New Yorker: How Pandemics Wreak Havoc—and Open Minds. “Great crises tend to bring profound social change, for good or ill. The consequences of wars and economic depressions have been amply studied; the consequences of pandemics, less so. This spring, in order to understand our possible future, I decided to look at the past through the eyes of Gianna Pomata, a retired professor at the Institute of the History of Medicine, at Johns Hopkins University. When we first talked, on Skype, she immediately compared covid-19 to the bubonic plague that struck Europe in the fourteenth century—’not in the number of dead but in terms of shaking up the way people think.’ She went on, ‘The Black Death really marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of something else.’ That something else was the Renaissance.”
social change
WashU Expert: How to document the protests (Washington University in St. Louis)
Washington University in St. Louis: WashU Expert: How to document the protests. “Americans across the nation are documenting today’s protests through photography and video, often posting their content on Instagram, Twitter and other social media feeds. But is that the safest way to preserve these historic images? No, said Miranda Rectenwald, curator of local history at University Libraries at Washington University in St. Louis. She has created a list of resources from Documenting the Now, the Blacktivists and more, to help protest participants preserve their content for the long term.”
Observer: Feeling Heat, Mark Zuckerberg Will Meet With Civil Rights Groups Boycotting Facebook
Observer: Feeling Heat, Mark Zuckerberg Will Meet With Civil Rights Groups Boycotting Facebook. “While the boycott may not make a significant dent in the company’s income, global brands such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola publicly calling for the platform to change is a big deal. And after a team of top Facebook executives failed to talk those advertisers out of it, CEO Mark Zuckerberg finally agreed to meet with the civil rights groups behind the boycott and hear what they want, a spokesperson confirmed to Reuters late Tuesday.”
New York Times: How Social Media Has Changed Civil Rights Protests
New York Times: How Social Media Has Changed Civil Rights Protests. “Omar Wasow is steeped in both social media and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. And he marvels at how the two have melded in the current demonstrations against racial injustice and police brutality. Wasow, a professor at Princeton University and co-founder of the pioneering social network BlackPlanet.com, said social media was helping publicize police brutality and galvanizing public support for protesters’ goals — a role that his research found conventional media played a half century ago. And he said he believed that the internet was making it easier to organize social movements today, for good and for ill.”
Nikkei Asian Review: Tiananmen museum seeks funds to preserve crackdown relics online
Nikkei Asian Review: Tiananmen museum seeks funds to preserve crackdown relics online. “The operators of the world’s only museum dedicated to preserving the memory of the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen crackdown have begun a global crowdfunding drive to take their collection online, prodded by the looming national security law Beijing plans to impose in Hong Kong.”
New York Times: Will the Pandemic Slow New York’s Progressive Momentum?
New York Times: Will the Pandemic Slow New York’s Progressive Momentum?. “After helping Democrats win control of New York State’s government two years ago, progressives envisioned 2020 as the year to expand their foothold in the State Capitol in Albany. They would use a proven playbook: Progressive groups would recruit liberal-minded newcomers to challenge entrenched Democratic state legislators whom they regarded as too moderate, and who had run unopposed for years. But just as they were getting their grass-roots campaigns off the ground, the coronavirus descended on New York, dampening efforts to push the State Legislature leftward in the June 23 primary elections.”
ABC News: Smithsonian museums collecting White House protest signs to preserve slice of history
ABC News: Smithsonian museums collecting White House protest signs to preserve slice of history. “Several museums moved to preserve a slice of history in Washington on Wednesday by taking steps to keep some of the signs protesters strung along a fence near the White House after the death of George Floyd.”
‘Dead’ links and ‘missing’ systemic changes: Inside Google’s response to the George Floyd protests (NBC News)
NBC News: ‘Dead’ links and ‘missing’ systemic changes: Inside Google’s response to the George Floyd protests. “Ten current and former Google employees spoke to NBC News about the internal dynamics at the company on the condition of anonymity because of strict company policies against speaking to news organizations, as well as non-disclosure agreements signed by ex-employees. The sources pointed to rising complaints from some black Google employees about how the company has responded to the ongoing protests in support of racial justice and against police violence, exacerbated by what they see as the company’s retreat on diversity and inclusion initiatives.”
