America’s belated reckoning on race

THE BIG STORY

17,000 protesters had their locations unknowingly traced by a tech company

Cellphones have become a ubiquitous tool of the modern movement against police brutality. They help witnesses expose misconduct through video recordings, play a key role in holding police departments and politicians accountable when citizens demand action, and are central to organizing thousands of protesters in cities across the country — they're also being traced, unbeknownst to their users, by a shady tech company that compiled demographics about who was attending protests and if they were "outside agitators" in a wild COINTELPRO-meets-tech-bro-esque surveillance through rich, unregulated cellphone data.

Caroline Haskins reported that in the weeks of protests after George Floyd's death, Mobilewalla, a tech company that compiles data insights, used location data to predict the demographics of protesters in four major cities across the country to "satisfy its own employees' curiosity about what its vast trove of unregulated data could reveal about the demonstrators."

Screenshot from "George Floyd Protester Demographics: Insights Across 4 Major US Cities." Mobilewalla

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

A Black teen said her neck and face were lit on fire by a group of white men

Althea Bernstein, an 18-year-old Black woman, was driving to a family friend's home in Madison, Wisconsin, early Wednesday morning with her windows down when she heard someone call her the n-word. When she turned to see who it was, a car of four white men tossed lighter fluid and a flaming lighter at her face.

Bernstein suffered second- and third-degree burns. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

SNAPSHOTS

Disney is redesigning the Splash Mountain ride at its American theme parks. The ride is currently based on scenes from Song of the South, a 1946 movie about the Reconstruction-era South that has been called out for its depictions of Black people that are reminiscent of minstrel shows. The new ride will be based on The Princess and the Frog.

Eighteen members of a Texas family have the coronavirus after they attended a surprise party. The family said three members have been hospitalized in the weeks after the event — it's a cautionary tale as large swaths of the country start to reopen restaurants and bars despite the nationwide climb of reported coronavirus cases.

A New York City police officer who choked a Black man in the days after the state criminalized chokeholds has been arrested. He could face up to seven years in prison.

YouTuber Jenna Marbles announced that she's quitting vlogging during an apology video that was requested by fans who wanted her to address past videos that included racist material.

Three veteran cops from Wilmington, North Carolina, have been fired after they accidentally recorded their racist tirade that railed against their own colleagues, Black people, and protesters.

PUNS ARE CANCELED UNTIL THE WORLD RETURNS TO NORMAL GARBAGE LEVELS

Unilever is dropping the "Fair and Lovely" name from its skin lightening products

Unilever announced that it's changing the name of "Fair and Lovely," a skin whitening product that is used to lighten darker skin tones and is aimed at nonwhite customers, after a BuzzFeed News investigation.

The company said it's changing the name because it recognizes that it contributes to colorism, prejudice against people with darker skin tones, in certain communities and sets whiteness as the cultural beauty standard.

While the company is changing the name of the product, it will still be available for purchase.

WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE ON THIS DAY?

365 Days

There's ~a lot~ happening in this piece from Scaachi Koul, who took a look at one of the latest trending movies on Netflix after most of the country has been stuck inside for over three months.

"If you accidentally watched it with your parents, you would have to change your name, move to an undisclosed location, and wait for death because there would be no recovering," she writes.

It's OK to feel uncomfortable during chapters of growth.

The only way forward is through,

Ryan

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📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Ryan Brooks and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.

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