The hate at the heart of the Jacksonville shooting

Monday, August 28, 2023

How was your weekend? I’m Izzie Ramirez, and here’s what you need to know today:

Spotlight: Three dead in Jacksonville, Florida shooting.

In other news: Back-to-school season arrives in full swing, new trial date for Trump, and a record-breaking win for Simone Biles.

Any questions, comments, or ideas? Write us at newsletter@vox.com or just reply to this email. 

White supremacy is at the heart of the Jacksonville shooting

Sean Rayford/Getty Images

A racist shooting in Florida. On Saturday, a white gunman in Jacksonville, Florida killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in what authorities have described as an anti-Black hate crime.

The lowdown: 

• The three victims — two of whom were shoppers and one of whom was a Dollar General employee — are: Angela Michelle Carr, 52; Jerrald Gallion, 29; and Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., 19. 
  
  

• The shooter wrote a racist manifesto ahead of the attack, used racist slurs in his writings, and drew swastikas on his firearm. He died of an apparent suicide.
  
  
• Reports suggest the shooter specifically targeted Black Americans. Immediately prior to his attack, the gunman left the campus of Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, a historically Black institution, after a security guard approached him.
  
  
• The Department of Justice has said it is investigating the Jacksonville shooting as a hate crime and as an act of violent extremism. 
  
  

The stakes: Anti-Black racism has deep roots in the US, from slavery and lynchings to day-to-day discrimination. 

The rise in hate crime is backed by data: The FBI has long shown that Black Americans have been a major target of hate crimes as a result of a history that is still alive and well. (Notably, the FBI data doesn’t capture the full scope since there’s consistent underreporting — but it’s a consistent upward trend.) 

The Jacksonville shooting is the latest in a string of anti-Black attacks in recent years, including a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo that killed 10 people in 2022 and a mass shooting at a historically Black church in Charleston that killed nine people in 2015. 

The takeaway: I spoke to politics reporter Li Zhou about how the normalization of white supremacy by political leaders and recent policy initiatives, including those targeting the LGTBQ community, serve as an undercurrent to recent attacks on several groups.

“Political narratives and rhetoric can help to normalize attacks on different groups,” Li said, “and researchers have found that hateful language has the ability to incite people who may have already been predisposed to violent acts.”

Read Li’s full piece here.

How to make school life a little less difficult for kids

 Getty Images

For much of the country, it’s the first week back in the classroom. Here’s what you need to know.

• There are ways to make life a little less difficult for kids. From encouraging kids to learn from mistakes to promoting balance to minimize stress, Even Better reporter Allie Volpe spoke with experts on how to support young learners in your life. [Vox]
  
  
• Teachers are a crucial part of the education ecosystem. Policy makers could strengthen classroom morale by easing bureaucracy, focusing on retention for teachers of color, and considering alternatives for seniority-based layoffs. [Chalkbeat]
  
  
• Many states don’t require teaching sex ed. A new bill — The Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act — would make inclusive, trauma-informed sex education a requirement in schools nationwide. It’s unclear whether House Republicans will be willing to bring it up for a vote, however. [The 19th]
  
  
• Covid-19 cases are on the rise. The disease kept schools closed for a while, but better air can keep them open. Scientists and educators alike are researching and advocating for better air circulation in schools. [New York Times]

America is so Messi

With Lionel Messi, footy may have finally arrived in the United States. The Athletic’s Tom Bogert and Men in Blazers founder Roger Bennett explain how the Argentine superstar is transforming American soccer.

• Judge sets March 4, 2024 trial date for Trump’s federal election case. The date is just three weeks before Trump’s New York criminal trial. [Reuters]
  
  

• Tropical Storm Idalia heads for Florida’s Gulf Coast. It’s expected to strengthen into a hurricane later Monday afternoon, with landfall predicted for Wednesday. [NBC News]
  
  

• Gymnast Simone Biles wins record 8th all-around title. She’s the first American, male or female, to do so. [Axios]
  
  

• Poland says it will close the Belarus border if a “critical incident” with Russian Wagner Group mercenaries were to take place. Other Baltic states — Latvia and Lithuania — would also do so. [The Guardian]

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