Photo illustration by Alex LaSalvia/The Emancipator.
We make lists for all sorts of reasons, especially in December. When it comes to year-end recaps, though, I’ve always felt we make them so we can argue.
This is fine with me, actually.
We here at The Emancipator cover race and racism, after all. We won’t fully understand — or end the problem — without a lot of vigorous and intellectually honest debate.
With that in mind, we present to you a list of Emancipator staff picks. They include original reporting from our contributors, as well as commentary and essays — written and video. No matter what form they take, these are our 12 most powerful pieces of the year, in no particular order. (Feel free to disagree.)
Law professor Amy Chua is best known for her controversial parenting memoir, 2011’s “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.” Did you also know that she also had JD Vance as a student? Rui Zhong’s razor-sharp essay argues that we can trace “the intellectual genealogy” of the vice president-elect’s xenophobic, hard-right politics to Chua’s White-nationalist apologism.
Gun violence is a national health crisis, according to both Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and common sense. Still, Asian American activists told Aaron Mak that they “see guns as a crucial part of a leftist political project.” He reported in September on groups such as Yellow Peril Tactical, which are making the case that marginalized communities should have the means to defend themselves while respecting the danger guns bring.
Slightly more than half of White women who voted in the 2024 presidential election voted for Donald Trump — despite Vice President Kamala Harris’ open appeals to that demographic. Whether this surprised anyone isn’t the point, but no one should’ve been. Our contributing managing editor, Halimah Abdullah, noted the week prior to Election Day that seven decades of exit polling, research, and data analysis by a myriad of political scientists consistently points to one conclusion: White women, by and large, tend to vote Republican.
Wellesley professor Kellie Carter Jackson wrote an intimate, heartbreaking look back at the reelection of Donald Trump, told through the lens of her young children — the oldest of whom is now aware of the politics that affect his life. “My husband and I are teaching our kids that it’s OK to work for a dream, and it’s OK to cry and lament when that dream is deferred,” she wrote. “But we never stop working toward a goal of justice and liberation.”
Leola Hampton was only 14 when U.S. District Court Judge W. Arthur Garrity issued a mandate to desegregate Boston Public Schools by means of integrated busing. Fifty years later, she wrote in The Emancipator about “the explosive impact of rocks and bricks smashing through the windows of the school bus.” We’d been planning our July series on the anniversary of the Boston “busing crisis” long before we learned Hampton would publish her remembrances with us, and we are still so grateful. I hope you take the time to read (and watch) what she had to say.
Jean Guerrero literally wrote the book on Stephen Miller — 2021’s “Hatemonger” — detailing the rise of one of Trump’s most conspicuous advocates for racist, White nationalist policy. In her essential preelection essay, my friend and former Los Angeles Times colleague explored the “America First” mindset Miller promotes through the lens of her own family, concluding that the only way to pass the citizenship test in Trumpland is to choose hate.
Kellie Carter Jackson once again, sounding a perfect note on revolution and freedom, right in time for the Fourth of July. Tasmiha Khan, reporting on the issues Muslim mothers have seeking medical care. Malavika Kannan’s moving yet incisive postelection dispatch from “Beigistan.” Tulsa native Caleb Gayle on Black Wall Street massacre victims fighting for reparations — and speaking of, I hope you all were able to listen to our June epilogue for the GBH News podcast, “What Is Owed.”
Last but certainly not least: Clay Cane, author of “The Grift,” on how on earth Black Republicans managed to go from Frederick Douglass to Clarence Thomas.
We at The Emancipator wish happiness, safety, and freedom for you and yours this holiday season. Please pass this along to your friends and family and encourage them to subscribe to Critical Thinking.
In 2025, we want to get to know you better. Please take a few minutes to complete this audience survey to tell us about you and what you want to see us cover in The Emancipator.
We’ll have a new edition of the newsletter shortly after the new year. Thanks for staying in the fight.
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The Emancipator’s best stories of 2024 (in our opinion)
Jamil Smith is the editor-in-chief of The Emancipator. An incisive opinion writer, television producer, and cultural critic, Smith has primarily covered the intersection of politics, culture, and identity during his decades in media. He also co-hosted “One Year Later,” a limited radio series for KCRW, as well as several podcasts. In 2019, the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists awarded Smith its prize for arts reporting for his Time cover story about the film “Black...
More by Jamil Smith
The Emancipator’s best stories of 2024 (in our opinion)
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We make lists for all sorts of reasons, especially in December. When it comes to year-end recaps, though, I’ve always felt we make them so we can argue.
