Will Jones

@willpjones.bsky.social

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Historian of race and class in U.S.; Author: The March on Washington & The Tribe of Black Ulysses; Professor, University of Minnesota; Past President @lawcha.bsky.social; "Up For Debate" Editor @laborlawchajournal.bsky.social

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Harris-Whitmer 2024?

Maybe I now have brainworms but 👀👀👀 to Whitmer name checking Harris *before* Biden.

True. But his disability did not prevent him from being a an effective leader, which is the implication of the Economist cover.

FDR kept his declining health secret during his last year of life, including his 4th run for office. He failed to tell Truman or prepare him for succeeding him during wartime, and he died suddenly of a massive stroke at the age of 63.

The Way To Run A Country

IMO this is a straight-up ageist and ableist image, no?

Don't miss Kent Wong's powerful eulogy to Rev. James Lawson, who Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to as “the greatest teacher of nonviolence in America.”

On Losing “the Greatest Teacher of Nonviolence in America”inthesetimes.com Rev. James Lawson was my teacher, mentor and friend. We must commit to honoring his legacy.

Cool that Brooke Shields was elected president of Actor's Equity. She "won the vote by members, defeating two more-seasoned labor activists," but @nytimes.com still calls her "a Labor Boss." Bosses aren't elected - stop using that slur for labor leaders!

Brooke Shields Has Worn Many Hats. Now She’s a Labor Boss.www.nytimes.com The model-turned-actress-turned-businesswoman is the new president of Actors’ Equity. In an interview, she explained what she’s doing there.

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Popehat

Philadelphia Inquirer: Vader should drop out.

To serve his country, Donald Trump should leave the race | Editorial Boardwww.inquirer.com Biden had a horrible night Thursday. But the debate about the debate is misplaced. The only person who should withdraw from the race is Trump.

Now for a moment of sanity www.inquirer.com/opinion/edit...

Contact your representative to stop cuts to passenger rail.

Rail Passengers Association sent out a notice that the US House is trying to cut rail funding again. This press release from yesterday has more detail, including zeroing out the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Rail funding pot www.railpassengers.org/happening-no...

Rail Passengers Association | Washington, DCwww.railpassengers.org The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development advanced the bill to the full Committee, which hold its markup on July 10th.

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Commentary: MPD "coaching" purports to deal with misconduct with extra training or meeting with a supervisor. The city claims that this doesn’t amount to discipline, so no publicly available records are kept. You can imagine the problem.

City Council should use its leverage on police contract to end MPD 'coaching' secrecy • Minnesota Reformerminnesotareformer.com The City Council should refuse to ratify any contract that contains the poison pill ruse of coaching as non-disciplinary and non-public.

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“Mayor Jacob Frey says that this is a good contract. He is wrong.” We need more normies like Ostrow speaking against the MPD contract. minnesotareformer.com/2024/06/27/c...

A great overview of the problems with UMN President Ettinger's intervention in the hiring of Raz Segal - written before the Faculty Senate voted no confidence in Ettinger and Provost Rachel Croson (CLA faculty had already voted on this).

OPINION EXCHANGE | U administration overstepped authority in revoking Raz Segal's job offerwww.startribune.com All of the processes that led to the offer to direct the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies followed long-established protocols.

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We still do 🗃️

The Baltimore Sun on some of the eminent historians—including John Hope Franklin, C. Vann Woodward, Richard Hofstadter, and Martin Duberman—who took part in the Selma to Montgomery civil rights protest in March, 1965.

"The university is not a community center. Its independence must not be subverted by subjecting it to “community” control. It has a mission: to produce knowledge and advance scholarly inquiry, even when controversial — perhaps especially when controversial." Alexander Jabbari

Community Groups Shouldn’t Dictate Academic Hiringwww.chronicle.com Recently, the University of Minnesota tarnished its reputation by caving to community pressure over the hiring of a director for its Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

www.startribune.com/university-o...

