Civil War on the Left, Part 61: Identity Politics Dilemmas

This is one of those blogging equivalents to Hannibal Smith on the "A-Team," who liked to sign off with, "I love it when a plan comes together!" In this case, I get to day, "I love it when a 'Civil War on the Left' entry writes itself." This, from Robert Kuttner at the left-leaning American Prospect : Race, Class, and Loyalty.

Ira Berlin, 1941-2018

Ira Berlin, who died on June 5 at the age of 77, was one of the outstanding historians of his generation, whose writings on slavery and African-American culture transformed how scholars think about these crucial aspects of the American past. He also made a deep mark as a documentary editor, as founder of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project at the University of Maryland, which has made accessible thousands of previously unexamined documents in the National Archives relating to the vast human drama of emancipation.

Why Florida Democrats can’t count on the so-called ‘black vote’

Florida's midterm Senate election is a race to watch this November - and not just because it will be a tight match pitting a sitting governor, Republican Rick Scott, against a sitting senator, Democrat Bill Nelson. But my research on minority politics in the South shows that it is time to re-examine old assumptions about Florida's so-called "black vote."

PHOTO: Book cover of ‘This Fight Is Our Fight’ by Elizabeth Warren.

On a Tuesday evening in February 2017, I stood up on the floor of the U.S. Senate and launched into a review of the record of President Donald Trump's nominee for Attorney General, Senator Jeff Sessions. Part way into my speech, I started reading a letter written by Coretta Scott King.

Is Roseanne Barr what America has Become?

The cancellation of Roseanne Barr's situation comedy reboot at ABC/Disney is not, as some of my more serious acquaintances on social media are saying, unimportant. Barr's attack via Twitter on former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett , is an important moment in American cultural history.

Kremlin says Mueller’s Russia investigation is pointless

Harvard study estimates thousands died in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria - CAGUAS, PUERTO RICO - At least 4,645 people died as a result of Hurricane Maria and its devastation across Puerto Rico last year, according to a new Harvard study released Tuesday, an estimate that far exceeds A New Study Says Nearly 6,000 Died In Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria. The Government Still Says 64 People Died.

People Are Questioning Donald Trump’s Motives For Pardoning Legendary Boxer Jack Johnson

On Thursday, President Donald Trump granted a posthumous presidential pardon to legendary boxer Jack Johnson, the first African-American boxing heavyweight champion. Johnson, who died in 1946, was convicted of violating The Mann Act in 1913 after taking his white wife, Lucille Cameron, across state lines for what the white jury called "immoral purpose."

Black women look to flex power in Georgia governor’s race

This week's primary election in Georgia presents black women voters with a rare opportunity: To give a Democrat who looks like them a chance at occupying the governor's mansion in a Republican-controlled state. A Democratic primary win Tuesday for Stacey Abrams or Stacey Evans - both lawyers and former state lawmakers - means Georgia could elect its first woman governor later this year.

Al Sharpton: Royal Wedding Shows ‘Last Breath’ of White Male Supremacy

Al Sharpton told his supporters Saturday that the royal wedding on Saturday showed white male supremacy is on its last breath. Al Sharpton said the royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who is biracial, is a sign that white supremacy is "on its last breath."

Connie Schultz: You, too, would do this to save your child

Three years ago, on the 50th anniversary of the march from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights, I sat in an Alabama church pew with then-Sen. Jeff Sessions. He wore the flushed, impatient face of someone who had to be there.

2 Democrats vie to become Georgia’s first woman governor Source: AP

One spent much of her childhood in trailers, raised by her mother, college made possible partly by a lottery scholarship and other grants. The other grew up in a working-class, African-American household in the Deep South, her path to law school also paved with financial aid.

2 Democrats vie to become Georgia’s first woman governor

One spent much of her childhood in trailers, raised by her mother, college made possible partly by a lottery scholarship and other grants. The other grew up in a working-class, African-American household in the Deep South, her path to law school also paved with financial aid.

Primary Election: Five Democrats vie for state House 43rd nomination

Five Democrats are seeking the party's nomination for the House of Representatives District 43 seat, which is being vacated by 22-year incumbent Clyde Kersey, who has decided to retire. Those vying for the nomination are Mark Bird, former Vigo County Council member and director of the county weights and measures department; Sylvester Edwards, past president of the Greater Terre Haute branch of the NAACP; Norm Loudermilk, a division chief with the Terre Haute Fire Department fire prevention bureau and former Terre Haute city council member; Chad Overton, owner of ServPro and other businesses; and Tonya Pfaff, a Vigo County School Corp. math teacher for the past 24 years.

CNN’s W Kamau Bell demolishes Trump’s sudden discovery that Lincoln freed the slaves

" show on the same network, commentator W. Kamau Bell was asked about a little-commented upon portion of President Donald Trump's rambling phone-call into "Fox & Friends" on Thursday morning where the president blurted that Lincoln freed the slaves as if it was news. Speaking with co-hosts Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota, Bell was shown a clip of Trump speaking to the stunned "Fox & Friends" hosts, with the president responding to whether Republicans have "ignored" the black community.