
• When there’s discussion about geopolitics, people generally think about great-power rivalry: America v the Soviet Union or, more recently, China. But as America ends its decades-long disastrous wars abroad, its opened space for medium-sized powers to become more assertive.
(“Why Medium-Sized Autocracies Are Projecting More Hard Power Abroad,” Economist, Nov. 25, 2021)
• On election day, voters in the state of Maine overwhelming approved a state constitutional amendment recognizing the “inherent and unalienable right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being.” The measure which was approved by the state legislature, was supported by a diverse coalition of organic farmers, sports hunters and black community groups. The effort was an outgrowth of the state’s powerful food sovereignty movement which pushed through a 2017 law that allows local governments to approve small food producers selling directly to customers on site.
(“Reaping What You Sow,” Economist, Nov. 27, 2021; “Maine is the First State to Establish a Right to Food,” NYC Food Policy Center, Dec. 10, 2021)
• In 1960, construction of the I-375 interstate highway tore through the heart of Detroit’s vibrant black small business district which displaced over 300 stores including restaurants and grocery stores. Today, there’s not a single black-owned grocery store in Detroit, the blackest city in the US. But now transportation planners in Michigan want to remove I-375, a four-lane sunken highway and replace it with a new pedestrian friendly boulevard.
(“A Freeway Ripped the Heart Out of Black Life in Detroit. Now Michigan Wants To Tear It Down.” Grist, Dec. 1, 2021)
This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo.