Valerie Russ
@vruss.bsky.social
Journalist and writer. Bison. Former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter. Broke story on the controversy over Philadelphia's Harriet Tubman statue being commissioned without a public call for artists. The city reversed course; issued the call.
Pinned
Valerie Russ
@vruss.bsky.social
· Jan 9
Julia Chaney-Moss, sister of slain civil rights worker James Chaney, talks ‘the other Philadelphia’
Last month, Julia Chaney-Moss accepted honors on behalf of her brother, James Earl Chaney, one of three civil rights workers killed in Mississippi in 1964. The Inquirer interviewed her about her life.
share.inquirer.com
Reposting: The history people are trying to keep out of schools is being replayed in the streets daily. As Faulkner said, 'The past is never dead. It's not even past.'
share.inquirer.com/eThmcv
share.inquirer.com/eThmcv
Reposted by Valerie Russ
Today marks 58 years since the Orangeburg Massacre--one of the deadliest incidents of the Civil Rights Movement
Students had been protesting the continued segregation of All Star Bowling Lane when state police opened fire
Today the bowling alley is being brought back to life
Students had been protesting the continued segregation of All Star Bowling Lane when state police opened fire
Today the bowling alley is being brought back to life
February 8, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Today marks 58 years since the Orangeburg Massacre--one of the deadliest incidents of the Civil Rights Movement
Students had been protesting the continued segregation of All Star Bowling Lane when state police opened fire
Today the bowling alley is being brought back to life
Students had been protesting the continued segregation of All Star Bowling Lane when state police opened fire
Today the bowling alley is being brought back to life
Reposted by Valerie Russ
It’s Déjà Vu All over Again
With everything going on in Minneapolis and around the country, it is stunning to note the similarities to the Orangeburg Massacre, which took place February 8, 1968.
With everything going on in Minneapolis and around the country, it is stunning to note the similarities to the Orangeburg Massacre, which took place February 8, 1968.
It's Déjà Vu All over Again
With everything going on in Minneapolis and around the country, it is stunning to note the similarities to the Orangeburg Massacre, which took place February 8, 1968. A quick recap:more here littlegreenfootballs.comand here littlegreenfootballs.com Students from South Carolina State ...
https://littlegreenfootballs.com/page/329798_Its_Déjà_Vu_All_over_Again
February 8, 2026 at 7:19 PM
It’s Déjà Vu All over Again
With everything going on in Minneapolis and around the country, it is stunning to note the similarities to the Orangeburg Massacre, which took place February 8, 1968.
With everything going on in Minneapolis and around the country, it is stunning to note the similarities to the Orangeburg Massacre, which took place February 8, 1968.
Reposted by Valerie Russ
#OtD 8 Feb 1968 the Orangeburg massacre took place in South Carolina when police opened fire on Black SC State students, killing three and wounding 27 after Black student-led protests at a segregated bowling alley shop.workingclasshistory.com/en-gb/collec...
February 8, 2026 at 5:55 AM
#OtD 8 Feb 1968 the Orangeburg massacre took place in South Carolina when police opened fire on Black SC State students, killing three and wounding 27 after Black student-led protests at a segregated bowling alley shop.workingclasshistory.com/en-gb/collec...
Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop.
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
Reposted by Valerie Russ
(gift substack) Jeffrey Epstein didn't want prostitutes. He wanted scared, vulnerable girls and young women he could control. open.substack.com/pub/jkbjourn...
Understanding Epstein's Crimes
Sex trafficking isn't widely understood. Here is what Epstein did.
open.substack.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:48 PM
(gift substack) Jeffrey Epstein didn't want prostitutes. He wanted scared, vulnerable girls and young women he could control. open.substack.com/pub/jkbjourn...
Reposted by Valerie Russ
Y'all, @sandydarity.bsky.social is on #bluesky!
Dr. Sandy Darity is one the top experts on the racial wealth gap for Black Americans. Alongside Dr. Kristen Mullen, they find that giving every Black American a direct payment of $267,000 would help close the racial wealth gap. #blacksky
Dr. Sandy Darity is one the top experts on the racial wealth gap for Black Americans. Alongside Dr. Kristen Mullen, they find that giving every Black American a direct payment of $267,000 would help close the racial wealth gap. #blacksky
William ‘Sandy’ Darity insists federal dollars are the only path to full reparations - Andscape
Advocates for Black equality call many things “reparations” – educational programs, housing assistance, health care clinics, even efforts to foster reconciliation between the races. But there is a sch...
andscape.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Y'all, @sandydarity.bsky.social is on #bluesky!
Dr. Sandy Darity is one the top experts on the racial wealth gap for Black Americans. Alongside Dr. Kristen Mullen, they find that giving every Black American a direct payment of $267,000 would help close the racial wealth gap. #blacksky
Dr. Sandy Darity is one the top experts on the racial wealth gap for Black Americans. Alongside Dr. Kristen Mullen, they find that giving every Black American a direct payment of $267,000 would help close the racial wealth gap. #blacksky
Reposted by Valerie Russ
Dr. Patricia Bath & Marian Croak were the first two Black women inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2022.
Bath saved the sight of millions with her Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment. Croak did pioneering work in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.
#WomenInSTEM #BHM
Bath saved the sight of millions with her Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment. Croak did pioneering work in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.
#WomenInSTEM #BHM
February 5, 2026 at 11:49 PM
Dr. Patricia Bath & Marian Croak were the first two Black women inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2022.
Bath saved the sight of millions with her Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment. Croak did pioneering work in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.
#WomenInSTEM #BHM
Bath saved the sight of millions with her Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment. Croak did pioneering work in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.
#WomenInSTEM #BHM
Reposted by Valerie Russ
Civil rights activist Medgar Evers was shot in the back by a Klansman in 1963.
The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from Evers' museum and reportedly plans to remove references that call his murderer a “racist"
The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from Evers' museum and reportedly plans to remove references that call his murderer a “racist"
Medgar Evers’ killer was a Klansman, but Trump administration says stop calling him a racist - Mississippi Today
Among anticipated changes to a new visitor brochure for the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument is no longer using "racist" to describe the killer of the civil rights leader.
mississippitoday.org
February 5, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Civil rights activist Medgar Evers was shot in the back by a Klansman in 1963.
The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from Evers' museum and reportedly plans to remove references that call his murderer a “racist"
The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from Evers' museum and reportedly plans to remove references that call his murderer a “racist"
Reposted by Valerie Russ
Now maybe the city and everyone involved can rethink putting the Rocky statue at the top of the PMA steps.
Philly should not be elevating the statue of white man who supports an administration that tore down exhibits about the history of slavery in this city.
www.inquirer.com/arts/philade...
Philly should not be elevating the statue of white man who supports an administration that tore down exhibits about the history of slavery in this city.
www.inquirer.com/arts/philade...
Museum reverses course, and it’s the ‘Philadelphia Museum of Art’ once again
The name change announced in October has been changed back, but some elements of the rebrand will remain.
www.inquirer.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:34 PM
Now maybe the city and everyone involved can rethink putting the Rocky statue at the top of the PMA steps.
Philly should not be elevating the statue of white man who supports an administration that tore down exhibits about the history of slavery in this city.
www.inquirer.com/arts/philade...
Philly should not be elevating the statue of white man who supports an administration that tore down exhibits about the history of slavery in this city.
www.inquirer.com/arts/philade...
Reposted by Valerie Russ
Come with me to Congress ✈️
February 4, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Come with me to Congress ✈️
Reposted by Valerie Russ
Incredible. They destroyed a great newspaper because they hated the people who actually paid for it and read it so much that they'd rather scrap the paper if they couldn't get Tucker Carlson's audience bsky.app/profile/maxt...
Speaking to WaPo employees, editor Matt Murray says cuts are about “positioning ourselves to become more essential to people's lives, and what is becoming a more crowded, competitive and complicated media landscape, and after some years when, candidly, the Post has had struggles to do that."
February 4, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Incredible. They destroyed a great newspaper because they hated the people who actually paid for it and read it so much that they'd rather scrap the paper if they couldn't get Tucker Carlson's audience bsky.app/profile/maxt...
wapo.st/4q5tv2n - better late than never
“The Navy stands on the shoulders of the geniuses that have been advancing our technology,” said retired U.S. Navy Adm. Philip S. Davidson.
“The Navy stands on the shoulders of the geniuses that have been advancing our technology,” said retired U.S. Navy Adm. Philip S. Davidson.
Mathematician Gladys West dies at 95. She was a hidden figure behind GPS.
Without the mathematical model that she helped refine, “the extraordinary positioning, navigation, and timing accuracy of GPS would be impossible to achieve.”
wapo.st
January 31, 2026 at 5:53 PM
wapo.st/4q5tv2n - better late than never
“The Navy stands on the shoulders of the geniuses that have been advancing our technology,” said retired U.S. Navy Adm. Philip S. Davidson.
“The Navy stands on the shoulders of the geniuses that have been advancing our technology,” said retired U.S. Navy Adm. Philip S. Davidson.
This is the Black History so many don't want in history books. It's a gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/s...
Gladys West, Unsung Figure in Development of GPS, Dies at 95
www.nytimes.com
January 31, 2026 at 5:40 PM
This is the Black History so many don't want in history books. It's a gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/s...
Reposted by Valerie Russ
The journalism community needs to come together and stand with these journalists! Release them now!
UPDATE — The Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is calling for the immediate release of Lemon and Fort, and for all charges against them to be withdrawn.
thetriibe.com/2026/01/jour...
thetriibe.com/2026/01/jour...
NABJ Chicago calls for the immediate release of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort arrested after filming Minnesota church protest • The TRiiBE
Journalism organizations condemn the arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort as vindictive attacks on press freedom.
thetriibe.com
January 30, 2026 at 7:28 PM
The journalism community needs to come together and stand with these journalists! Release them now!
Reposted by Valerie Russ
ICYMI: I'll be filling-in to host for my good friend @donlemonofficial.bsky.social for his show on YouTube in a just few minutes so join us there!
www.youtube.com/@TheDonLemon...
www.youtube.com/@TheDonLemon...
