The Reading List: June 20, 2020
Moira
I am most certainly behind on this, but Jad Abumrad’s “Dolly Parton’s America” podcast is absolutely amazing. I’ve been listening on runs, and I had no idea that EVERY Dolly song is a freaking banger. And she’s amazing.
The woeful state of history education in the US is not enough of an excuse for how little I knew of Juneteenth (though I did get a 5 in APUSH, so if it were covered I WOULD KNOW), but as for so many other things, I recommend watching the Juneteenth episode of Atlanta.
Sloane Crosley is everything to me, and so it was wonderful to see an essay from her in the Times today.
As I’ve sweat through all my surgical masks, and am always looking for more, here is a great collection to look through.
I love Cup of Jo’s Beauty Uniform series, and this one on Anjali Pinto is no exception. The story of losing her husband, suddenly, from an aortic dissection, is beautiful and heartbreaking.
Elizabeth
I attended The University of the South, a small liberal arts school founded in 1858 by 28 Episcopal dioceses. Yes, for that reason. It’s colloquially called Sewanee, and it’s been reckoning with its history for a while. This week, Reuben Brigety — a former Ambassador, a Cambridge alum, and a Black man — was installed as the most recent vice-chancellor. He’s already making a splash, and I can’t wait to see the improvements he makes at my alma mater.
I am ashamed to admit that the first I heard of Juneteenth was a few years ago when Apple added it to the Holiday calendar, and I never really did a ton of research into it until this year. This article, even though it’s from 2013, is one of the best explanations of Juneteenth that I’ve seen. I also loved this essay in The Bitter Southerner: “Why Do We Celebrate Juneteenth? Because We Are Free to Do So.” Oh, and you know I ordered several books off this list: 9 Books to Celebrate the Spirit of Juneteenth.
While I’m talking about it, go ahead and sign this petition to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.
This article is an intersection of so many of my favorite things: protesting, social justice, and logistics.
This made me laugh harder than it should. They are just terrible at everything.
I think this shelter-in-place is the longest that I have been in one place since I graduated from school, and I genuinely really really miss travel. Luckily, we have books and TV to transport us, and here are 20 amazing travel-themed books by Black authors.
And for something that is pure fluff: Recipes from 12 of America’s Favorite Recipes to Cook at Home.
