Valerie Russ

A United States senator from the president's own party, one who serves on the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, has no idea what's going on as America goes to war with Iran.

"I, a member of <checks notes> the Senate Committees on Finance, Budget, Judiciary, Foreign Relations, & Select Intelligence, have no better idea than you what the hell is happening as the President of the United States takes us into a an illegal war."

bsky.app/profile/mcop...

Kicking off #BlackHistoryMonth w/ an appreciation thread of physicians:

1/ Charles R. Drew, MD

- American surgeon & researcher
- pioneer in the field of blood transfusions
- developed techniques for blood storage
- first African-American surgeon to examine for American College of Surgeons

The Proof is in The Covers: Why Aretha Franklin is the Greatest American Vocalist of the 20th… by Mark Anthony Neal

"Some of Franklin’s most inventive covers would be found on a string of studio albums that she released between 1970 and 1974—albums that did not match the commercial success of her earlier Atlantic albums, but may represent her best, if not most underrated, work."
medium.com/@tnimixtape/...

Racism Or Tourette Syndrome? An Outburst At The BAFTAs Has The Internet In A Fury. Tourette syndrome is widely misunderstood. Here's what experts and advocates want you to know.

Words are harmful, and disregarding this moment as a “harmless” outburst is a disservice to Michael B. Jordan, Delroy Lindo and the Black community. www.huffpost.com/entry/michae...

How a Tourette’s Outburst of a Racist Slur Caused a Backlash at the BAFTAs

"if you were offended ".... BBC edited our a protest remark at BAFTAs but left in the N -word. This is a gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/m...

ICE activity is pushing readers to nonprofit news sites that cover immigrant communities From Somalis in Minneapolis to Nepalis in New York City, immigrant communities turn to trusted local news sources. Here's our regular ranking of the top 25 nonprofit news sites in the United States.

www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/ice-...

Amazon’s Canton AI Data Center Brings Dust, Noise and Pollution Fears for Neighbors Canton residents say that a new Amazon data center is bringing unwanted dust and noise, raising concerns about pollution and falling property values.

The sheer number of Amazon's backup diesel generators running simultaneously can have serious consequences for public health during emergencies or test periods, says Patrick Anderson of the Southern Environmental Law Center, even if the generators don't run beyond their permitted time limits.

Demonstrators gather to protest removal of explanatory panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President's House Site in Philadelphia. Photo: Matt Rourke - AP

Conservation & history preservation groups sued the Trump admin Tuesday, alleging National Park Service policies are erasing U.S. history & science from national parks

The Boston lawsuit says directives from Trump & Interior Sec. Doug Burgum led staff to remove exhibits on slavery & climate change

South Jersey guy becomes the face of ICE resistance | Will Bunch Newsletter Last Friday, Joseph Zobel, “an average Joe who grew up in Haddon Heights,” saw a video that shocked him. First interview with ICE protester whose viral video reaction has been seen 3 million times.

@willbunch.bsky.social : 'the first interview with the 36-year-old South Jersey man whose tearful protest against an ICE raid at a school bus stop has been watched more than 3 million times. How a non-political Eagles fan Everyman became the face of ICE resistance share.inquirer.com/y8Tusp

Jesse Jackson, Charismatic Champion of Civil Rights, Dies at 84

This gift article from The New York Times gives a long and in- depth story on Rev. Jesse Jackson's life. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/u...

Acclaimed artist Betye Saar is 99 years old.

She turns 100 in July.

#ArtSky #BlackSky #BHM

📖. I’m grateful for the kind words I received so far about MY CITY NEED SOMETHING. We set out to bring our village with us, which is to say the work shall remain unfinished until we hear from you. You too have + hold some answers that we should be writing down. www.commonnotions.org/buy/my-city-...

Magnificent opinion defending true history on President's Day.

Civil rights figures like Jesse Jackson are why black feminists are theorized intersectionality: he might have forged a multi-racial coalition but black woman weren’t always in that coalition. Complicated man, complicated politics.

i think jesse jackson was one of the most important american political figures of the post-war era and i think that his 1984 and 1988 campaigns for the democratic nomination still have a great deal to teach about forging a path to a more egalitarian world. RIP.

Jesse Jackson’s audacity of hope - The Boston Globe In his presidential campaigns, the civil rights leader championed an inclusive vision of America that’s under attack.

Jesse Jackson's audacity of hope. My latest @globeopinion.bsky.social column.

