Daily Archives: November 11, 2021

In the fall of 2015, Bartlett High School teacher Sheleah Harris noticed something abnormal.

One of her students who was typically engaged and well-behaved suddenly started acting differently. He stopped doing his work and was disruptive in the classroom. Harris, who is now a Shelby County Schools board member, asked him what was wrong.

She learned that he had recently become homeless.

Having seen firsthand the ways homelessness hurts students academically, socially and emotionally, Harris is alarmed by the growing number of Memphis children experiencing housing insecurity.

With 538 enrolled students identified as homeless as of Sept. 29, the number of homeless children in Shelby County Schools had jumped by 36% from last fall, raising questions about how Tennessees largest school district and the community can best support students and families in need.

The data presented to the Shelby County school board last month marks the first recorded increase in student homelessness in Memphis since the pandemic began. At the end of the first quarter last school year, the district reported 395 students were homeless a sharp decrease from the year before that, when there were 643.

Homelessness data is often not 100% accurate, because of varying definitions of homelessness and the challenge in counting people who couch surf day to day.

Still, the latest data is the most accurate picture of homelessness in the district since the pandemic began. During typical school years, the district relies on school counselors, social workers, and teachers to gather data on homeless students on a school-by-school basis. That wasnt possible while school buildings were shut down and school staff could only interact with students and families through a computer screen.

Because the district relies on school counselors, social workers, and teachers to gather the data, the latest data is the most accurate picture of the situation since the pandemic began, now that students have returned to in-person learning and school staff have more direct access to students and families.

The spike is likely the result of a lack of affordable housing across Memphis, Karen Ball, the districts senior advisor of attendance and discipline, said at an Oct. 17 school board meeting. With the national moratorium on evictions now expired, plus a competitive housing market, rental rates have skyrocketed in Memphis and across the nation.

Between September 2020 and September 2021, the nations median apartment rent rose by 15%. In the Memphis metropolitan area, the situation is even worse: The city has seen a 19% increase, according to a MLK50 report last month.

The district continues to do whatever it can to help address the problem, Ball said, from providing transportation, school supplies, and uniforms, to offering group and individual tutoring at both schools and shelters. The district also partners with community agencies to provide temporary housing and emergency payments for hotels.

But, Ball said, resources are quickly becoming exhausted, especially for families who have multiple evictions on their record or owe up to $10,000 in past-due rent or mortgage payments.

And the problem is only expected to get worse.

We are anticipating more homeless families as the school year progresses, Ball said.

Shelby County Schools recent data is unsettling but not surprising, said Mary Hamlett, vice president of family programs for Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association, a nonprofit that assists Memphis families experiencing or on the brink of homelessness. In July, MIFA received about 500 applications for emergency assistance to help families stay in their homes or pay for utilities. In September, she said, the number of applications quadrupled to 2,000.

Hamlett assumes there are far more homeless families than current district data accounts for. Many families, she said, wait to enroll their children in school until they find permanent housing and are able to leave the homeless shelter or other temporary housing.

Meanwhile, many landlords who rented affordable housing and gave flexibility to renters with questionable credit history have left the business because of lost income and other challenges posed by the pandemic eviction moratorium. This causes a bottleneck in getting homeless families permanent housing again, Hamlett said.

The stigma attached to living in a homeless shelter, Hamlett said, can have severe ramifications for childrens social and emotional development and well-being. They may be ostracized from their peers and may live in a constant state of stress.

In turn, homeless children often fall behind academically an even bigger concern after all the upheaval the pandemic has caused during the last three school years.

They know that their future is very uncertain, Hamlett said. How can you focus on learning in that situation?

And if those students cant learn, Hamlett said, a vicious cycle begins. If a child doesnt receive a quality education, they may not be able to land a good job as an adult. If they cant earn enough money to afford stable housing, their children may also experience homelessness.

The only way to get children out of this cycle, Hamlett said, is to ensure everyone has the basics food, shelter, clothing, and education at the beginning of their lives. Schools do their part to support students facing housing insecurity, Hamlett said, and now its on public officials and community leaders to dig into the problem.

Harris echoed that sentiment, saying community leaders and members need to step up as homelessness rises in Memphis and beyond.

The local school district can only do so much, Harris said. We have to have really strong community partners that are kind of locking arms with us to attack this issue.

