Ready or not...

...here they come...

View this email online Fam: As the saying goes, when the wolf comes a-knocking, there’s no time to whitewash walls. In other words, if you don’t stay ready, you might find yourself in a situation where you don’t have time to get ready. This week, we found ourselves caught off-guard a little more than we’d like to. IN THE NEWS Bertrand Langlois/AFP via Getty Images The past few years have seen seemingly endless battles about what can and can’t be taught in schools. And, dear readers, as you know, many of these fights are centered around texts and curricula – real or imagined – that have to do with race. (We’re looking at you, CRT.) The latest example to make big news? A Tennessee school district voted 10-0 to ban students from reading Maus, Art Spielgman’s Pullitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about how his father survived the Holocaust. The rationale for banning the book was that it contained “‘eight curse words’ and the image of a nude woman,” (although let the record show that the “woman” in question is actually depicted as a mouse – as is the rest of the Jewish population depicted in the book.) In an interview, Spieglman said that the banning of his book is only one part of a larger, disturbing trend: “It’s part of a continuum, and just a harbinger of things to come,” he told the Washington Post, “the control of people’s thoughts is essential to all of this.” Just a few months ago, our play cousins at NPR’s It’s Been a Minute podcast talked about the way book bans have been litigated over the decades. They point out, yet again, that it’s books about marginalized people that are most frequently subjected to bans – and that often when school districts seek to remove content that would make students and parents feel guilty or uncomfortable, “it really means white students and white parents.” And that in banning certain books, schools and libraries risk upsetting environments where students can learn about difficult, transgressive, and uncomfortable topics in a safe, controlled environment. The whole episode is worth a listen. Also in the news this week: Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement on Thursday. While some folks took a minute to analyze his legacy and the timing of the announcement, many others were already on to the next one, so to speak. That’s in part because President Biden has indicated on multiple occasions that he believes the next Supreme Court Justice should be a Black woman, and people are eager to figure out just who it might be. NPR’s politics team put together a list of likely frontrunners for the position; it includes a handful of district courts judges, along with a couple of less traditional candidates (including Sherilynn Ifill, a civil rights lawyer and the outgoing president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.) Finally – this piece by Wajahat Ali is on our minds this afternoon. It’s called, “What I Learned When My Parents Got Arrested,” and it’s an excerpt from Ali’s recent book, Go Back To Where You Came From. The piece talks about how Ali’s life changed, in the spring of 2002, when his parents went to jail for what he describes as “dumb and questionable business decisions.” He was left to navigate a legal and logistical mess, looking for support in an era where suspicion and mistrust of Muslims was dialed up to eleven. And while Ali’s and his family, who are Pakistani American, faced their share of abandonment, Ali writes that “crisis also invites people, especially strangers, to be kind and forgiving.” The question remains, though, whether the kindness of strangers is enough to counterbalance the rejection of friends. Newsletter continues after sponsor message ON THE POD Alex Bowman for NPR People lie about being Native American all the time – on college applications, on job applications, in casual conversation. But how do "Pretendians" hurt real Indigenous people and communities? And what does all that mean for people who aren't quite sure if they're claiming or reclaiming? This piece by Code Switch fellow Sam Yellowhorse Kesler explores. Listen Here READ / WATCH / LISTEN Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, Code Switch fellow: “I just finished the 1982 novelette Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls. Fans of Guillermo Del Toro's Shape of Water may find a lot of similarities here, it's about a lonely housewife named Dorothy who meets a 6'7" amphibious frog-man named Larry. Dorothy is unhappy in her marriage, and once the fear subsides from finding Larry in her kitchen, she quickly begins an affair with him while he hides in her basement. It's a quick, engaging read with little fluff and a style that makes the droll seem fantastic, and maps the surreal onto the ordinary.” Leah Donnella, supervising editor: “I could not put down Chilean Poet, a 2020 novel by Alejandro Zambra that will be released in English next month. It’s a sweet, funny, moving story about a stepfather and stepson – at least, that’s the label that works for them much of the time. As they both get older, they have to learn how to navigate their relationship as two people who are deeply connected to each other, but whose official ties to one another are always somewhat in flux. It’s a book that will have you thinking about relationships of obligation, relationships of choice, and how quickly and fluidly one can become the other.” That’s all for today, fam. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, curl up with a good book, and hey – maybe even bake yourself some cookies to have for breakfast tomorrow. As we said, if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready. Edited by Leah Donnella Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WBEZ (edit station). Subscribe to Code Switch+. Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free episodes. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: codeswitch@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Code Switch emails. 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