Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Adam Harris

Brian Lyman @brianlyman.bsky.social · 3h

“One of them, Albert ‘Skip’ Caissie Jr., 78, said in a phone interview that he wasn’t aware that he was involved in a Supreme Court case.”

Who Are the Louisiana Voters Behind a Major Supreme Court Challenge?

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Adam Harris

Sarah J. Jackson @sjjphd.bsky.social · 16h

Belatedly reading about this and as always really important to remind people in *every breath* that when the right talks about “woke” and “DEI” they are talking about the cultural and political wins of the civil rights movement. This arrangement existed for 52 years because of historical activism.

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 1d

www.dailytarheel.com/article/e9c7...

UNC ends Black Student Movement's 52-year 'co-ownership' of Upendo Lounge

BSM President Adam Sherif said administrators cited new federal guidelines that instruct all federally funded entities to ensure they are not engaging in "discriminatory practices, including those lab...

www.dailytarheel.com

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 20h

“Even when he was out of character, his voice carried the melodic cadence of theatrical performance, as if he was always within a moment of transitioning into song or soliloquy.“ @clintsmithiii.bsky.social: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

What Is Colonial Williamsburg For?

Telling the full story of the town’s past is an easy way to make a lot of people mad.

www.theatlantic.com

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 21h

The distance, between the claim that “advocates are actually engaging in violent and dangerous behavior“ to the reality that “bystanders reported seeing children zip-tied to one another,” tells quite the moral story.

Read @caitlindickerson.bsky.social: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

“Many of these so-called advocates are actually engaging in violent and dangerous behavior,” Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, told me in a statement. She added, in reference to Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker: “From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This rhetoric is contributing to a more than 1000% surge in assaults of our ICE officers.”

And yet this comes at a time when ICE itself has become more violent toward immigrants, protesters, and unlucky bystanders alike. In recent weeks, agents have shoved to the ground a journalist trying to document an arrest and a woman who was crying because her husband had just been taken into custody. Both were hospitalized. And in Chicago, they shot a woman who they say rammed an agency vehicle—a claim that the woman’s lawyer said body-camera footage disproves. Alongside the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the FBI, ICE also stormed an apartment building in the dark of night, breaking down doors and detaining scores of people, including U.S. citizens. Bystanders reported seeing children zip-tied to one another.

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Reposted by Adam Harris

Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 1d

More judges speak to the press (the NYT) about what a disaster the Supreme Court (specifically the shadow docket) has been - “incredibly demoralizing & troubling”; a “judicial crisis”; a “slap in the face to district courts.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 2d

A footnote on the purpose of the poems:

Even in the worst times, people have had to rest. It may not mean stopping altogether, but acknowledging that a fight against time is futile.

That does not mean we overindulge in leisure. Each of us has the ability to slow down, and to consider how we read or write, work or live. We can also decide what we can or cannot withstand. The input of time only records our moments of decision, until we have none left to make.

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 2d

Those who subscribe to my newsletter just received this, again, it's free. I don't charge for it, and would only do so if absolutely necessary. It may not be what you’ve normally read of me, but I’ve written poetry for as long as I can remember.

substack.com/home/post/p-...

On time, a two poem collection on our capacity.

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Reposted by Adam Harris

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 1d

Huh: TikTok took down my 8-second video featuring this image of Debbie Brockman — the news producer just detained by Trump’s CBP agents — saying it violates the “joy of TikTok”

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 1d

If you didn’t watch or listen to the Naylor game, I actually feel bad for you. www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

Guardians stun White Sox; Naylor makes history

Josh Naylor became the first player since the stat became official in 1920 to have eight RBIs from the eighth inning on in a game, powering Cleveland to a 12-9 win against the White Sox on Monday nigh...

www.espn.com

Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 1d

Miss Naylor so much. I’ll never forget May 10, 2022. 🥲

Shiv Ramdas Mens Rice Activist @nameshiv.bsky.social · 1d

Josh Naylor stealing a base is the same kind of joyful viewing experience as a defensive tackle pick six

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 1d

Thank _you_ for writing it!

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Reposted by Adam Harris

Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · 2d

Today is World Homeless Day, and after years reporting on this crisis, I'll just say: homelessness is neither inevitable nor intractable. It's the result of choices—political, economic, moral—that can be unmade.

And this: how we treat the unhoused is a bellwether for the violence we will tolerate.

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 1d

This story is a feat. I hope you read it. @nicolechung.bsky.social

www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...

When Adoption Promises Are Broken

Many birth mothers hope to maintain contact with their child. But their agreements with adoptive parents can be fragile.

www.theatlantic.com

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 1d

(and I might as well share the "cannot" easter egg here too): www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

MIT Rejects Proposed Federal Compact

MIT is the first institution to reject a proposal by the Trump administration that would trade preferential treatment on federal funding in exchange for far-reaching changes.

www.insidehighered.com

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 1d

These are all so lovely, Celeste. I found myself laughing along. I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing her with us. Her life and her memory are a blessing.

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 2d

A footnote on the purpose of the poems:

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 2d

Some of it has been published, most of it is in notebooks, but I thought enough of these to share. Thanks to all who would consider them.

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 2d

Those who subscribe to my newsletter just received this, again, it's free. I don't charge for it, and would only do so if absolutely necessary. It may not be what you’ve normally read of me, but I’ve written poetry for as long as I can remember.

substack.com/home/post/p-...

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 2d

We fall short sometimes, as I have undoubtedly done on some occasion or another, but that is the true north.

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 2d

I sent a note to the author of this lovely reflection on my book. I feel a special duty to humanizing history. It's impossible to capture a full-person, but if we are able to capture enough of them that our work is fair, then we have done our part. stanforddaily.com/2025/10/08/l...

“The State Must Provide: Why America’s Colleges Have Always Been Unequal―and How to Set Them Right” by Adam Harris — Adeline Lee

In “The State Must Provide,” Adam Harris traces the history of racial inequality in American higher education and the systemic exclusion of Black Americans from education. He explores the establishment and development of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), which emerged from a post-Civil War push for agricultural education. Harris also examines the HBCUs’ struggles for survival as state legislatures withheld funding and as activists and plaintiffs fought legal battles for education equality.

This book was eye-opening and humbling to read for me as a student pursuing higher education. Harris’ writing stood out for how powerfully it humanizes history; his portrayal of activists and plaintiffs not only through their work but also through their personal fears and struggles was devastating yet inspiring. It forced me to reflect on my own privileges and to reconsider the true purpose of my education — an opportunity that others fought so desperately for. I now feel a stronger obligation to use my access to education to advocate for greater equity and inclusion in academic spaces.

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Reposted by Adam Harris

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 3d

This remains the most important piece i’ve written about the goals and ideological principles of the second Trump administration www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

bsky.app/profile/jame...

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 3d

“Suppressing speech about gender does not eliminate “gender ideology”—it is gender ideology, one that seeks to entrench a singular, restrictive vision of gender while denying the very real plurality of human experience.“

read @morganpolk.bsky.social: www.newamerica.org/the-thread/t...

Texas A&M Firing Over Gender Identity Raises Alarms in Higher Education

Texas colleges are firing educators as federal and state bans target recognition of trans and nonbinary people. Higher ed is under attack.

www.newamerica.org

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 4d

a note of gratitude: wrote two free pieces last week, and 100 people have since decided they’d like to read more. no one owes our work attention. I am grateful every time someone finds mine worthy of theirs.

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 4d

almost exclusively listen to the radio broadcast cause it’s just so much more vivid 😭

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Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · 5d

it's* (the morning, etc. etc.)