Thats what Harris resolved to do in 2015 after discovering her student had become homeless. She started by emptying one of her desk drawers and filling it with snacks, toiletries, and school supplies for him and any other student in need. In 2016, Harris founded Living Grace, a nonprofit that advocates for homeless children and provides resources to their families, and shes continued that advocacy work as a school board member.

Board member Stephanie Love applauded the efforts the district has made to support homeless students. But, Love said, the district should be more intentional about how it partners with community organizations to find long-term solutions such as advocating for a living wage.

I think everything that were doing is great, but its not sustainable for our parents, Love said at a recent board meeting. And if we want our students to come to school, we have to make sure they have a home.

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As homelessness increases, Memphis schools and communities are finding ways to help unhoused students - Chalkbeat Tennessee

Multi-generation family lighting Kwanzaa candles

Getty Images / Hill Street Studios

Kwanzaa is a seven-day holiday that starts on December 26 and ends on January 1. It is one of my favorite holidays, right up there with Juneteenth, because it's a time of year that offers a clear and intentional space to celebrate Black culture. Its popularity ebbs and flows year to year, and it's still a relatively niche holiday, but it's a celebration that manages to capture the pulse of Black culture in times of need, ready to help us all reflect and build community while reconnecting us with our African roots.

If you asked 10 different Kwanzaa observers how they celebrate, you would get 10 different answers. It's a holiday designed to meet its participants wherever they are on the Black cultural spectrum. At its core, Kwanzaa is an amalgamation of several solstice and harvest ceremonies traditionally celebrated throughout the African continent. The word Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza" meaning "first fruits." It's a celebration that uses the time of winter harvest to allow its celebrants to reevaluate their lives and reset for the new year.

Under an umbrella of a basic set of tenets and principles, Kwanzaa celebrations offer a broad and inclusive framework for building an open community and providing a safe space for cultural expression, so that each participant can assign their own significance for themselves each year.

Here, we'll explore the origins, traditions and delicious ways Kwanzaa is celebrated across the world today.

Related: Migration Meals: How African American Food Transformed the Taste of America

At its founding in 1966, Kwanzaa was meant to be a highly political, neoliberal alternative to Christmas. Its founder, Maulana Karenga, Ph.D., professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, was searching for a way to help heal his community from the oppression of racism.

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In the 1960s, Karenga was a civil rights activist in the tradition of the Black Panther Party and other alternative Pan-African movement organizations. These organizations saw connections to the African diaspora as a valuable cultural respite from the complicated and disempowering backlash Black communities across the country were feeling in regard to the civil rights movement.

After 1965, with the assassination of Malcolm X in the spring and the Watts riots in Los Angeles in August, Karenga decided the following year that Kwanzaa could be the answer his community needed.

What began as a regional niche holiday has grown over the last 55 years and evolved into a truly dexterous, easily customizable celebration, with some basic elements that are central to any celebration.

A Kwanzaa celebration is all about family and community and, as previously stated, is open for interpretation. That said, there are some symbols and basic elements that can be employed to make the celebration feel more authentic.

Each day of this seven-day holiday is assigned one of the seven Nguzo Saba, or principles, as a focus. The principles are observed and discussed each day, and at the end of the week they lead to a focused set of lessons that set the tone for the coming year. The seven principals, in both their Swahili name and English translation, are as follows:

Umoja, or unity

Kujichagulia, or self-determination

Ujima, or collective work and responsibility

Ujamaa, or cooperative economics

Nia, or purpose

Kuumba, or creativity

Imani, or faith.

Setting the aesthetic tone is a wonderful place to begin your celebrations. As a centerpiece, a kind of altar can be set on a woven mat, called a mkeka. A traditional mkeka is made from kente cloth, or African mud cloth, and is meant to represent the foundation of life.

On the mat, ideally, you would place a kinara, or seven-spaced candle holder, for the mishumaa saba, or seven candles. There are always seven candlesone black, three red and three green. The black symbolizes the African people, the red symbolizes their struggle, and the green symbolizes the future and hope that comes from their struggle.

