Plus: Finding joy in multi-generational living.
[Quartz](
Good morning, Quartz readers!
On the centennial of the ratification of the 19th amendment of the US Constitution, which states that the right to vote cannot be denied on account of sex, president Donald Trump posthumously pardoned Susan B. Anthony, a womenâs rights activist who was arrested in 1872 for voting while female.
Anthony and many other women, including Black suffragists who had to fight harder and longer than white women to see their rights acknowledged, worked to lift as they climbed, as [Mary Church Terrell]( put it. Those who did so by voting despite the law stood by the rebellious act. Thatâs why [the pardon is a misguided decision]( and is [rightly being contested]( Anthony doesnât need a presidential pardon, because violating the law is her legacy.
The history of Americaâthe history of all civilizationâis one of progressively filling the gap between what is legal and what is just. It is an ongoing process, and its advancement rests on a behavior that Martin Luther King famously distilled in [his Letter from Birmingham Jail]( âOne has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.â
Though Anthony didnât live to see it, the 19th amendment proved she was right all along: The constitution didnât make female suffrage legalâit clarified that all the previous instances when it had been denied were, in fact, illegal.
The belief that certain rights exist even when unjustly denied by the government informs Americaâs quest for âa more perfect Union,â and the work of democracy everywhere. It is the same principle that Hong Kong protesters have been upholding for months, that gives courage to protesters in Belarus. It propels Black Lives Matter, and all demands for social justice.
The temptation to erase an unjust sentence is understandable. But Anthonyâs, like John Lewisâs for each act of good trouble, or Martin Luther King Jr.âs for protesting in Selma, or Sojourner Truthâs for daring to be Black in Indiana, are a point of pride in their biographies, a testament to great ideals and greater courage. They are at once the mark of their heroism and an indelible reminder that the law can be wrong, that indeed it was wrong, and challenging it wasâand still isâa necessary, moral act of democracy. âAnnalisa Merelli
Five things on Quartz we especially liked
A name for the human rights crisis in Xinjiang. In recent weeks many people and institutions, including those wary of drawing such parallels, are reaching for a historically loaded wordâgenocideâto talk about what Chinaâs Uyghur minority is facing. [Isabella Steger traces how a particular confluence of reporting and imagery]( is prompting that growing tendency. Such recognition of the gravity of the situation could fuel grassroots efforts to penalize China, even if concerted global action is slower to follow.âTripti Lahiri, Asia editor
The immigrants are leaving. In the worldâs richest and most developed countries the foreign populations are falling during the pandemic. Itâs not just the result of travel restrictions. Youyou Zhou went [country by country through the data]( to show that unfriendly policies, mass layoffs, and canceled school years are pushing immigrants out of the US, UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, and China. Read about one country or read about them all, this interactive story lets you pick how deep you want to go. âDavid Yanofsky, Things editor
Joy across generations. I have always felt mildly offended by the American belief that nothing screams failure like moving back in with your parents. I am Italian, and plenty of us spend some amount of our adult life with our parentsâI have done it more than once, by choice. In her feature, [Sarah Todd explores the joys of intergenerational living]( and provides historical and economic context to different culturesâ radically different approaches to leaving the family nest. âAnnalisa Merelli, geopolitics reporter
Leaving Lagos. Africaâs largest city has been the epicenter of Nigeriaâs $2 billion tech ecosystem and home to some of the continentâs best-known startups for the past decade. But, as the state government ramps up a tax drive through pricey regulatory policies to survive an economic crunch, tech industry stakeholders are counting their costs and increasingly considering looking elsewhere to set up shop, [Yomi Kazeem explains](. âYinka Adegoke, Africa editor
Nothing can stop the return of vinyl. Records really are the best way to listen, arenât they? No skipping tracks on a whim, no shuffle option, and you get that beautiful tactile object to admire on your shelf. While vinyl fans are quick to praise the very real warmth of a non-digital recording, thereâs no denying the simple cool factor. [Dan Kopfâs magnificent piece]( examines the continuing rebirth of vinyl, which even Covid has been unable to stop. âHasit Shah, deputy editor, global finance and economics
Quartz announcement
Our crystal ball keeps fogging up. Maybe itâs the humidity, or maybe itâs because our outlook is hazy right now. The future is hard to predict, but what we do foresee is you obsessed with your Quartz membership. Letâs make this prophecy official, take [50% off membership]( when you join today.
