Initially, Blacks thought we could not get Covid. Then, it turns out, we were the biggest victims of it. Now, we are the skeptics of a rushed vaccine whose long-term effects are unknown. We had more hope during polio when it was more racist. Painful! #ProfessorOnSabbatical

Every war that the U.S. has fought since WWII has been a limited, proxy war, where routing the enemy on the battlefield did not mean winning the conflict. During WWII, we fought societies that were like ourselves. Since then we have not. #ProfessorOnSabbatical 1/3

The limited, proxy war is always against a weaker enemy militarily who has relatively little to lose in a conflict and whose weakness underscores a moral claim against imperialism and empire. #ProfessorOnSabbatical 2/3

The U.S.'s moral claims are undermined by its internal politics and a contradictory foreign policy. The wars are unpersuasive ideologically, badly improvised and are impossible to exit cleanly unless the enemy is "converted" by dollars. #ProfessorOnSabbatical 3/3

August 4 was Louis Armstrong @TCM. Among the films was the 1966 drama "A Man Called Adam" with Sammy Davis Jr and Cicely Tyson. Armstrong was the best actor in it. He was a great intuitive performer. Such a genius! #ProfessorOnSabbatical

The breakthrough infections that hospitalized Rev Jesse Jackson Sr and his wife will surely make Blacks even more skeptical of the vaccines. Unsurprising distrust. #ProfessorOnSabbatical

When Ronald Acuña Jr. went down, the Braves looked dead. Then they got Soler, Duvall, & Pederson, longball guys and got their mojo back. The longball is baseball's gun, the equalizer. #ProfessorOnSabbatical 1/2

The long ball hitter's motto: Be not afraid of any pitcher No matter what his size If Danger threatens, call on me And I will equalize #ProfessorOnSabbatical 2/2

In our moral quest to stigmatize the unvaccinated, Blacks, who figure prominently among them, present a problem. Their skepticism is far from irrational. #ProfessorOnSabbatical 1/3

Blacks have been guinea pigs before. They have been stigmatized before and still are. If people will not take the vaccine for its virtues, now they will be forced to take it to avoid punishment. #ProfessorOnSabbatical 2/3

The punishment for vaccine avoidance is stigmatizing and second-class citizenship, stigmatizing a stigmatized people. Marx said, history first as tragedy, then as farce. #ProfessorOnSabbatical 3/3

Read my latest The Common Reader about a book that needs to be read today. Pearl S. Buck's American Argument, her very engaging conversation with Essie Robeson, wife of Paul Robeson. Ahead of its time (1949). commonreader.wustl.edu/c/touchstone-t…

Of the European actors of the 1960s I recall, Alain Delon, Marcello Mastroianni, Max Von Sydow, Jean-Louis Trintignant, et al., Jean-Paul Belmondo was my favorite. I just loved That Man from Rio when I was a kid. youtube.com/watch?v=ceB4bq…

TCR Editor Gerald Early talks with Eddie S. Glaude Jr. about the enduring legacy of James Baldwin. A binding, vigorous conversation! hecmedia.org/posts/one-on-o…

Last week, for St. Louis County Library, I interviewed Black Scottish novelist/poet Jackie Kay about her new book, a biography of blues singer Bessie Smith, a different approach but rewarding. Link to Story: hecmedia.org/posts/bessie-s… Embed Link: youtube.com/embed/AyfHCo1h…

Outstanding achievements. Congrats to @SamFoxSchool's Weicong Huang and John Whitaker for earning national honors for their innovative proposals that offer solutions for ecological restoration and beyond. bit.ly/3oPm0Rl

Lashana Lynch's turn as the Black 007 was just a cheap PC decoration to get the movie some press "controversy." She was simply a poor sidekick. The insecure Black woman when she thinks she is being demoted. The angry Black woman when she kills the racist scientist. Jeez!

Meet Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, the first Black woman to serve as director of the St. Louis Department of Health. Reporter Sarah Fentem asked her about her plans to make the city a healthier place. bit.ly/3El8I3n

Looking for some Halloween costume ideas? 🦇 Part 2 ✨