The kinara is set up with the three red candles on the left, the one black candle in the center and the three green candles on the right. The black candle is lit on the first night and is the first candle relit each remaining night, with the addition of another candle lit from left to right, or from red to green, each night until the last day when every candle is lit. You would replace each burned candle daily to start fresh, so you would need 15 red, 7 black and 6 green candles to get you through the holiday.

Aside from the candles, other symbols can be added to the altar: mazao (or crops) are represented by fresh fruit and vegetables, muhindi (ears of corn), to represent children celebrating; kikombe cha umoja (a unity cup), for commemorating and giving shukrani (thanks) to African ancestors through libation; and, last but not least, zawadi (gifts).

The parts of the Kwanzaa celebration that makes it feel truly joyful are food and gifts. When I think of the Kwanzaa table, I think of the best and most celebratory dishes that represent the fullness of the African diaspora. Think African ingredients like okra, peanuts and yams, spices like berbere, mace and allspice, and flavorings like hibiscus, tamarind and ginger. It's an opportunity to connect with fall and winter produce and the botanical treasure that the African continent has to offer. It's also a time for communal cooking and bountiful tables. The Karamu feast, which is traditionally held on the sixth day of Kwanzaa (December 31), is the only real "official" feast and, even then, there's no set menu. This allows for the cultural creativity and self-expression Kwanzaa fosters.

Daily gift-giving is another wonderful part of the celebration. Kwanzaa is a homemade, hand-crafted, anti-capitalistic holiday, so keep that in mind. This becomes another opportunity to use the kitchen as inspiration. Wonderful options for gifting ideas could be things like infused oils, hand-blended teas or baked goods. No matter the gift, the spirit is to use creativity and your time to make something heartfelt and original to share with guests.

Black Eyed Peas

Learn more about Macaroni and Cheese at Monticello.

A dish of baked macaroni and cheese

Read the author's story behind this recipe: Skillet Diaries: A Cast-Iron Legacy

Cornbread in a cast-iron skillet

Read more about Jessica B. Harris' experience with Salada de Quiabo here.

Brazilian Okra & Greens Salad

See More: 10 Homemade Food Gifts from Your Kitchen

Depending on how intensive your ceremony is, these elements are decorative and can be represented using your own aesthetic taste. On a basic level, setting an altar and using each daily principle as a kind of meditation for the day is a great first step. (Watch The Black Candle, a documentary narrated by Maya Angelou, to learn more about the variances in celebrations.) African, African American and diaspora music, dancing and art are also elements that can enhance and round out the aesthetic elements of the holiday.

Whether you've been celebrating for years or are planning to celebrate for the first time, Kwanzaa is a cherished time for many to connect with their African heritage and celebrate their Black culture as they enter a new year.

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The Origins and Traditions of KwanzaaPlus the Delicious Ways People Celebrate Today - Yahoo Lifestyle

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) On November 11th, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is celebrating 10 years since its opening. And while the museum is well known for the art within its walls, its had an even bigger impact beyond them.

Its life changing, said Bentonville artist, Richard Lorenz.

What a powerful thing to drop in the middle of America, said Graham Cobb, President and CEO of the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Just off I-49 and tucked into a wooded oasis in the heart of Bentonville lies Crystal Bridges.

Our mission from the very beginning was about art and nature and architecture and about welcoming all, said Rod Bigelow, Executive Director and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Crystal Bridges. Our community has embraced us in amazing ways and thats through people coming as tourists to the region or people who have been here their entire lives.

That emphasis on art, nature and architecture has threaded into the Bentonville Community. New buildings being built have an art-like quality to them.

Bentonville Mayor Stephanie Orman also said they take art into account when it comes to the parks and recreation department. They also try to put an emphasis on public art throughout the city.

When you talk with people when they come, thats one of the first things theyre going to mention is Crystal Bridges, said Mayor Orman.

Cobb said the museum has elevated Bentonville as a tourist destination. Its also contributed to attracting talented and high performing workers who want to make Northwest Arkansas their home.

They want vibrant communities. Theyre drawn to ideas that are not like their own, and cultural amenities and great food, he said. These are a lot of things that Bentonville boasts.

Its also boosted the city from an economic perspective. Cobb said from 2004 to 2010, theBentonville Total Commercial Building PermitValue was about $290 million, for an average of $41 million annually. From 2011 to the first half of 2021, that same category has surpassed $1.4 billion, for an average of $128 million annually.Thats a three-time increase annually.

