Shut up and dribble no more
What the historic professional basketball protests say about athletes’ role in public life. Protests in Portland turn deadly. Refusing to engage with racial reconciliation on white supremacy’s terms. And there are two new Wonderland Trail recordholders in town.
Individual segments are available in our podcast stream or at www.kuow.org/record.
Basketball players and private citizens
Last week after another Black man was shot by police despite having committed no crime, the WNBA and NBA went on strike to protest police brutality. The protest was historic, and the ensuing national conversation about the role of athletes in public life isn’t entirely unfamiliar. Marcie Sillman discussed it with Jerry Brewer, sports columnist at the Washington Post.
Portland protest deaths amid escalating demonstrations
Protests in Portland over the death of George Floyd have been running for three straight months now. But tensions escalated to new heights this weekend when one man was shot and killed during a clash between a pro-Trump caravan and counter-protestors downtown. Portland Tribune reporter Zane Sparling has been on the ground following the protests since the beginning.
Brenda Salter McNeil, Becoming Brave
Pastor, speaker, and author Brenda Salter McNeil spent 30 years talking and preaching about racial reconciliation. But after Donald Trump was elected in 2016, she felt like those decades of work were a waste. And so she decided to try a new tactic, which she details in her book called, Becoming Brave: Finding The Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now.
New recordholders on the Wonderland Trail
Some people are drawn to Mount Rainier to tackle a climb to the summit. Others, to enjoy a leisurely hike. But this year, two ultra-runners had a different goal. They set out to beat the fastest known times around Mount Rainier’s 93 mile Wonderland Trail. And they did it. On August 24th, Tyler Green compled the trail in 16:40:31. Then last Wednesday, Kaytlyn Gerbin finished the Wonderland in 18:41:54.
