A Three-Part Series on the Plight of the Black Middle Class in America

Longreads

The Washington Post recently published a powerful three-part series looking at the plight of the black middle class in America. The series focuses on Maryland’s Prince George’s County—the most affluent majority-black county in America, as well as one of the counties hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis. At the heart of the series is a singular, vexing question: “Why don’t black middle-class families enjoy the same level of economic security as their white counterparts?”

1. “The American Dream Shatters in Prince George’s County” (Michael A. Fletcher, January 24, 2015)

“But today, the nation’s highest-income majority-black county stands out for a different reason — its residents have lost far more wealth than families in neighboring, majority-white suburbs. And while every one of these surrounding counties is enjoying a strong rebound in housing prices and their economies, Prince George’s is lagging far behind, and local economists say a full recovery appears unlikely anytime soon.”

2.“In…

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Five Themes for Writers and Readers

WordPress.com News

In the past, we’ve highlighted some of our favorite themes for longform enthusiasts and bloggers who just want to write. Today, let’s take a look at five free themes, launched in the past several months, that offer a distraction-free writing and reading experience.

Radcliffe

Radcliffe combines bold typography with a clutter-free post layout, as shown above. Ideal for longform writing, the theme works blissfully out of the box for those focused on lots of text. The default headline font Abril Fatface is strong but not overbearing, while the Crimson font for your body text completes this pleasurable reading experience.

Calling out text in various ways also looks fantastic — for example, the blockquote styling is simple but sophisticated:

But don’t be fooled by Radcliffe‘s simple design. Your photography has a place here, too: full-width featured images give your posts visual flair, while galleries also look lovely, as seen on Sage and…

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‘In That Moment, My Heart Dropped’: Rilla Askew on Writing, Race, and Riots in Tulsa

Longreads

Here’s a powerful story from Rilla Askew, author of Fire in Beulah, about race and growing up in Oklahoma. Askew spoke during our night of storytelling with This Land Press in New York City.

The full talk is below, and you can see all our storytellers at our YouTube page:

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Join the Con-verse-ation! Writing 201: Poetry Is Starting Soon.

The Daily Post

In less than two weeks we’ll be unveiling our first-ever Blogging U. course dedicated to poetry. Does joining a verse-loving community where you can share your work in a supportive, collegial environment sound like fun? Just scroll to the bottom of the post and sign up. Need more information about this course? Read on!

Poets of the world, unite!

The idea behind Writing 201: Poetry is to bring together poets of all styles, temperaments, and experience levels in a way that encourages writing, sharing, and discussion. You get to decide how laid back or challenging you want the course to be.

Each day for the duration of the course (not counting weekends), you’ll receive an assignment, made up of three parts: a word prompt, a poetic form, and a poetic device. You get to choose which of these you want to explore (if any).

We’d like toemphasize that we welcome novices and seasoned…

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When Two People Decide to Live Together and Combine Their Bookshelves

Longreads

Alexander Chee has a delightful essay in the Morning News about the way we view our personal libraries and what happens to our books when we attempt to combine our bookshelves with our partners:

One of the funniest and most interesting questions you can ask a group of couples at a party is whether or not they have combined their bookshelves.

I discovered this once I began asking it, looking for advice from others who might have done this. Most often, thus far, in my highly selective, completely unscientific research, the answer is no. Reasons get thrown around, and one is common. “I told her,” a friend said, who had just completed this process, “‘That stack of doubles by the entrance, that you will not get rid of, that is your doubt about our long-term future.’” He laughed as he said this.

Doubles, inside this world of library marriages…

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Searching for the Secret to Waking Up Early

Longreads

I abhor waking up. Every morning, I silence the first of my iPhone’s three alarms (set for 5:30, 5:45, and 6 a.m., thanks to the fact that I work East Coast hours from the West Coast), bend myself reluctantly out of bed, pick crud out of my eyes, and try to convince myself that today is going to be the day I become a morning person. It never works, though—in part, I suspect, because I’ve never learned the proper methods.