Campaigns & Elections: How Social Media Has Powered America’s Racial Justice Protests
Campaigns & Elections: How Social Media Has Powered America’s Racial Justice Protests. “Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have become as much a part of the racial-justice protests sweeping America as handmade signs, water bottles and face masks. Besides helping activists flood the streets, monitor the police, mobilize supporters and raise money, mobile apps and social media platforms have brought the American public right to the front lines.”
Brooklyn Paper: Brooklyn Arts Organizations Open Their Spaces To Protesters
Brooklyn Paper: Brooklyn Arts Organizations Open Their Spaces To Protesters. “Brooklyn theater and cultural institutions have started opening their buildings and offering snacks, water, and other resources to protesters marching around the borough decrying the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer…. An online database called Open Your Lobby has logged and promoted many of these efforts, with maps and spreadsheets detailing what organizations are offering and at what times on what days. The group provides regular updates tailored to where protests are happening across the country.”
Wired: Protests Renew Scrutiny of Tech’s Ties to Law Enforcement
Wired: Protests Renew Scrutiny of Tech’s Ties to Law Enforcement. “THE COLLECTIVE OUTRAGE over the murder of George Floyd has led to nationwide protests, renewed calls for police reform, and uncharacteristically swift support for racial equity from Silicon Valley leaders. The backlash has been swift as well. Critics are calling out many companies now pledging support for Black Lives Matter, accusing them of failing to stop racist language on their platforms and, in some cases, enabling the over-policing and surveillance that protesters now march against.”
BetaNews: More tech companies issue statements about George Floyd’s death and the continuing protests
BetaNews: More tech companies issue statements about George Floyd’s death and the continuing protests. “Obviously, unless you’ve just returned from hiking the Appalachian Trail, you know the current events in the world. If you haven’t been absent from society then the news has been hard to avoid. Now two more tech companies have added their voices to the incident in Minneapolis that involved four law enforcement officers and one citizen, George Floyd, and resulted in his death. Protests, some peaceful others violent, have broken out in cities across the US, including in small towns not accustomed to such events. They have even somewhat spread to other parts of the world, including London and Paris.”
Sightlines: As Austin museums react to the Black Lives Matter movement, bigger issues emerge
Sightlines: As Austin museums react to the Black Lives Matter movement, bigger issues emerge. “After the #BlackoutTuesday campaign kicked off a social media frenzy, many cultural institutions and museums reacted to pressure from protestors on social media to release public statements of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. It prompted national museum leaders to react. ‘As a community, I do not think art museums have done enough,’ wrote Chris Anagnos executive director of Association of Art Museum Directors, in a statement issued June 1. ‘We have dabbled around the edges of the work, but in our place of privilege we will never live up to the statement that “museums are for everyone” unless we begin to confront, examine and dismantle the various structures that brought us to this point.'”
NPR: How To Identify Misinformation (And Disinformation) About The Protests
NPR: How To Identify Misinformation (And Disinformation) About The Protests. “In the 1960s, as news of protests broke, Americans were glued to their television screens. Now, when something significant happens, many people open their Twitter, Facebook or Instagram feed. An engaged democracy requires information. But what effect does it have when some of the information citizens receive is false?” This is 34 minutes of audio but unfortunately I don’t see a transcript.
Vice: Police Violence at Protests Is Undeniable. All the Videos Are Right Here
Vice: Police Violence at Protests Is Undeniable. All the Videos Are Right Here. “Filming police brutality is always dangerous. But during these protests, the sheer volume of it that has been caught on camera and circulated online speaks to the fact that Americans are fed up and ready to press record, whatever the risk. Lawyer T. Greg Doucette and mathematician Jason Miller are working on compiling these clips and images of violence in a public Google Sheet, titled ‘GeorgeFloyd Protest – police brutality videos on Twitter.'”
