Weekly Link Roundup: 1/22/2016

Happenings and stories gathered this week.

1. “If not even an avowed socialist can be bothered to grapple with reparations, if the question really is that far beyond the pale, if Bernie Sanders truly believes that victims of the Tulsa pogrom deserved nothing, that the victims of contract lending deserve nothing, that the victims of debt peonage deserve nothing, that political plunder of black communities entitles them to nothing, if this is the candidate of the radical left—then expect white supremacy in America to endure well beyond our lifetimes and lifetimes of our children.” —Ta-Nehisi Coates on Bernie Sanders and reparations

2. Daniel Holtzclaw given 263 years in prison for serially raping and targeting black women.
3. The exploitation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy: some things you should know.
4. Taiwan elects its first woman president, Tsai Ing-Wen.
5. “Every single presidential candidate is a character from Lord of the Rings.” It’s hard to disagree.
6. #OscarsSoWhite is more than a black and white issue.
7. A writer wades into the Trump and Sanders campaigns from the perspective of his own whiteness.
8. College application season has ended and admission season is about to begin. NPR brings us a list of ways the admissions process squeezes out poor kids (and one they forgot: standardized test prep classes, which can have a hefty price tag).
9. The seductive nature of problems that aren’t your own, and why young people are flocking to the “third world” and f*cking things up.
10. The EPA’s role in the Flint water crisis.

 

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Artist Spotlight: Vyvian Looper / Luuli

This article may contain content troubling to readers, including discussions of sexual assault and self-harm.

When I saw Vyvian Looper at The Comet, a bar in Cincinnati, I asked her if she was back. Where was she living nowadays? In her car, she responded, with a small laugh. That’s her home. But she was back for a few days to perform in Cincinnati’s inaugural Ladyfest from October 15-17. She bounces around.

The soft-spoken Looper, or Luuli — her stage name — plays music and does art, but isn’t your typical performance artist. She’s more on par with unconventional performers such as Serbian Marina Abramović, known for brutally testing the limits of her body and mind. Like Abramović, there is sometimes blood involved in Luuli’s works.