The University of Minnesota Faculty Senate just voted to "approve a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Interim President Ettinger and Provost Croson due to their unprecedented interventions into faculty hiring processes." @umn-tc-aaup.bsky.social

Administrative Interference in CLA Hiringwww.umn-tc-aaup.org There is an urgent matter related to the recent search for a director of CLA’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (CHGS). In a series of events reminiscent of the Steven Salaita case ,...

University of Minnesota faculty votes ‘no confidence’ in interim presidentwww.startribune.com The largely symbolic vote comes as Jeff Ettinger’s last week leading the U of M and amid ongoing debate over academic freedom and tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.

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Available for pre-order now! www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...

Labor history nerd alert! @lawcha.bsky.social 🗃️@illinoispress.bsky.social

A David Montgomery Readerwww.press.uillinois.edu

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Thank you Minneapolis for a Better Police Contract for your presentation at our public hearing last night! We have so many amazing experts in our city and it's been a priority for me to put that community expertise front and center at City Hall. 🧵

In 2020, Mayor Frey described the MPD contract as a "nearly impenetrable barrier” to disciplining cops like Derek Chauvin. If Mayor Frey wants to move forward with a 21% raise for MPD, our communities need to see the robust reforms that we've been promised for years in return.

Labor history nerd alert! @lawcha.bsky.social 🗃️@illinoispress.bsky.social

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okay, actually saw a good tweet, this is rare and i wish greta kaul was on here

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Today in the Strib, you can read my time-honored message: zoning changes, both local and statewide, really can help address our housing problems. m.startribune.com/counterpoint...

OPINION EXCHANGE | Counterpoint: Actually, zoning changes are an answerm.startribune.com The land use status quo has long served to allow some cities to exclude affordable housing, in both explicit and implicit ways.

I missed my connection in Chicago but there was another train a few hours later, so I’m almost home!

The bus reminded me how much nicer trains are - spacious seats, large windows, decent bathrooms, food and water. But the bus was packed. We have demand for affordable long distance public transit. We can make it much more reliable and enjoyable.

A bridge fire cancelled my Pittsburgh to Chicago train. I chose a bus to Chicago over waiting 24 hours for the next train. I could have taken a shorter bus to Cleveland but worried I’d miss the train and have to wait there. 2nd daily trains would have given me much better choices.

Thoughts on the return trip: Train from Philly to Pittsburgh went 80-90 most of the way but got caught behind a freight train and arrived 2 hours late. Amtrak needs its own lines and passenger priority needs enforcement.

There is one train daily from Chicago to DC, one from Chicago to NYC, and one that takes a long route through DC and up to NYC. Adding frequency to these, or even to segments along them (Chicago to Cleveland and/or Pittsburgh and the same cities to DC and NYC) would benefit both short and long trips

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"A disconnect has long existed between even progressive states’ climate goals and the status quo of highway construction. The new law attempts to integrate climate action into state & local transportation planning." www.minnpost.com/other-nonpro...

Minnesota highway projects will need to consider climate impactswww.minnpost.com All major Minnesota highway projects will need to account for and mitigate climate impacts to qualifying for state funding.

Nice to see Ethelene Whitmire’s important work acknowledged here.

How Black Librarians Helped Create Generations of Black Literature Recent scholarship is uncovering the role of the women who ran libraries during the Harlem Renaissance where they built collections and communities of writers and readers www.nytimes.com/2024/06/19/a...

How Black Librarians Helped Create Generations of Black Literaturewww.nytimes.com Recent scholarship is uncovering the role of the women who ran libraries during the Harlem Renaissance where they built collections and, just as important, communities of writers and readers.

“You gotta party for your right to fight!”

That's what any Black Texan will tell you about Juneteenth, is it's not just about a party, it's about cooperatively practicing survival & resistance while partying. @chadstanton.bsky.social

But the bottom line is that we need to invest in this system. It's a great way to travel and can be much more efficient, more safe, and more pleasant than driving or flying. We need to make it more accessible for people who don't have the flexibility that I do, and more reliable for all of us.

I nearly made my connection but a fire stopped all train traffic in Chicago. Instead of taking the Capitol Limited to Pittsburgh and transfering to Philly I took a longer route through NYC. Frequent trains on the NE Corridor make this possible - other times I've gone to DC and then up to Philly.