This is fine with me, actually.
We here at The Emancipator cover race and racism, after all. We won’t fully understand — or end the problem — without a lot of vigorous and intellectually honest debate.
With that in mind, we present to you a list of Emancipator staff picks. They include original reporting from our contributors, as well as commentary and essays — written and video. No matter what form they take, these are our 12 most powerful pieces of the year, in no particular order. (Feel free to disagree.)
The tiger cub
Law professor Amy Chua is best known for her controversial parenting memoir, 2011’s “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.” Did you also know that she also had JD Vance as a student? Rui Zhong’s razor-sharp essay argues that we can trace “the intellectual genealogy” of the vice president-elect’s xenophobic, hard-right politics to Chua’s White-nationalist apologism.
These Asian American anti-fascists are claiming their space in gun culture
Gun violence is a national health crisis, according to both Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and common sense. Still, Asian American activists told Aaron Mak that they “see guns as a crucial part of a leftist political project.” He reported in September on groups such as Yellow Peril Tactical, which are making the case that marginalized communities should have the means to defend themselves while respecting the danger guns bring.
Why do we keep expecting White women to vote differently?
Slightly more than half of White women who voted in the 2024 presidential election voted for Donald Trump — despite Vice President Kamala Harris’ open appeals to that demographic. Whether this surprised anyone isn’t the point, but no one should’ve been. Our contributing managing editor, Halimah Abdullah, noted the week prior to Election Day that seven decades of exit polling, research, and data analysis by a myriad of political scientists consistently points to one conclusion: White women, by and large, tend to vote Republican.
I prepared my children for a Harris win. I did not prepare them for her loss.
Wellesley professor Kellie Carter Jackson wrote an intimate, heartbreaking look back at the reelection of Donald Trump, told through the lens of her young children — the oldest of whom is now aware of the politics that affect his life. “My husband and I are teaching our kids that it’s OK to work for a dream, and it’s OK to cry and lament when that dream is deferred,” she wrote. “But we never stop working toward a goal of justice and liberation.”
The buses we rode every September
Leola Hampton was only 14 when U.S. District Court Judge W. Arthur Garrity issued a mandate to desegregate Boston Public Schools by means of integrated busing. Fifty years later, she wrote in The Emancipator about “the explosive impact of rocks and bricks smashing through the windows of the school bus.” We’d been planning our July series on the anniversary of the Boston “busing crisis” long before we learned Hampton would publish her remembrances with us, and we are still so grateful. I hope you take the time to read (and watch) what she had to say.
What ‘Americans only’ really means
Jean Guerrero literally wrote the book on Stephen Miller — 2021’s “Hatemonger” — detailing the rise of one of Trump’s most conspicuous advocates for racist, White nationalist policy. In her essential preelection essay, my friend and former Los Angeles Times colleague explored the “America First” mindset Miller promotes through the lens of her own family, concluding that the only way to pass the citizenship test in Trumpland is to choose hate.
A few more examples of work we loved this year:
Kellie Carter Jackson once again, sounding a perfect note on revolution and freedom, right in time for the Fourth of July. Tasmiha Khan, reporting on the issues Muslim mothers have seeking medical care. Malavika Kannan’s moving yet incisive postelection dispatch from “Beigistan.” Tulsa native Caleb Gayle on Black Wall Street massacre victims fighting for reparations — and speaking of, I hope you all were able to listen to our June epilogue for the GBH News podcast, “What Is Owed.”
Last but certainly not least: Clay Cane, author of “The Grift,” on how on earth Black Republicans managed to go from Frederick Douglass to Clarence Thomas.
We at The Emancipator wish happiness, safety, and freedom for you and yours this holiday season. Please pass this along to your friends and family and encourage them to subscribe to Critical Thinking.
In 2025, we want to get to know you better. Please take a few minutes to complete this audience survey to tell us about you and what you want to see us cover in The Emancipator.
We’ll have a new edition of the newsletter shortly after the new year. Thanks for staying in the fight.
Jamil SmithEditor-in-Chief
Jamil Smith is the editor-in-chief of The Emancipator. An incisive opinion writer, television producer, and cultural critic, Smith has primarily covered the intersection of politics, culture, and identity during his decades in media. He also co-hosted “One Year Later,” a limited radio series for KCRW, as well as several podcasts. In 2019, the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists awarded Smith its prize for arts reporting for his Time cover story about the film “Black... More by Jamil Smith