Dear John,

I hope you’re doing well. As I was finishing the news digest this week, the Rittenhouse verdict was announced. He drove across state lines with a gun to a Black Lives Matter protest, murdered two people and was found not guilty. 

It’s hard to find words to respond to this– it’s sick, heartbreaking, traumatic, and a blatant reminder that our justice system was designed to uphold white supremacy. That one of the goals of political violence is to scare people from protesting, participating, and raising their voices in the streets. 

The answer is not to retreat, but it is, at times, to rest and take care of ourselves. I’ll be doing that with my family next week. The digest will be back December 3rd. 

Let me know what you’re reading.

Here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week:

1. MPD

ICYMI: Minneapolis residents are on the hook to pay $111 million in legal payments related to MPD misconduct in 2020. Read the story.

2. Build Back Better

After a record long filibuster by the House Minority Leader, the U.S. House passed the Build Back Better plan early this morning. Now it’s on to the Senate. See the news and what’s in the bill.  

3. School Board Wars

Highly recommended: this podcast from The Daily on what’s happening across the country with local school boards. Listen here.

4. Virginia

This is an interesting article from The Intercept about Democratic voters, particularly women, who helped elect the state’s incoming Republican Governor. Dig into the story.  

5. AOC

This week, the U.S. House voted to strip Rep. Gosar from his committees after posting horrific anime videos depicting him killing Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. Read more in the Washington Post and watch AOC’s powerful speech on the House Floor. More context in the next news item.

6. Political Violence

“The elite endorsement of political violence from factions of the Republican Party is distinct for me from what we saw in the 1960s. Then, you didn’t have—from a president on down—politicians calling citizens to engage in violent resistance.” Read and listen to the New York Times piece on growing political violence in the U.S. called Menace Enters the Republican Mainstream. Follow up with this incredible and educational Twitter thread from Omar Wasow and this NBC story.

7. Rittenhouse Trial

“Our lives and dignity are always on trial, even now. We aren’t on trial, a white supremacist is, but the decision in this case will inevitably send a message about how valuable our lives are.” Read this important commentary by Angela Lang in the Wisconsin Examiner. 

8. Political Typology

New Pew Research is out on political typology in the U.S. – it’s fascinating and explains why a two-party system doesn’t make sense to most people. Read more from NPR. 

9. History

The Hennepin History Museum has a new exhibit this fall telling the story of the human toll of I-35 construction in Minneapolis that divided neighborhoods and disproportionately displaced Black residents and people of color. Learn more and listen to the story. 

10. Lunar Eclipse

Check out this morning’s 99% lunar eclipse – one of the longest lasting in 600 years. See the photos. 

That’s a wrap. Send me what you’re reading!

- Kenza Hadj-Moussa