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Ahmaud Arbery was only 25 years old when he was shot and killed for jogging in a suburban white neighborhood In Georgia. Three white men were convicted in the murder of the unarmed Black man. While many breathed a sigh of relief after last year’s verdicts – and the life sentences recently given to the culprits – Arbery’s death was yet another example of the racial divide plaguing America. It also exposed the myths of Southern hospitality.
Barbara Combs, a sociology professor at Clark Atlanta University who studies Southern culture, writes here about those myths. All too often, she argues, the veneer of charm and politeness has deadly consequences for Blacks and other ethnic groups. As Judge Timothy Walmsley said before the sentencing of the three white men, Arbery’s death “should force us to consider expanding our definition of what a neighbor may be and how we treat them. I argue that maybe a neighbor is more than the people who just own property around your house.”
Also today:
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Barbara Harris Combs, Clark Atlanta University
The murder of Ahmaud Arbery exemplifies the racial, often violent barriers still remaining in the US. The 25-year-old Black man was out for a jog. But three white men thought he was a criminal.
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Politics + Society
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Naomi Schalit, The Conversation
Voting rights are the subject of intense conflict between Democrats and Republicans. Does the degree of political outrage match the threat to voting rights?
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Larry C. Napper, Texas A&M University
A former US ambassador to Kazakhstan explains the strategic and economic importance of Kazakhstan to the US.
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Environment + Energy
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Charles F. Kutscher, University of Colorado Boulder; Jeffrey Logan, University of Colorado Boulder
Renewable energy is expanding at a record pace, but still not fast enough. Here are the key areas to watch for progress in bringing more wind and solar into the power grid in 2022.
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Jessica Heiges, University of California, Berkeley; Kate O'Neill, University of California, Berkeley
Tossing something into your recycling bin that can’t be processed does more harm than good.
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Science + Technology
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Jeanna Matthews, Clarkson University
Social media isn’t simply awash in conspiracy theories and extremism. It contains pathways designed to lead people to ever more extreme material.
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Economy + Business
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Calvin Schermerhorn, Arizona State University
Before the Civil War, US activists sought to combat slavery through sugar boycotts. Instead, consumption grew.
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Health + Medicine
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Libby Richards, Purdue University; Jessica Bane Robert, Clark University; Katherine Basbaum, University of Virginia; L. Alison Phillips, Iowa State University
The new year is a perfect time to adopt new health habits and routines. These four scholars reflect on the ways that they overcame the pandemic blues to get fit.
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