Department of Homeland Security has hired a social media manager from the Department of Labor for a key communications job, despite posts he made on Labor Department media accounts that raised internal alarms over possible white-nationalist messaging,” the New York Times reports.
“I am, by the way, the least racist president you’ve had in a long time, as far as I’m concerned.”
President Trump, speaking to reporters.
“President Trump called Sen. Tim Scott on Friday after the South Carolina Republican publicly urged the president to remove a reposted video depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes,” CBS News reports.
“During the conversation, Mr. Trump told Scott, who is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, that the repost was a staffer’s mistake and said he would take it down.”
“Even if this was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context to this. The White House should do what anyone does when they make a mistake: remove this and apologize.”
— Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), on X, on a video President Trump posted depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.
“President Trump on Friday morning removed a racist image showing former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama portrayed as apes after outrage over the post,” CNBC reports.
“Why are GOP leaders like John Thune continuing to stand by this sick individual? Every single Republican must immediately denounce Donald Trump’s disgusting bigotry.”
— House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, on a video President Trump posted depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it.”
— Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), quoted by the Wall Street Journal, on a video President Trump posted depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.
Yair Rosenberg: “The activist’s assassination unleashed anti-Semitism that is pulling the Trump coalition apart.”
“The posts have referred to neo-Nazi literature, ethnic cleansing and QAnon conspiracies, mused about deporting nearly a third of the U.S. population, and promoted lyrics from an anthem bellowed by the far-right militants of the Proud Boys,” the New York Times reports.
“Their authors are not on society’s fringe. They are in the offices of the White House and the departments of Homeland Security and Labor, using official government accounts.”
“To some people, the administration’s posts sound patriotic. Others might sense at most a faint dog whistle to extremists. Some posts may just look odd. But those well-versed in the abstruse codes of right-wing extremism hear klaxons.”
President Trump said in an interview that he believed civil rights-era protections resulted in white people being “very badly treated,” his strongest indication that the concept of “reverse discrimination” is driving his aggressive crusade against diversity policies, the New York Times reports.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.