Episode 142: Institutionalizing Children, Referees, and Charlottesville

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia debate the history of the institutionalization of children, the thankless job of refereeing youth sports, and the legacy of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, one year after the Unite the Right rally.

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Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

Coverage of family separation is revealing many abuses visited upon children detained in state facilities. Natalia mentioned this WNYC history of immigration detainment and this PBS retrospective on deinstitutionalization. She also recommended journalist Alex Beam’s book Gracefully Insane and this ProPublica coverage of the organizations that operate shelters. Violence against youth sports referees has become disturbingly common. Natalia cited the work of sociologist Hilary Levey Friedman on competitive childhood, including this Atlantic article. One year ago, violence in Charlottesville captured national attention. Niki has released a podcast series, A12, considering these events one year out. Niki also recommended historian Kathleen Belew’s new book, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America.

 

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

Natalia commented on Gustavo Arellano’s Los Angeles Times article, “Of Course Latinos Can Assimilate Into American Society. Just Look at Whittier.” Neil discussed the JSTOR Daily article, “The Complicated Politics Of… Refrigerators.” Niki shared Tyler Parry’s article for Black Perspectives, “A Brief History of the ‘Black Friend’.”