Restaurants, hotels, tourism, its massive. Its a big deal, said Cobb. But theres the cultural piece that, in my opinion, is inseparable from our economy.

For us to have that right here in our backyard, that our students can benefit from is very, very valuable, said Gravette School District Superintendent Maribel Childress.

Not many rural school districts have world class art right down the road. Childress said Crystal Bridges goes above and beyond by providing professional development for teachers and free museum kits for students.

They are really committed to all of the students of Northwest Arkansas to our teachers and to our districts and making sure that we have whatever we need to help our students and our families connect with the museum and connect with art, she said.

Bigelow said they have seen about 300,000 school children come through the doors of the museum.

Its exciting to see kids explore the world in which they live, thinking about challenging topics and topics of joy and thinking through what it means in their classroom and others that are in that room with them, said Bigelow.

Its a huge impact because not a lot of people who are able to travel to the Louvre or other places, said Lorenz. Hes an artist who has lived in Bentonville for about five years. Hes known as The Bird Man for his whimsical depictions of birds.

The museum is free to anyone who wants to go. Bigelow said that move was very intentional in making sure the museum is accessible to everyone. That accessibility has inspired and cultivated the local art scene, even inspiring people across the state, like Little Rock artist Lori Weeks.

All the people nationwide, worldwide that come to visit the museum its just unbelievable and its so inspiring to everybody. We all feed off of it for sure, she said.

Lorenz agrees: the word is out about Crystal Bridges and he hopes locals will keep showing it love for years to come.

Its right here in our backyard, he said. When theres a new exhibit, take advantage of it and go every time.

Crystal Bridges just unveiled its latest exhibit: In American Waters, The Sea in American Painting. According to the museums website, visitors will discover the sea as an expansive way to reflect on American culture and environment, learn how coastal and maritime symbols moved inland across the United States, and question what it means to be in American waters.

Crystal Bridges has several things happening on November 11th. Click here to find out.

Continued here:

10 years of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 10 years of positive impact on the community - KNWA

This Veterans Day, ahead of the three-year anniversary of legal adult-use cannabis sales in Massachusetts, it seems timely to highlight the growing opportunities that the regulated industry offers servicemen and women across our state. In fact, the Act To Ensure Safe Access to Marijuana, enacted by the Legislature and Governor Charlie Baker in 2017, includes specific mandates to ensure veterans can fully participate in this marketplace.

Rightfully so: after all that our veterans have sacrificed for our freedom, they deserve special access to business ownership and good jobs. The Commonwealths cannabis industry offers that and more: since the first Marijuana Retailers opened on the East Coast in Massachusetts on November 20, 2018, gross sales surpassed $2 billion this past September, and already eclipsed $1 billion this calendar year alone. Every new company that comes online brings diverse job opportunities, including roles within licensed facilities, and work for ancillary contractors that can provide services to their businesses.

Each new Marijuana Establishment is mandated to submit to the Cannabis Control Commission (Commission) a Diversity Plan to support Massachusetts equity goals. Every public meeting, Commissioners hold licensees responsible to ensure those include intentional efforts to hire women, minorities, residents with disabilities, LGBTQ citizens, and, of course, veterans, in accordance with our Commission guidance.

As a result, hundreds of veterans have registered as Marijuana Establishment Agents in Massachusetts so far. And, once they are hired, they receive mandatory training that ensures licensees run safely and effectively, but also opens the door for career advancement in an up-and-coming industry taking root in 18 states nationwide.

Veterans also are finding success as entrepreneurs and cannabis business owners. Currently twenty-five of the Commissions license applicants are owned by veterans, and accordingly jump the licensing queue for review and approval under the Commissions regulations. Five veteran-owned businesses have already opened for business, including the first Microbusiness to offer home delivery services, plus an innovative Cultivator who created a new QR code that helps customers readily access product information.

Meanwhile, cannabis businesses in Massachusetts work with the states Supplier Diversity Office to identify and contact veterans who have become certified in any number of construction trades or related businesses. Using a veteran-owned firm to support a licensees plumbing or electric, or to build out a brick-and-mortar facility, yields positive results for both the contractor and the cannabis business.

