Culture

Monday Notes for August 26th, 2024

The Uristocrat Headlines for Monday, August 26th, 2024. This is an edition of Uristocrat Notes, a newsletter that explores what we are reading as it relates to cultural stories of the day.

Uristocrat

Aug 26, 2024 — 6 min read

This is an edition of Uristocrat Notes, a newsletter that explores what we are reading as it relates to cultural stories of the day.

Culture

The Divine 9 is engaging with politics in whole new way for Harris

When Kamala Harris stepped on stage to deliver her acceptance speech Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention, she looked out on a sea of women wearing white, a homage to the women’s suffrage movement.

There were also islands of pink and green.

The colors, signaling pride for the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, got a shoutout on the convention stage earlier in the evening when comedian D.L. Hughley shouted: “Where the AKAs?” prompting screams of excitement from sections of the crowd.

It was a nod to a burgeoning political force: Members of AKA and the rest of the elite Black fraternities and sororities known as the Divine Nine, who are determined to usher one of their own into the White House. Harris joined the sorority during her time at Howard University in the 1980s and maintains deep connections with it to this day.

Jim Crow and Black Economic Progress After Slavery

This paper studies the long-run effects of slavery and restrictive Jim Crow institutions on Black Americans’ economic outcomes. We track individual-level census records of each Black family from 1850 to 1940, and extend our analysis to neighborhood-level outcomes in 2000 and surname-based outcomes in 2023. We show that Black families whose ancestors were enslaved until the Civil War have considerably lower education, income, and wealth than Black families whose ancestors were free before the Civil War. The disparities between the two groups have persisted substantially because most families enslaved until the Civil War lived in states with strict Jim Crow regimes after slavery ended. In a regression discontinuity design based on ancestors’ enslavement locations, we show that Jim Crow institutions sharply reduced Black families’ economic progress in the long run.

Jim Crow and Black Economic Progress After Slavery - Marginal REVOLUTION

This paper studies the long-run effects of slavery and restrictive Jim Crow institutions on Black Americans’ economic outcomes. We track individual-level census records of each Black family from 1850 to 1940, and extend our analysis to neighborhood-level outcomes in 2000 and surname-based outcomes in 2023. We show that Black families whose ancestors were enslaved until […]

Marginal REVOLUTIONTyler Cowen

Maxwell: Tiny Desk Concert

Ethan Tomas releases his debut EP "ORIGINS"

Review: ‘Lungu Boy’ by Asake

Finance

Why Roth Accounts May Be a Good Savings Option at Any Age

These savings accounts, which are often pitched to young investors, can be a good investment option for older and retired workers.

New York City

Fare Evasion Surges on N.Y.C. Buses, Where 48% of Riders Fail to Pay

New York’s bus system has one of the worst fare evasion problems of any major city in the world. The issue is more pronounced on buses than in the subway.