Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom begins with what seems at first like a harrowing journey. Netflix’s new adaptation of the late August Wilson’s play opens with a foreboding shot of the woods; the only noises are of crickets chirping, dogs barking, and young Black men gasping for air as they sprint through the trees. But then, we hear the music.
Illustration by Trevor Davis; family photos courtesy of Arun Venugopal; other images by Federico Benocci / Eyeem / Getty; Tim Abramowitz / Getty; Michelle Marsan / ShutterstockThis article was published online on December 19, 2020.In 1978, several years after leaving India and coming to Texas, my parents decided to move out of our middle-class neighborhood in southwest Houston.
He’s been trading them for his friends’ lunches at school.
The day I visited St. Thomas the Apostle School in Peckham, South London, a new shutdown was announced for Britain’s capital. But the comprehensive—a public high-school, in American parlance—was open. It was freezing: Doors were propped open for ventilation. Pupils chattered in the playground while wearing face coverings emblazoned with the school logo. For all that, the experience felt surprisingly normal.
Disgraceful mass transit, record pedestrian deaths, uncontrolled emissions—transportation could use someone with ambition.
Tune in for a conversation about making music and not being afraid of self-promotion.
First, we were trapped for six months off the American coast—and then it got even darker.
Officials said they expect the U.S. economy to shrink by 2.4 percent this year, a brighter forecast than they offered just three months ago.
Vaccine euphoria is giving economic forecasters hope for a blockbuster 2021 and stretching stock market valuations to historic highs. It’s a setup that leaves no room for error.
A former high-level employee at Heather Boushey’s think tank publicly aired the accusations on Tuesday night.
“That disqualifies almost every Republican senator and 90 percent of the administration,” the president-elect said of GOP criticism.
Taxpayers are backing more than a trillion dollars in home mortgages, but the agencies buying them are neglecting to consider climate risks.
Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week
33 DAYS UNTIL JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS TAKE THE OATH OF OFFICE
Felipe de la Hoz at The New Republic writes—Trump’s Most Vicious Cultists Aren’t Done With America. They gleefully enabled a corrupt president for years.
A Friday briefing on the Russian hack into “SolarWinds” networking software on government sites left members of Congress frustrated as officials shared less information than what was already available from public sources. Meanwhile Donald Trump has finally mentioned Russia on Twitter, except it wasn’t to admit to Russia’s massive hack into federal systems, or even to finally condemn Russia’s paying bounties for the murder of American soldiers. Nope.
As widely reported earlier this week, President-elect Joe Biden has chosen former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to run the Department of Energy (DOE) and former Environmental Protection Administration Chief Gina McCarthy to run a new White House office on climate change. Both women have strong environmental records and can be expected to be assertive key figures in the Biden administration, which is making the climate crisis a top priority.
Neeta Lind, aka Navajo, is retiring at the the end of the year.
She is our beloved Director of Community. I don’t know when she actually started working here and I can’t bother to look it up because to me, Neeta has been tirelessly organizing this community from the very beginning. There is no Daily Kos without her. And I don’t know how you bid farewell to a friend, coworker, and resident diva.
A grandmother of 12 contracted COVID-19 in April and spent 20 days in the hospital at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. KTLA reports that Margarita Montañez was unable to see her family during this time, which included almost two weeks spent on a ventilator. On Thursday, Montañez tried to give a little back to the many medical staff, because she says she “appreciated the doctors and the nurses that helped me.
A complaint to the Federal Election Commission claims American Made Media Consultants shields the identities of fund recipients.
GOP Senators are holding a relief deal hostage in order to kneecap the Fed—and the Biden administration—in a crisis.
On Thursday, an independent FDA advisory panel endorsed use of the shot for people over 18.
Public health experts say a broader mix of vaccination sites is needed to reach as many people as possible.
The Electoral College’s Monday vote to formally make Joe Biden the 46th president caps a weeks-long process of the former vice president having his victory affirmed again and again. But a Biden win, even in the primaries, didn’t always seem like a sure thing.After Biden came in fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire, his hopes rested on South Carolina. And key to his victory there—and to his ultimately successful candidacy—was an endorsement from Jim Clyburn.
The chosen name reminded many people of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and “The Handmaid’s Tale.
Top infectious disease doctor waits on shot despite being “ready to go.
Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox.This holiday season, there is reason for hope: The development of vaccines means the end of this pandemic is in sight. But in the meantime, travel and social gatherings remain ill-advised, and many Americans are spending the final days of 2020 without the comfort of loved ones.
Coronavirus relief negotiations remain fragile and uncertain.
The mail system is buckling right now. Here’s why.
As he accepted the Republican nomination for president in summer 2016, Donald Trump promised, “We will make America safe again.”“The most basic duty of government is to defend the lives of its citizens,” he said. “Any government that fails to do so is a government unworthy to lead.
Despite belonging to different parties, the two men used to be good friends. Then the senator became one of Donald Trump’s staunchest supporters.
