This Week’s Issue: The Trayvon Generation

Elizabeth Alexander on the spectre of anti-black violence, and raising sons. Plus: the chaos of the coronavirus in prison, and a new novel by Brit Bennett. View in browser | Update your preferences Read a closeup examination of this week’s cover, Kadir Nelson’s “Say Their Names,” in which the murder of George Floyd embodies the history of violence inflicted upon black people in America. Personal History The Trayvon Generation On the spectre of anti-black violence, and raising sons. By Elizabeth Alexander American Chronicles The History of the “Riot” Report How government commissions became alibis for inaction. By Jill Lepore Letter from Minneapolis The Heart of the Uprising in Minneapolis Residents who have been on the front lines for George Floyd are finding their lives—and their city—transformed. By Luke Mogelson A Reporter at Large Punishment by Pandemic In a penitentiary with one of the U.S.’s largest coronavirus outbreaks, prison terms become death sentences. By Rachel Aviv Comment An American Spring of Reckoning In death, George Floyd’s name has become a metaphor for the stacked inequities of the society that produced them. By Jelani Cobb Portfolio A Photographer on the Front Lines of Philadelphia’s Protests Twenty-nine-year-old Isaac Scott captured the early days of intense confrontation—including clashes with the police—and stayed for the more peaceful days that followed. Books Brit Bennett Reimagines the Literature of Passing In her second novel, the author uses a familiar genre to explore startling visions of selfhood. By Sarah Resnick A Critic at Large How Racist Was Flannery O’Connor? She has become an icon of American letters. Now readers are reckoning with another side of her legacy. By Paul Elie Humor from The New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs Presidential Trolley Problems The classic ethical dilemma: Should you pull a lever and save five people or retweet a conspiracy theory about black-market ventilators? By Riane Konc Cartoons From The Issue Cartoons from the Issue Drawings and drollery from this week’s magazine. This e-mail was sent to you by The New Yorker. To insure delivery, we recommend adding newyorker@newsletters.newyorker.com, to your contacts, while noting that it is a no-reply address. Please send all newsletter feedback to tnyinbox@newyorker.com. For more from The New Yorker, sign up for our newsletters, shop the store, and sign in to newyorker.com, where subscribers always have unlimited access. Contact us with questions. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2020. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.