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February 1, 2020

By Lauretta Charlton

Race/Related Editor

Every year we celebrate Black History Month, but as I’ve grown older I’ve come to think of February not so much as a celebration but an exercise in discovery, a moment to reflect on the black men and women whose contributions have been forgotten, erased, papered over.

“Ol’ Man River” is what I knew of Paul Robeson.

The show tune, written by Oscar Hammerstein II in 1927 for the musical “Show Boat,” is what made Robeson famous for those of us who knew of him as Joe, the black dock worker with a smooth baritone. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned Robeson’s influence stretched beyond Broadway and Mississippi barges.

I learned about Robeson’s testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee, his fight to end segregation and his distinguished career as a student at Rutgers and Columbia Law School. Robeson was the class valedictorian at Rutgers in 1919, and that year he delivered a commencement speech before a mostly white audience.

In it, he talked about the beginning of a new era in American life. The war was over and the country faced an “unparalleled opportunity” to reshape its future with a new idealism, he said.

It will be the purpose of this new spirit to cherish and strengthen the heritage of freedom for which men have toiled, suffered and died a thousand years; to prove that the possibilities of that larger freedom for which the noblest spirits have sacrificed their lives were no idle dreams; to give fuller expression to the principle upon which our national life is built. We realize that freedom is the most precious of our treasures, and it will not be allowed to vanish so long as men survive who offered their lives to keep it.

The speech was called “The New Idealism,” and the optimism in it was tested and pushed to its breaking point. But Robeson’s words remain inspiring. For me, they are a reminder that the spirit of Black History Month is about reclaiming our stories, and that it will take a lifetime, rather than a month, to do it.

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EDITOR’S PICKS

We publish many articles that touch on race. Here are a few you shouldn’t miss.

William P. Steele

National Asian American Theater Partners With Regional Companies

The initiative, with New York Theater Workshop, Soho Rep and others, aims to foster inclusion of Asian-American theater artists, technicians and administrators.

By Sophie Haigney

Mailiis Law

Why This Iowa Campus Is Erasing Political Chalk Talk

Iowa State University prohibited political slogans on sidewalks after students complained that the messages had become discriminatory and divisive.

By Anemona Hartocollis

Heather Sten for The New York Times

As ‘American Dirt’ Racks Up Sales, Its Author Becomes the Story

Jeanine Cummins’s novel about migrants fleeing violence is a hit with booksellers, but critics have called it “trauma porn” that exploits another country’s pain.

By Jennifer Schuessler and Alexandra Alter

Anna Watts for The New York Times

Behind the Racial Uproar at One of the World’s Best Jazz Stations

WBGO seems to be distancing itself from the community that built it. There have been repercussions.

By Tammy La Gorce

Photo Illustration by Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

I Quit My Job After a Particularly Good Beach Day

And as a woman of color, that meant reclaiming my self-esteem and unlocking a world of possibility.

By Veronica Chambers

Josh Cochran

Fiction

Who Cares About One Missing Child in an Indian Slum? Another Child

Deepa Anappara’s novel “Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line” probes the secrets of a shantytown as a 9-year-old boy tries to solve the mystery of a classmate’s disappearance.

By Lorraine Adams

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GSA Auctions Trucks, Tractors and Ground Vehicles Update

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2011 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY

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2011 Chrysler Town and Country. VIN: 2A4RR5DG8BR766210. Gasoline, 6 cylinders, estimated mileage: 9,067. Vehicle has been parked since July 2019. Battery is dead, passenger front tire is flat. The vehicle ran up on a sidewalk and damaged the undercarriage. There s a hole in the gas tank. Other condition may exist and repairs may maybe needed. Appointment required for inspection and removal. 36911000140019

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Sports: Have you seen this trophy?

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February 1, 2020

What to Read This Weekend

Each member of the undefeated 1920 Akron Pros were given a gold football fob.Lyndon French for The New York Times

There’s a missing trophy. It’s a 100-year-old masterpiece made of sterling silver shaped like a cup with handles, perfect for the winners to hoist it overhead.

The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Cup was presented to the first winners of the N.F.L. championship in 1920. It isn’t known to have been seen since. Naturally, our reporter Bill Pennington considered this a challenge.

Largely forgotten, the trophy is the holy grail of American sports memorabilia, he writes. The winners of the trophy were supposed to hand it to the next season’s winners in 1921. But that never happened.

Could it be in someone’s basement? Is it in yours? Have you been unknowingly eating popcorn out of it for years? No, really, we want to know.

Read the full article here.

What to Watch This Weekend

The versatility of the San Francisco 49ers offense led to plenty of group celebrations in the end zone this season.Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

All times are Eastern.

Nothing major really, this weekend. KooKoo versus Jukurit in Finnish hockey, Munakata Sanix versus Spears Kubota in Japanese rugby (turns page). The game! We forgot about the game!

N.F.L.

Benjamin Hoffman, our crack prognosticator, points out that while the 49ers have become known for their running game, everyone seems to have forgotten that Jimmy Garoppolo can flat-out pass.

Having both weapons makes the crafty offense in which all plays look the same at the line of scrimmage all the more dangerous. For their part, the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes, and no one has been able to stop him.

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Hoffman likes the 49ers plus 1½. Of course we know that some viewers will be interested to see only if the final scores end in, maybe, 5 and 9. (They won’t.) (Sunday, 6:30 p.m., Fox)

TENNIS

The first Grand Slam event of the year comes to its conclusion with the women’s and men’s finals. Garbiñe Muguruza will face Sofia Kenin on Saturday at 3:30 a.m., (ESPN) and Dominic Thiem will try to stop Novak Djokovic from winning his career Grand Slam title No. 17 on Sunday, at 3:30 a.m. (ESPN)

SOCCER

When the Premier League season began, this weekend looked to have none of the attractive “Big 6” matchups that usually draw all the attention. But lo and behold, there’s Leicester up in third place, a spot ahead of Chelsea, which it hosts. (Saturday, 7:30 a.m., NBCSN) The surprise is in Germany. Bayern Munich, winner of seven straight titles, is not in first place. Admittedly, it is in second, just a point back, and is not likely to drop points at 15th-placed Mainz. (Saturday, 9:30 a.m., FS1)