He was told to "go back to Africa." Instead he might go to the Senate.
And a must-read story on plastics.
If you missed my email this weekend, fyi the audio version of my book We’ve Got People is now out, and you can get it here. Here’s something I forgot to mention. Not only did many of the subscribers to this email volunteer to read drafts of the book and make (genuinely helpful) comments, but one reader even offered to help turn it into an audio book. That was Sean W. Stewart, who does this sort of thing for a living. This book was a real community project, and I’m grateful to everybody here, even if all you’ve done is occasionally read these emails. Anyhow, get the book here. On to some news:
In March 1995, the Helena Independent Record reported that a local man who’d been in town for roughly a year, a refugee from Liberia, had faced anonymous threats and warnings to “go back to Africa.” The man remained anonymous at the time, but I can now report that his name was Wilmot Collins. The community rallied to support him and today he’s the mayor of Helana -- and running for the Democratic nomination to be a U.S. senator from Montana. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Republican he’s running against was the only senator to stand publicly behind Trump’s attack on the four members of Congress he told to “go back” to their countries. Story on Collins and his race here.
Sharon Lerner this weekend published an extraordinary investigation into the plastics industry, with a focus on what they’re doing to block cities and states from banning the use of plastic bags and other single-use plastic products. This one is very much worth your time.
Thanks to a request made by The Intercept, a judge has unsealed a slew of records related to Trump and Michael Cohen associate Felix Sater. You’re welcome!
And the latest story from The Intercept Brazil team on the unfolding corruption scandal there is a doozy.