Beyond diverse hiring practices, every licensee, whether they are owned by a veteran or not, must submit to the Commission a Positive Impact Plan to support communities that were disproportionately impacted by previous marijuana prohibition and enforcement. Plans range from mentorship programs to contributions toward veterans organizations that help residents of Commission-designated areas of disproportionate impact. In fact, when the descendants of World War II General George Patton entered the Massachusetts cannabis industry, they donated to a local veterans group in their host community of Southbridge as part of their plan.

Veterans have plenty to celebrate about this new cannabis industry, but much more work remains to be done. For example, even though medical marijuana has been found to help veterans alleviate certain health conditions, additional research and stronger partnerships with the medical community is needed to ensure more can access these benefits.

The servicemen and women who have kept our country safe, then return home to Massachusetts, deserve opportunities to thrive in new careers that support their families, and receive the care they need. The regulated cannabis industry was designed to offer them that network of support, and we encourage our peers in government, industry, and the public to continue prioritizing veterans success.

Bruce Stebbins and Kimberly Roy are Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commissioners.

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Opportunities available to veterans in Massachusetts $2 billion regulated cannabis industry (Guest viewpoint) - masslive.com

The coming year of inventing our way toward whatever our workplaces will look like offers a marvelous opportunity to refresh and reinvent cross-functional relationships. Working to rebuild these bonds is especially important because most people wont be returning to work as the same people they were before the pandemic;the last 18 months have changed all of us in some way. Organizational fragmentation isnt a byproduct of remote work. It results from a lack of intentional bridge-building to link discrete groups and regions. Silos were certainly prevalent before the pandemic hybrid work has simply created new requirements for effectively connecting teams that must work together to achieve shared outcomes. The author offers three approaches to help leaders and their teams reestablish strong connections across organizational boundaries as theyve shifted to hybrid work environments.

As people slowly return to some form of hybrid workplace, bonds that tie them to one another must be rebuilt. Over the past 18 months, most organizations have experienced some degree of fracturing as social connections and cultural cohesion have been strained. The challenges of remote work, dramatic uncertainty, the clumsy process of figuring out what returning to the office could look like, and the mass exodus of workers fed up with cultures that make them feel devalued have all served to threaten a sense of community. On top of all that, most of our remote work interactions have been with our immediate colleagues and focused largely on the tasks at hand research from Microsoft suggests that cross-functional collaboration went down by 25% as interactions within groups increased during the pandemic.

But fragmentation isnt a byproduct of remote work. It results from a lack of intentional bridgebuilding to link discrete groups and regions. Silos were certainly prevalent before the pandemic hybrid work has simply created new requirements for effectively connecting teams that must work together to achieve shared outcomes.

Working to rebuild bonds is especially important because most people wont be returning to work as the same people they were before the pandemic;the last 18 months have changed all of us in some way. Our values and priorities have shifted. Our senses of meaning and purpose have broadened. Our anxiety has increased. For some, tolerance increased while for others, it decreased. In short, we have to get reacquainted with who weve each become. Otherwise, our natural biases that formed about who each of us were will kick in, creating unhelpful dissonance as we react to each other as we did prior to the pandemic. For example, one executive said of his colleague, She used to have the best sense of humor, but now quips I make that she would always laugh at get no reaction at all. Hed failed to consider that she was emotionally exhausted because her family was hit especially hard by Covid-19.

Here are three approaches Ive seen help leaders and their teams reestablish strong connections across organizational boundaries as theyve shifted to hybrid work environments.

Humans are naturally tribal beings. We bind with and narrowly identify ourselves as one of our immediate group. By default, those outside the group are other and likely not to be trusted. This type of we-they thinking will intensify if cross-functional connections arent strengthened. Enabling people to establish new shared identities that bind them to one another more broadly helps reorient their brains to new relationships, seeing colleagues who were once they with fresh eyes.

Research from NYUs Jay Van Bavel found that our brains quickly shift away from previously held biases when we work together in solidarity. In one experiment using brain imaging, a set of people whose amygdalas revealed a variety of implicit biases about certain types of people showed that those biases were dramatically reduced when participants were told those same types of people were now on your new team. The closer we affiliate with our we tribe, the more outsiders become they. The solution requires broadening the definition of we.