YouTube video by Nightloop Jesse Jackson’s - Wattstax Music Festival Opening Speech (1972)

I. AM. SOMEBODY. ✊🏽

Rest in Power, Reverend Jesse Jackson.

youtu.be/NTVwT3j_zqY?...

Ex-Prime Minister of Norway Charged With Corruption Linked to Epstein

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/w...

Thinking of Surya Bonaly this week while watching the backflip return to Olympic ice. She was the first to land it on one blade in Olympic competition in Nagano in 1998. I will never forget how I jumped up and screamed seeing her do it live.

How Vietnam Inflamed the Civil Rights Movement

How the military criminalized blackness in Vietnam: my essay on an eye-opening new history of the war. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/b...

Today marks 58 years since the Orangeburg Massacre--one of the deadliest incidents of the Civil Rights Movement

Students had been protesting the continued segregation of All Star Bowling Lane when state police opened fire

Today the bowling alley is being brought back to life

It's Déjà Vu All over Again With everything going on in Minneapolis and around the country, it is stunning to note the similarities to the Orangeburg Massacre, which took place February 8, 1968. A quick recap:more here littlegreenfootballs.comand here littlegreenfootballs.com Students from South Carolina State ...

It’s Déjà Vu All over Again

With everything going on in Minneapolis and around the country, it is stunning to note the similarities to the Orangeburg Massacre, which took place February 8, 1968.

#OtD 8 Feb 1968 the Orangeburg massacre took place in South Carolina when police opened fire on Black SC State students, killing three and wounding 27 after Black student-led protests at a segregated bowling alley shop.workingclasshistory.com/en-gb/collec...

Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop.

Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...

Understanding Epstein's Crimes Sex trafficking isn't widely understood. Here is what Epstein did.

(gift substack) Jeffrey Epstein didn't want prostitutes. He wanted scared, vulnerable girls and young women he could control. open.substack.com/pub/jkbjourn...

William ‘Sandy’ Darity insists federal dollars are the only path to full reparations - Andscape Advocates for Black equality call many things “reparations” – educational programs, housing assistance, health care clinics, even efforts to foster reconciliation between the races. But there is a sch...

Y'all, @sandydarity.bsky.social is on #bluesky!

Dr. Sandy Darity is one the top experts on the racial wealth gap for Black Americans. Alongside Dr. Kristen Mullen, they find that giving every Black American a direct payment of $267,000 would help close the racial wealth gap. #blacksky

Color photograph of pioneering ophthalmologist and inventor Dr. Patricia Bath (1942–2019), the first Black woman to receive a medical patent, smiling warmly in a white lab coat over a blue blouse, sitting next to her invention in a research lab surrounded by books and scientific equipment. Dr. Bath invented the Laserphaco Probe (U.S. Patent No. 4,744,360), a revolutionary laser device and technique for removing cataracts that restored sight to millions and advanced minimally invasive eye surgery. She was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2022 as one of the first two Black women honorees. #PatriciaBath #Laserphaco #InventorsHallOfFame #WomenInScience

Professional color portrait of engineer Marian Croak, a trailblazing innovator in telecommunications, standing confidently in a blue tweed jacket with black trim against a blurred indoor background. She has short hair and a warm smile. Croak pioneered advancements in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology (including U.S. Patent No. 7,599,359), enabling modern audio and video conferencing used in tools like Zoom, FaceTime, and WhatsApp, and holds over 200 patents. She was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2022 as one of the first two Black women honorees. #MarianCroak #VoIP #WomenInTech #InventorsHallOfFame

Dr. Patricia Bath & Marian Croak were the first two Black women inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2022.

Bath saved the sight of millions with her Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment. Croak did pioneering work in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.

#WomenInSTEM #BHM

Medgar Evers’ killer was a Klansman, but Trump administration says stop calling him a racist - Mississippi Today Among anticipated changes to a new visitor brochure for the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument is no longer using "racist" to describe the killer of the civil rights leader.

Civil rights activist Medgar Evers was shot in the back by a Klansman in 1963.

The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from Evers' museum and reportedly plans to remove references that call his murderer a “racist"

Museum reverses course, and it’s the ‘Philadelphia Museum of Art’ once again The name change announced in October has been changed back, but some elements of the rebrand will remain.

Now maybe the city and everyone involved can rethink putting the Rocky statue at the top of the PMA steps.

Philly should not be elevating the statue of white man who supports an administration that tore down exhibits about the history of slavery in this city.

www.inquirer.com/arts/philade...