Fun fact about laam caau
[Graffiti is seen on the wall of a Bank of China branch during a demonstration in Central, Hong Kong, China November 11, 2019.]
Reuters/Shannon Stapleton
As Hong Kong fights back against Chinaâs crackdown and systematic destruction of its freedoms, protesters see a harsh reality: The existing political framework is so rigged that operating under the current rules of engagement will only lead to defeat. Many have turned to a strategy of laam caau (pronounced âlahm tsow,â with the âowâ sounding like âhowâ), which literally translates to âembrace and fry,â and is borrowed from poker to mean making your opponent suffer as much as you do. [Read more about laam caau in the Quartz Weekly Obsession](.
Before you dive in, [press play on the Obsession playlist]( of songs that have accompanied pro-democracy protests mixed in with a wider musical selection that hails from or is inspired by Hong Kong.
Want to see our newest Weekly Obsessions as soon as theyâre published?
[â¡ Sign me up!](
Subscribe with one click.
Hong Kongâs struggle goes global
The fight for Hong Kong has become the worldâs fight. A key factor is the protest movementâs international lobbying network, whose grassroots diplomacy and unofficial statecraft has leveraged the momentum of the protests into tangible political influence worldwide. Read about how the battle over Hong Kongâs freedoms went global in [our latest field guide](.
⦠Becoming a member directly supports the work we doâincluding those who report on the unfolding situation from Hong Kongâand gives you access to every bit of it. Join us for [50% off your first year]( by using code âSUMMERSALEâ.
Five things from elsewhere that made us smarter
A WeChat ban threatens to cut off Tibetan refugeesâ lifeline back home. Many in the Tibetan diaspora in India use the app to communicate with friends and family in China, despite knowing full well that their communications are censored and surveilled. But with Indiaâs ban on WeChat and dozens of other Chinese apps, [Tsering D. Gurung writes in Rest of World]( Tibetan refugees are now caught in a geopolitical windstorm, forcing them to rethink their dependence on the app. âMary Hui, reporter
Sorry, the worldâs largest maker of bikes canât make enough of them. Soaring global demand for bicycles due to the pandemic should be great news for Taiwan-based Giant, but cranking up supply isnât as easy for the company which finds itself caught squarely in geopolitical tensions. [As Raymond Zhong reports for The New York Times]( the company must navigate complex issues such as Trumpâs trade war, a labor shortage in China, as well as Taiwanâs complex relations with its superpower neighbor. âIsabella Steger, Asia deputy editor
A different way of judging Chinese economic reform. [The Economist makes the case]( for why pundits are âmisleadingly wrongâ to argue that the changes Xi Jinping has brought to his countryâs economy have benefited state-owned giants to the detriment of market forces and private-sector innovation. Instead, Xi is âpresiding over what he hopes will be the creation of a more muscular form of state capitalism.â And we should all be paying closer attention. âAnnabelle Timsit, geopolitics reporter
The pecking order of the American plate. How did Americans go from eating 10 pounds of chicken annually in the 1930s to 64 pounds a year in 2017? As [Sarah Mock writes in the Guardian]( we can thank wartime rationing, a âchicken of tomorrowâ contest, and the industrialization of the food supply chain for the poultry-fication of the US diet. âLiz Webber, senior news curator
The Karen conundrum. The appeal of naming white women who snap at others for not following rules or, famously, âask to speak to the managerâ has been taken up by both ends of the political spectrum with relish. Writing for The Atlantic, [Helen Lewis explores the Karen memeâs viral spread]( it a misogynistic excuse to write off women as hysterical, or is it an antiracist skewering of white privilege? The intersection, she argues, is a gray area Americans are uncomfortable examining. âSusan Howson, news editor
Our best wishes for a relaxing but thought-filled weekend. Please send any news, comments, comfortable memes, and 10 pounds of chicken to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by [downloading our app]( and [becoming a member](. Todayâs Weekend Brief was brought to you by Annalisa Merelli, Mary Hui, Liz Webber, and Susan Howson.
[facebook](
[twitter](
[external-link](
Enjoying Quartz Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here]( to sign up. If youâre looking to unsubscribe, [click here](.
Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States
Copyright © 2020 Quartz, All rights reserved.