In one organization, to break down unhealthy tribalism, we established cross-functional teams to take responsibility for various aspects of the organizations cultural health. Teams focused on things like learning and education, innovation, community building, and hybrid work health and were composed of members from numerous functions and regions, all resourced and empowered to act. Creating an affinity to a team with broader purpose immediately helped improve cohesion and collaboration across the organization.

Recent research from McKinsey revealed that the strongest drivers of people quitting was not feeling valued (in other words, like they and their work mattered) and lacking a sense of belonging. They lacked what I refer to as organizational solidarity: creating strong ties to one another and to a shared purpose so people never question either.

Relationships across functions are especially challenging to form with solidarity when you havent seen or spoken to one another in a long while. In one client organization where there had been a lot of change in one division during the pandemic (a new organization design, new people, and shifts in peoples roles), we did a comprehensive re-onboarding of everyone in the organization. Leaders realized that if we didnt level the playing field for everyone, trust would take too long to build. In a two-day session of round-robin conversations, people gathered to meet for the first timeagain. Each person came prepared to share their responses to five prompts:

It was a heartfelt two days full of emotions and surprises for the group. Most notable were the many comments from tenured employees about seeing their long-standing colleagues in a fresh light while accelerating trust with their new colleagues. One participant said it well: My default position with other departments has been to assume the worst. But when they showed up with that level of commitment to me, I knew I had to trust them. These results are further evidence of what my own 15-year longitudinal study revealed: Stronger cross-functional relationships are six times more likely to produce trustworthy behavior.

As you begin bringing people back to work in whatever form that takes, invest the time to reset relationships not only within your team, but also between your team and key organizational partners. Use the opportunity to shed old baggage with rivaling cross-functional partners and start new by strengthening weak ties.

The ultimate determinant of cross-functional health is the quality of leadership over the teams that must cooperate to get things done. Leaders who model empathy, curiosity, proficiency with conflict, and a genuine desire to create widespread shared success build the strongest cross-functional partnerships. But these leadership skills dont often come naturally, especially to highly results-oriented leaders whove been raised in overly hierarchical environments.

Ive found the fastest way to build strong, consistent cross-functional leaders is to immerse them together in cohorts of leadership development. In nearly a dozen organizations, weve built cohorts of 1216 leaders who journey together in their own learning and formation for 612 months. The content is focused on key skills and knowledge they need to drive the shared results their functions must produce. Recently, weve oriented content to how the organization needs to rethink leadership in a hybrid workplace. Small sub-teams spend time on real projects aligned to strategic goals that create added value for the organization, and pairs of peer-coaches are assigned to meet weekly to exchange feedback and advice on identified development areas. Ive found that the relationships that form during these cohort journeys remain deep for years beyond their initial time together.

As you bring leaders back to your new normal, invest in their development by establishing cohort learning communities that will bind them to one another and their shared organizational aspirations. They will naturally cascade their newfound broader orientation down to their teams, who in turn will connect more effectively with their cross-functional peers.

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The coming year of inventing our way toward whatever our workplaces will look like offers a marvelous opportunity to refresh and reinvent the most important relationships in our organizations: the ones between those who, together, create results and cohesion for the enterprise that no one team could create on its own. Dont squander it.

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Rebuilding Relationships Across Teams in a Hybrid Workplace - Harvard Business Review

Republican Congressman Paul Gosar (AZ) ignited national fury this week after tweeting a video portraying himself as an anime character killing other prominent lawmakers. But while Democrats are now calling for his expulsion from Congress and his accounts to be banned, the incident has drawn new attention to Gosars long association with far-right meme culture.

Gosar first posted the problematic video parodying the opening credits of the popular anime series Attack on Titan on Sunday. The video captioned Any anime fans out there? depicts Gosar as one of the shows main characters killing Democratic politicians like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Joe Biden by superimposing their faces onto those belonging to other characters.

Responding to the video on Monday, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that a creepy member I work with who fundraises for Neo-Nazi groups shared a fantasy video of him killing me, likely referring to a summer fundraiser linked to far-right influencer Nicholas Fuentes. She continued, Hell face no consequences, because House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) cheers him on with no excuses.

The video was posted onto Gosars official congressional Twitter account and was viewed over 3 million times before it was removed. Its unclear if Twitter or Gosars office removed the video as of publication. On Monday, Twitter placed a public interest notice over the tweet, saying that it violated the companys policies against hateful conduct. Instagram also placed a sensitive content warning on the video, which was also posted to Gosars official account on that platform.

