Published by  | | |  | | Calls for reparations for slavery and other atrocities committed against Black people in the United States have become more prominent in recent years — especially in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder. Individual universities, churches and cities have introduced reparations efforts, and prominent organizations like Black Lives Matter have pushed for reparations in their platforms. While federal efforts have been much slower, Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) recently reintroduced H.R. 40, a bill backed by President Biden that would create a commission to study the impacts of slavery and reparations. According to historians like Ashley D. Farmer and Ana Lucia Araujo, there's been a shift in attitudes about reparations among both racial justice organizations and the general public: "I would say that it's moved less from a radical fringe idea and more to the mainstream as we've gone on," Farmer said. But the issue of reparations continues to be massively divisive, with a 2020 Reuters/Ipsos poll finding that only 1 in 10 White respondents supported the idea, while half of Black respondents endorsed it. Even among supporters, there is vast disagreement about how to go about it. Would reparations be symbolic or material? If they're material, what would that look like? How would we decide who gets them? Should the United States pay reparations to other nations it has colonized? One problem is that the United States failed to deliver on promises for restitution in the immediate aftermath of abolition. At the end of the Civil War, Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman famously ordered "40 acres and a mule" to thousands of Black families. But the order was quickly reversed, and any land distributed was rescinded and returned to White Confederate landowners. Since then, racial inequalities have only compounded, further complicating the question of what a resolution might look like. | |  | | Belinda Sutton's petitions. (Public domain) | | These conversations are nothing new. In fact, the first known petition for restitution nearly predates the country itself. It was filed in 1783 in Massachusetts by Belinda Sutton, a formerly enslaved woman, shortly after the American Revolution. Later, a movement of formerly enslaved people led by Callie House sued the government for reparations. The government retaliated against House and eventually jailed her for fraud. Although many men have historically gotten the credit for progress on reparation efforts, historians say Black women have led the way from the very beginning. "I want to emphasize that Black women have come up with the central principles, ideas and organizational infrastructures since the beginning," Farmer said. "And they're not getting their due." Ahead of Juneteenth — one of the oldest celebrations commemorating the end of slavery in the United States — we asked historians to tell us about some of the Black women who have fought for reparations throughout U.S. history. | | | | | Three need-to-know stories | | | (Minneapolis Police Department/AP) | 01.The Pulitzer Prize board awarded a special citation Friday to Darnella Frazier, the teenager whose cellphone footage of George Floyd's murder last summer led to massive protests and sparked a racial reckoning in the country. Frazier has written that "behind this smile, behind these awards, behind the publicity, I'm a girl trying to heal from something I am reminded of every day." 02.People of Praise, a Christian group tied to Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, is facing a reckoning over sexual misconduct. Nine people — all but one of them women — told The Washington Post they were sexually abused as children, as well as another man who says he was physically abused. In four of those cases, the people said the alleged abuse was reported to community leaders. 03.In the early months of 2021, emergency room visits for suspected suicide attempts increased roughly 50 percent for adolescent girls compared with the same period in 2019, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's long been known that females are more likely than males to attempt suicide, but researchers noted that their study appears to provide new insights into the psychological toll younger Americans are experiencing in the pandemic. | | | | | A story to make you smile | | | (Confections bakery; Washington Post illustration) | | When a Texas bakery called Confections shared photos of their Pride Month-themed cookies on Facebook, there was a swift backlash. Within an hour, the Lufkin, Tex., bakery lost dozens of followers and a patron canceled an order she had placed for five dozen cookies. "My heart dropped," co-owner Dawn Cooley said. But when Cooley shared the story on the bakery's Facebook page, it quickly went viral. The next day, a line outside the tiny bakery stretched for several blocks, writes Sydney Page in The Washington Post. Even when they ran out of baked goods to sell, people still offered money, which the owners refused to accept. Instead, they redirected them to donate to LGBTQ organizations and other nonprofits. | | | | | | From left to right: Melody Li, Nicole Ellis and Jameta Nicole Barlow (Photos by Lindsay Camp; Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post and Jameta Nicole Barlow) | | Living with racial trauma on a daily basis isn't just emotionally harmful; it also affects your physical health. In this episode, host Nicole Ellis speaks with mental health experts to provide five ways Black people can cope with race-based stress. | | | | | | (iStock; Washington Post illustration) | | The Lily launched four years ago on June 12, and we only want one thing for our birthday: If you've ever found joy, insight or inspiration in our work, tell a friend. To spread the word, forward this email to a friend and tell them to sign up. We're a small team, but our work is mighty, and we take a lot of pride in it. In everything we do, we think about how we can contribute to critical conversations about women and gender — stories that matter to your life. Any time you open this newsletter, read a Lily story, retweet us or share our Instagram posts, you're helping to increase that impact. As always, thanks for being here with us. Bonus: We are having a giveaway on our Instagram. You can enter here. | | | | | But before we part, some recs | |  | Hannah GoodMultiplatform editor, The LilyHow I'm 'traveling'Lately I've been playing a lot of GeoGuessr, a game in which you have to pinpoint your exact location on a map using only Google Street View. It's like a puzzle and virtual vacation all in one — plus, it brings me back to the wonder I felt seeing Street View for the first time in computer class. What's empowering meWhen I first started roller skating a year ago, it was intimidating to visit skate spots in my city, which are often male-dominated. But over the past few months, I've felt so empowered by the women and queer skate communities around town, especially Flo DMV, which hosts inclusive meetups. My ultimate skin-care tipI never shut up about sunscreen, so it makes sense to proclaim the gospel here as well: Wear sunscreen! Do it! Every day! My favorite is SuperGoop, which lives up to the hype but is mega-expensive. For a drugstore option, I recommend a tinted mineral sunscreen. It's reef-safe and blends in better. | |  | | | |
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