Don Lemon
The official YouTube channel of The Don Lemon Show where Don will welcome a variety of guests and newsmakers, with topics spanning everything from social issues and race to current events and the figh...
www.youtube.com
January 30, 2026 at 7:05 PM
ICYMI: I'll be filling-in to host for my good friend @donlemonofficial.bsky.social for his show on YouTube in a just few minutes so join us there!
www.youtube.com/@TheDonLemon...
www.youtube.com/@TheDonLemon...
Reposted by Valerie Russ
The arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are a test for every MSM member with a platform. If you are not voicing your outrage at this blatant violation of the First Amendment, you are utterly discredited as a journalist.
January 30, 2026 at 4:44 PM
The arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are a test for every MSM member with a platform. If you are not voicing your outrage at this blatant violation of the First Amendment, you are utterly discredited as a journalist.
Reposted by Valerie Russ
Reposted by Valerie Russ
(1,5) In April 2018, only months after Jaime was murdered, I was at a public rally outside the NRA Convention in Dallas with @alyssamilano.bsky.social, @benjackson.bsky.social, and others. We were confronted by men carrying AR 15's in public at a protest. I write about it all in my book
January 28, 2026 at 2:14 PM
(1,5) In April 2018, only months after Jaime was murdered, I was at a public rally outside the NRA Convention in Dallas with @alyssamilano.bsky.social, @benjackson.bsky.social, and others. We were confronted by men carrying AR 15's in public at a protest. I write about it all in my book
Reposted by Valerie Russ
goddamn, @adamserwer.bsky.social with an incredible dispatch from minneapolis. these people are so brave www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong
The pushback against ICE exposed a series of mistaken assumptions.
www.theatlantic.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:29 PM
goddamn, @adamserwer.bsky.social with an incredible dispatch from minneapolis. these people are so brave www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Reposted by Valerie Russ
“The French government announced that it will stop using American video conferencing platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom, and replace them with Visio, a French platform.”
Zoom Is the First Casualty in France's War on American Big Tech
Homebrewed video conferencing may not be a moonshot, but you gotta start somewhere.
gizmodo.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:34 PM
“The French government announced that it will stop using American video conferencing platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom, and replace them with Visio, a French platform.”
Reposted by Valerie Russ
Earlier today, @katiephang.bsky.social was on the ground in Minneapolis reporting on the aftermath of the murder of Alex Pretti.
This is what she saw: https://contrarian.substack.com/p/on-the-ground-in-minnesota-with-katie
This is what she saw: https://contrarian.substack.com/p/on-the-ground-in-minnesota-with-katie
On the Ground in Minnesota with Katie Phang
Katie Phang is on the ground in Minneapolis reporting on the aftermath of the murder of Alex Pretti.
contrarian.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 11:44 PM
Earlier today, @katiephang.bsky.social was on the ground in Minneapolis reporting on the aftermath of the murder of Alex Pretti.
This is what she saw: https://contrarian.substack.com/p/on-the-ground-in-minnesota-with-katie
This is what she saw: https://contrarian.substack.com/p/on-the-ground-in-minnesota-with-katie
Reposted by Valerie Russ
This is a really incredible piece. Share it widely 🎁https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/01/minneapolis-uprising/685755/?gift=C-rzmQ8PsUHt15odxTKJDn7xrpPNxSpotkNz_P27oI0
Welcome to the American Winter
In the frozen streets of Minneapolis, something profound is happening.
www.theatlantic.com
January 26, 2026 at 5:29 AM
This is a really incredible piece. Share it widely 🎁https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/01/minneapolis-uprising/685755/?gift=C-rzmQ8PsUHt15odxTKJDn7xrpPNxSpotkNz_P27oI0
A remarkable essay on the 2025 firing of Carla Hayden by Jack Hill. It 'reveals an ongoing rift in American life — about race, about gender, about the people we choose to trust with our national history and memory.' and: 'Whom do we trust to tell the American story?
share.inquirer.com/zhAe50
share.inquirer.com/zhAe50
Let’s talk about Carla Hayden and America’s discomfort with Black women in positions of authority | Opinion
The dismissal of Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden is a loss — not just for those who admired her, not just for Black women, but for all of us.
share.inquirer.com
January 26, 2026 at 2:34 PM
A remarkable essay on the 2025 firing of Carla Hayden by Jack Hill. It 'reveals an ongoing rift in American life — about race, about gender, about the people we choose to trust with our national history and memory.' and: 'Whom do we trust to tell the American story?
share.inquirer.com/zhAe50
share.inquirer.com/zhAe50
Reposted by Valerie Russ
ICE killing #AlexPretti should remind you of police killing #PhilandoCastille. Both men had concealed weapon permits, did not draw their guns, & were killed in Minn. These homicides are the price of unaccountable policing. These deaths are variations on the same fatal theme.
January 25, 2026 at 4:36 AM
ICE killing #AlexPretti should remind you of police killing #PhilandoCastille. Both men had concealed weapon permits, did not draw their guns, & were killed in Minn. These homicides are the price of unaccountable policing. These deaths are variations on the same fatal theme.