Democratic lawmakers are already demanding that Gosar face additional consequences for the video. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called on McCarthy to join in condemning this horrific video and call on the Ethics Committee and law enforcement to investigate in a Tuesday tweet.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press conference Tuesday, This should not be happening, and we should be condemning it.

As of Wednesday afternoon, McCarthy has yet to respond to Pelosis statements or those from the White House. His office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Verge regarding the video and Gosars future standing in the Republican caucus.

But Gosars video is just the latest example of a long-standing interest in the meme culture thats popular in far-right internet communities and image boards.

In October, Gosar tweeted a now-deleted meme video depicting the Doomer guy, a sad-looking cartoon image of a man, in front of a series of articles with some headlines related to transgender people. At the end of the video, the America First logo is displayed over Gosars head, a reference to a popular white nationalist movement.

In August, he tweeted an image of himself in front of cacti, all with green lines edited in a reference to a red-pill pro-masculinity meme. In 2019, Gosars account tweeted out a thread that spelled out Epstein didnt kill himself with the first two letters in a series of 22 tweets.

This kind of content espouses a kind of rhetoric more often found in image boards than the halls of Congress, experts say. This is incredibly intentional work, said Jamie Cohen, assistant professor in media studies at Queens College. This is by design, and it is internet fluency that is not your typical internet fluency from a member of Congress. This is a far-right influence being broadcast over a public speaker because hes a public figure.

Gosars office did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding who created the videos published on his Twitter feed. But in a now-deleted quote-tweet from his personal account, Gosar thanked his team for their creativity in editing the video.

Gosars digital director, Jessica Lycos, responded to the backlash in a statement on Monday, saying, We made an anime video. Lycos continued, Everyone needs to relax. The left dont get meme culture. They have no joy. They are not the future. Its a cartoon.

As pressure continued to mount on Gosar in response to the video, his office put out a lengthy statement Tuesday night calling the backlash a gross mischaracterization of a symbolized battled for the soul of America when Congress takes up Mr. Bidens $4 trillion spending bill that includes amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. Gosar continued, I do not espouse violence or harm towards any member of Congress or Mr. Biden.

But experts argue that Gosars flirtation with right-wing meme culture is still harmful, normalizing extreme content even as it stays within the bounds of whats acceptable. When we normalize this type of media, we extend to the outward edges of what can be presented online, Cohen said. If hes not held accountable, the next thing will be edgier and become acceptable.

Hes getting very good at expanding the borderlands, Cohen said.

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Rep. Gosar anime video highlights ties to the online right - The Verge

On November 11th the discussion on the future of three Erie Catholic parishes takes the next step.

This includes staff and parishioners from Saint Andrew, Saint Paul and Sacred Heart.

We went to Blessed Sacrament Church where the meeting is taking place.

Msgr. Edward Lohse who is the Vicar General at St. Mark Catholic Center said that this is part of an ongoing process to try and find the best way forward.

Blessed Sacrament Church was chosen for the meeting as a neutral site.

Msgr. Lohse said that the meeting focuses on how those parishes envision continuing their mission into the future.

The process actually began in 2019, but COVID forced them to hold off until now.

There has been a central group sort of studying the question, and I think they will have some intentional recommendations because if you are going to have a productive conversation, you have to start the conversation somewhere, said Msgr. Edward Lohse, Vicar General at Saint Mark Catholic Church.

Msgr. Lohse emphasized that no final decision will be made now, just the first chance for parishioners to get together and talk about how to proceed.

What I expect is to just kind of take a poll of the communities where they are at, what they understand of the situations, and the challenges facing them, and getting a better picture for the what am I going to call the steering committee, the Central Team, said Msgr. Lohse.

Msgr. Lohse said that he cant promise any future results as to which places will stay open or not.

We are allowing individual parishes and groups to do their own planning. So the visions arises from them not us, said Msgr. Lohse.

Msgr. Lohse said they insist there should be a widespread involvement and consultation and that anyone who wants to be heard will be.

He said that there will be another meeting in the next couple of weeks with all three parishes.

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Discussion on the future of three Erie Catholic parishes takes the next step - YourErie