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Democrats' Embrace of Education "Reform" Paved Way for DeSantis

by Nora De La Cour

Decades of stressing metrics, measurement and job-readiness has created a vacuum where a robust public discussion of the role of public schools in nurturing shared humanity should be. Conservatives are now eagerly filling this vacuum with privatization and "classical education" curricula. 

The Metrics Show New College of Florida Isn't Broken—Why is DeSantis Trying to "Fix" It?

"New College outperforms other Florida public institutions of higher learning and most of the conservative colleges and universities that DeSantis’s trustees point to as models for how they want to remake the school."

Historical Data on Mosquito Range Shows Climate Change is Spreading Malaria Risk

Data stretching back to 1898 show mosquitoes spreading further from the equator in Africa year by year, with recent acceleration consistent with climate change estimates.

Atlanta's HBCU Students Call on Administrators to Oppose "Cop City"

Students say that the proposed training facility in south Atlanta will prepare more police to engage in paramilitary suppression of protest and denounced statements by administrators pledging support for "Cop City." 

Forensic Experts: Chilean Poet and Pinochet Opponent Pablo Neruda Killed by Poison in 1973

The poet, a Communist and ally of democratically-elected President Salvador Allende, died shortly after the coup that installed General Augusto Pinochet as dictator. There had been longstanding suspicion of the official explanation of his death. 

The Network Helping Russia's War Resisters Escape

“In a situation where everyone is against you, including your own relatives, who think that you are a traitor and are ready to hang you from the nearest lamppost, I was extremely pleased to discover that there are people who don’t know you at all, who’ve never seen you, and they are ready to help,” said Oleg Zavyalov, 31.

For Native Hawaiians, February 14 is About the Death of Captain James Cook

The indigenous Hawai'ian resistance to the efforts of Cook to control the islands remains a key moment both in the colonial history of the islands and for the native culture. 

Evidence of Political Pressure in Firing of West Va. Radio Reporter

Insiders claim a growing pattern of political pressure from the office of Governor Jim Justice to use the threat of defunding to defang public radio coverage of state affairs. 

Latest from Florida: DeSantis Suggests State Can "Do Without" College Board

Such a move would have serious consequences for the College Board's revenue, but also potentially hurt Florida high school students by depriving them of rigorous courses. Florida currently pays students' AP testing fees and has the fifth highest per capita rate of students taking AP tests.

Why the Larouche Conspiracy Cult Keeps On

If the followers of Lyndon Larouche seem to be fading from the public square, perhaps it's because the sensibility of the movement has been so much absorbed by the mainstream. 

College Board Defends AP Course Decisions

The Board stated that it regretted failing to make its disagreements with Florida's assessment of the course as lacking in educational value, and that it had betrayed the trust of scholars who had worked with it to develop the course. 

In a Final Act, Can Bernie Sanders Make Senate Hearings a Catalyst for Left Populism?

If the Vermont Senator has failed to win the presidency or to rally the Democratic establishment to his positions, he may yet be able to force CEOs to answer questions publicly about how their business practices harm workers, consumers, and the environment. Will it inspire a left turn in the electorate? 

African American Policy Forum Announces #TruthBeTold Campaign

The AAPF is launching an interactive project to monitor efforts to ban books, censor classes, and punish teachers, and to offer reader the opportunity to share their valued experiences with antiracist education. 

Margaret Atwood: Go Ahead and Ban My Book

The novelist responds to the recent banning of "The Handmaid's Tale" by a Virginia county with assurances that forbidden knowledge has never been suppressible. 

The Virgin of Guadalupe is a Constant on the Changing Streets of Los Angeles

The image of the Virgin Mary is both a protector of small businesses and a symbol of ethnic pride across Los Angeles; photographer Oscar Rodriguez Zapata has been documenting her appearances for a decade. 

Roslyn Pope, 84: Co-Author of "Appeal to Human Rights" Catalyzed Atlanta Student Movement

Pope and co-author Julian Bond punctured Atlanta's self-satisfied mythology as "the city too busy to hate" by cataloguing the institutional and cultural attacks on Black residents' dignity, demanding change. 

Why is Italy's Far Right Embracing Dante?

Italy's original Fascists embraced Dante as a marker of national chauvinism, and a prophet of authoritarianism; today's far right has renewed their enthusiasm for the poet. 

An Unlikely Coalition Trying to Save a Nashville Black Landmark

A Nashville Elks lodge building was the 1960s home of a music club where superstars of Black music—and the yet-to-be famous Jimi Hendrix—played during the segregation era. Like many such landmarks, decades of highway building broke up the surrounding community and made the building endangered today. 

Documents Show Extensive Contact Between Florida Officials and College Board over Past Year

The revelation, first made by the right-wing Daily Caller but confirmed by the Florida Department of Education, calls into question the College Board's claims that it was not influenced by pressure from Florida officials. Scholars question the College Board's commitment to academic integrity. 

Evaluating the Perpetually Forthcoming Racial Reckoning

Journalist Wesley Lowery turns to a rereading of James Baldwin and Derrick Bell to consider how the racial identity of the officers who beat Tyre Nichols to death fits into the history of American racism.