Is each generation less racist?

Are today's white kids less racist than their grandparents? [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 17 September 2018 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Editor's note Mississippi State sociologist Margaret Hagerman spent two years studying a group of affluent white kids in the Midwest. She wanted to see how they made sense of the stories popping up in the news: accounts of police shootings and unequal opportunity. [She was surprised – and somewhat troubled – by what she learned](. Cuba has transformed in recent years, opening its economy to foreign investment and getting a young new president – the first modern Cuban leader who did not fight in Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. Now, the country that once sent gay men to work camps [may soon legalize same-sex marriage](. But what’s more surprising, writes Cuban-American professor María Isabel Alfonso, is that churches in this secular Communist nation are publicly opposing the government’s LGBTQ rights initiative. ([Leer en español]() What to do when the news proves overwhelming? Poet and scholar Rachel Hadas writes that in “the shadow of public dread … life still needs to be lived.” So play baseball, take your grandchildren to the park and, she advises – [read poetry](. Nick Lehr Arts + Culture Editor Top Stories Do we have any reason to believe that each new generation of white people will be more open-minded and tolerant than previous ones? Elvira Koneva [Are today’s white kids less racist than their grandparents?]( Margaret Hagerman, Mississippi State University Over the course of two years, a sociologist studied a group of affluent, white kids to see how they made sense of sensitive racial issues like privilege, unequal opportunity and police violence. As gay Cubans gain more rights, opposition is also growing. AP. [As Cuba backs gay marriage, churches oppose the government’s plan]( María Isabel Alfonso, St. Joseph's College of New York Cuba is avowedly secular. But as the country debates a new Constitution that would protect LGBT rights, churches have come out strongly against gay marriage — a sign of change on the Communist island. Read poetry. Photo by Priscilla Du Preez/Unsplash [Catastrophe overload? Read philosophers and poetry instead of headlines]( Rachel Hadas, Rutgers University Newark From human suffering to political chicanery to environmental degradation, the tide of bad news, blared in headlines every day, seems overwhelming. One poet and classics scholar asks: What can be done? Environment + Energy - [Rivers flood regularly during hurricanes, but get less attention than coastlines]( Craig E. Colten, Louisiana State University Widespread flooding in North Carolina from Hurricane Florence shows the need for better advance planning in inland areas of the south and mid-Atlantic, especially near rivers. - [The science, skill – and luck – behind evacuation order calls]( Susan L. Cutter, University of South Carolina A hurricane evacuation researcher in South Carolina explains why evacuating when the sun's out actually makes sense. - [Barrier islands protect coasts from storms, but are vulnerable too]( Anna Linhoss, Mississippi State University How do narrow ribbons of sand like North Carolina's Outer Banks withstand the force of hurricanes? The answer lies in their shape-shifting abilities. Science + Technology - [How the zebrafish got its stripes]( Alexandria Volkening, The Ohio State University Zebrafish are known for their black and gold stripes, but researchers are still figuring out how pigment cells interact to form these patterns. - [Digitizing the vast ‘dark data’ in museum fossil collections]( Charles Marshall, University of California, Berkeley A tiny percentage of museums’ natural history holdings are on display. Very little of these vast archives is digitized and available online. But museums are working to change that. Education - [Federal funding for higher ed comes with strings attached, but is still worth it]( Jason Alix Coupet, North Carolina State University Yet the money spent on student loans, Pell Grants and funding for research is not generally keeping pace with the demand for higher ed. Today’s chart - [Enable images to see the chart]( From the article: [New data paint an unpleasant picture of poverty in the US]( [Steven Pressman] Steven Pressman Colorado State University [Follow us on Twitter.]( [Join us on Facebook.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe instantly](. We’ll miss you. 89 South Street - Suite 202 Boston, MA 02111