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Journalist Eduardo Porter On Why Racial Hostility Is An 'American Poison'

A person holds up a sign as protesters kneel on Canal St. during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 31, 2020 in New York.(Bryan R. Smith / AFP via Getty Images)
A person holds up a sign as protesters kneel on Canal St. during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 31, 2020 in New York.(Bryan R. Smith / AFP via Getty Images)

New York Times business writer Eduardo Porter talks about how racial hostility is impoverishing all Americans.

Guest

Eduardo Porter, economics reporter for the New York Times. Author of “American Poison: How Racial Hostility Destroyed Our Promise.” (@portereduardo)

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR)

Excerpt from “American Poison: How Racial Hostility Destroyed Our Promise” by Eduardo Porter

From The Reading List

New York Times: “How Racism Is Destroying America” — “A white liberal progressive — as this reviewer would be labeled — confronts the issue of race in America with beliefs that make it difficult to face a reality that their fellow citizens of black or Hispanic origin take for granted.”

Foreign Policy: “America’s Social Contract Is Still Built on Racial Hostility” — “The killing of George Floyd presents Americans with an image that has become almost banal by its repeated rendering: yet another victim of a system of criminal justice tasked with protecting white Americans from their black fellow citizens.”

NPR: “George Floyd’s Brother To U.N. Human Rights Council: ‘I’m Asking You To Help Us’” — “George Floyd struggled desperately to make himself heard during his arrest. With a Minneapolis police officer’s knee planted on his neck for more than eight minutes, he pleaded for help, said he couldn’t breathe — and finally, fell silent.”

New York Times: “Race/Related: Covid-19 and the Collapse of America’s Welfare State” — “Cloistered in my Brooklyn quarantine, I’ve probably been wondering about some of the same things you have: How come the United States only has 2.4 acute care beds per 1,000 people, about one-third the number in South Korea?”

MarketWatch: “The only way to truly solve the race problem in America is to narrow the wealth gap, black economists say” — “The unrest in cities across the U.S. this week is just the latest manifestation of a struggle that will continue until the wealth gap between white people and black people is addressed, black economists said.”

CBS News: “2020 Daily Trail Markers: 58% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of race relations” — “As protests continue across the country, new CBS News polling finds 58% of Americans disapprove of President Trump’s handling of race relations, while 33% approve.”

The Guardian: “Riots helped elect Nixon in 1968. Can Trump benefit from fear and loathing too?” — “The grainy footage shows a young CBS News reporter immersed in a large milling crowd. Suddenly he is set upon by security guards who encircle then assault him, violently forcing him to the ground on live TV.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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