The big lesson of wake-up science is that one person’s perfect morning is another person’s hell. (Lady Gaga, for instance, has said that she does five minutes of meditation every morning. If I tried that, I’d be snoozing by minute two.) But with some effort and careful attention to what makes you feel alert and awake, waking up can go from painful to—well, not pleasant, exactly, but certainly tolerable. By…

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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Longreads

Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle users, you can also get them as a Readlist.

Sign up to receive this list free every Friday in your inbox.

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Editors’ Picks of the Year: Notable Reads on WordPress.com

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WordPress.com News

Our editors dove into the archives to resurface top posts published on WordPress.com this year, from personal essays to comics, and photography to fiction. Here’s a glimpse of what you published — and what the community especially loved — in 2014.

“Ever Wished That Calvin and Hobbes Creator Bill Watterson Would Return to the Comics Page? Well, He Just Did,” Stephan Pastis, Pearls Before Swine

“Bill Watterson is the Bigfoot of cartooning,” writes comic artist Stephan Pastis of the legendary Calvin and Hobbes creator. This summer, Pastis collaborated — in secret — with Watterson. Their awesome idea: Watterson would silently step in and draw Pastis’ comic strip, Pearls Before Swine, for a few days, pretending to be a second grader. Pastis recounts the experience, offering a rare glimpse of Bigfoot.

Pearls Before Swine; Stephan Pastis; June 4, 2014.

“No Apology,” Mehreen Kasana

I will apologize for ISIS when every…

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G.K. To all

भारत के पहले गवर्नर सी. राजगोपालचारी

चक्रवर्ती राजगोपालचारी का जन्म मद्रास के थोरपल्ली गांव में 10 दिसंबर 1878 को हुआ था. रोजगोपालचारी राजाजी के नाम से भी जाने जाते हैं. उन्होंने मद्रास कॉलेज से लॉ की डिग्री हासिल की थी. राजगोपालचारी कांग्रेस के प्रमुख नेताओं में से एक थे और महात्मा गांधी के काफी करीबी माने जाते थे. 1930 में जब गांधी जी ने दांडी मार्च किया तो इन्होंने भी नमक कानून तोड़ा था.

राजनीति के साथ-साथ ही राजगोपालचारी ने भारतीय जात-पात के आडंबर पर भी गहरा चोट किया. कई मंदिरों में जहां दलित समुदाय का मंदिर में जाना वर्जित था, इन्होंने इस नियम का डटकर विरोध किया. इसके कारण मंदिरों में दलितों का प्रवेश संभव हो सका. 1938 में इन्होंने एग्रीकल्चर डेट रिलीफ एक्ट कानून बनाया ताकि किसानों को कर्ज से राहत मिल सके.

राजगोपालचारी को कांग्रेस के जनरल सेक्रेटरी के रूप में भी चुना गया था. अंतिम गवर्नर माउंटबेटन के बाद राजगोपालचारी भारत के पहले गवर्नर बने थे. 1950 में जवाहरलाल नेहरू के नेतृत्व वाली सरकार में इन्हें गृहमंत्री भी बनाया गया. 1952 में राजगोपालचारी ने मद्रास के मुख्यमंत्री के रूप में थपथ ली. स्वतंत्रता संग्राम से लेकर बाद तक देश की सेवा करने के लिए इन्हें भारत का सर्वश्रेष्ठ नागरिक पुरस्कार भारत रत्न 1954 में दिया गया. बाद में नेहरू से अपनी वैचारिक असहमति के कारण कांग्रेस से अलग हो गए. कांग्रेस से अलग होकर इन्होंने अपनी एक अलग पार्टी बनाई, जिसका नाम ‘एंटी कांग्रेस स्वतंत्र पार्टी’ रखा गया.

राजनीतिक कामों के अलावा इन्होंने संस्कृत ग्रंथ ‘रामायण’ का तमिल में अनुवाद किया. राजगोपालचारी तमिल के साथ-साथ अंग्रेजी के भी बेहतरीन लेखक थे. इन्होंने सलेम लिटरेरी सोसाइटी के संस्थापक थे. अपने कारावास के समय के बारे में उन्होंने ‘मेडिटेशन इन जेल’ के नाम से किताब भी लिखी.