Dear John,

I hope you’re doing as well as possible. It has been a full week. Be sure to check out the breaking news today: Amazon workers won their first union ever in Staten Island.

To everyone who contacted their legislators this week about reinsurance — thank you. A bad deal passed both chambers at the Minnesota legislature yesterday, and it could have been worse.

National news outlets have started to cover Wilder Foundation’s after-action report on the state’s response to civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd. The report is long, deeply troubling, and (relatively) easy to read. That said, it’s up to all of us to make meaning of it and stay clear about what happened.

My colleague Carin writes on Twitter, “The real story of the summer of 2020 was how law enforcement revolted against their own elected oversight and declared war on residents of the cities they police but do not live in, and do not let anyone convince you otherwise.”

Let me know how you’re doing.

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

1. After-Action Report

New state report: Mayor Frey and MPD failed miserably responding to civil unrest in 2020. MPD went rogue from other law enforcement departments (obviously). The state declined Frey and MPD’s request for more chemical weapons. Read and listen to the MPR story on the state’s review and read the full report conducted by Wilder Foundation.

2. Police Violence

Important report in the Guardian: nearly two years since the police murder of George Floyd, the U.S. has made little progress ending police violence. Learn more about the data tracked by the organization Mapping Police Violence.

3. Amazon Union Victory

BREAKING NEWS: Staten Island Amazon workers vote for a union. This is a huge win for warehouse workers and is sure to have ripple effects. Read about this huge victory for Amazon workers. Enjoy this related tweet.

4. Oscars

This is a nuanced, thoughtful thread by Minnesota activist Dr. Bryan Leyva about how the Will Smith and Chris Rock incident became about race.

5. Civility

We highly recommend this essay, Civility Won’t End Racism.

6. Big Tech

Facebook is paying a GOP consulting firm millions of dollars to trash TikTok. Read about Meta’s cutthroat attempt to sabotage its competitor. The initial Facebook/TikTok Washington Post story is here.

7. Cancel Student Debt

Without federal action, student loan payments will resume one month from today. Over 1,000 professors signed a letter of support this week urging President Biden to #CancelStudentDebt — a crisis affecting students as well as faculty.

8. Putin

First published in the New York Times, I recommend this commentary called What If Putin Didn’t Miscalculate.

9. The Multiverse

So excited to see the new sci-fi multiverse movie Everything, Everywhere All At Once. Watch the trailer and read the review. Let me know if you’re planning to see it.

10. Goblin Mode

 The latest cultural trend: read why so many people are going into “goblin mode.”

That’s a wrap. Have a great weekend.

- Kenza Hadj-Moussa