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Robin Bernstein

@robinmbernstein.bsky.social
1.7K followers 581 following 240 posts

Author of Freeman's Challenge: The Murder That Shook America's Original Prison for Profit and Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights. scholar.harvard.edu/robinbernstein/… ; robinbernsteinphd.com .

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Reposted by Robin Bernstein
Karl Jacoby @karl-jacoby.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Such awful reporting--the Smithsonian charter, which dates to the 1840s, is designed to prevent the sort of political meddling that Trump is now attempting.
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
What do I win for being the twelve zillionth person to find today's vulgar and disallowed #pangram?
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 09/09/2026
the best way to put it is that these people are not *voters*, if the term denotes a person who routinely goes to the polls to cast a ballot. they are, instead, *trump fans* who go to the polls to cast a ballot for donald trump, who is their parasocial father
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
@pgourevitch.bsky.social Thanks for the repost! Much appreciated.
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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 07/09/2026
Nearly 40% of incarcerated workers are paid *nothing* for their work. And the rest are paid at abysmally low wages. This is not a system built on "justice" for all.
Graph showing that prison labor is usually mandatory and often unpaid: 71% of people in state prisons with prison jobs are required to work and 29% choose to work. 39% of incarcerated worker are paid nothing for their work. 61% are paid, but at abysmal wages.
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Good tips in this thread.
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lukelukeluke @lukelukeluke.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Here are some nice mushrooms
A family of golden pholiota grow from the side of moss blanketed log in a warm rainy forest. All photos by me
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lukelukeluke @lukelukeluke.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Here are some nice mushrooms
A large tuft of orange Mycena mushrooms grow from a crack in a mossy log. Each cap hides hundreds of dark-edged gills, illuminated by summer light, all photos by me
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Yesterday we went hiking and found 3 baby squirrels that had fallen from their nest. They were making high-pitched chirps and scrambling around blindly (eyes still closed). We couldn't tell if they'd been there for a while or if they'd just fallen. I hope after we left their mother recovered them.
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I'm stunned to announce that #FreemansChallenge has won the Herbert H. Lehman Award for Distinguished Scholarship. This prize, given by the New York Academy of History, "honors outstanding contributions to #NewYork State and City history." This means so much to me! @uchicagopress.bsky.social
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Joshua R Greenberg @joshrgreenberg.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
New up on Commonplace, Diana Louis reviews Robin Bernstein's "Freeman's Challenge" and discusses what William Freeman's "struggle within and against the Auburn (NY) state prison system" tells us about the antebellum origins of race and for-profit incarceration. commonplace.online/article/list...
commonplace.online
Listening for Freemen - Commonplace
Placing a marginalized Black man at the center, Bernstein showcases the machinations of capitalism, the racialization of criminality, and the range of possible responses to brutality and injustice.
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Kate Tuttle @katekilla.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
She wasn't neutral, she was on the side of poor children, queer people, and Black lives. And in a time of great division, neutrality is not a positive.
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Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
NEW: It was a digital lynching. And the media is never going to hold itself to account for the role it played in Jason Arday’s death. But there are things we can do. This is a practical guide based on my own experience. broligarchy.substack.com/p/a-digital-...
broligarchy.substack.com
A Digital Lynching
A practical guide for individuals and organisations when the mobs gather
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Dr. Lorgia García Peña @laprofelgp.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I was yelled at years ago when I wrote that academia was killing us (if you’re an us, you know). When mediocre white men plagiarize or worse, it’s handled quietly. When one of us fucks us they’re driven to death in a public spectacle that implicates us all. Shame. Peace to Arday. 💔
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Oh, this is so sad.
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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Japanese artist Tomoko Sato, known for her carving skills as a food sculptor, often using fruit such as melons and apples #WomensArt
Photo of intricately carved melons and apple with curling neat patterns
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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
English stained glass artist Tamsin Abbott, who is inspired by #folklore and nature #WomensArt
Stained glass artwork with image of a rural scene with a hare running in the foreground, a woodpecker on a tree and house in the background on a hill, all against a golden sunset
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Actual quote from the current issue of @wired.com: "'I want every person on the planet to be recording themselves doing the dishes,' says Avi Patel, the 23-year-old founder of data collection marketplace Kled. 'That's going to make a robot so that you never have to do the dishes ever again.'" 1/2
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
The @nytimes.com #spellingbee does not recognize #caryatid . Wtf? It's totally a word. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caryatid
en.wikipedia.org
Caryatid - Wikipedia
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Alan Allport @alanallport.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
“Gender studies is so irrelevant to today’s world”
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
The Raisins of Wrath.
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Nvidie @dervine7.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
this just made it click in my brain what the difference probably is between academics who fell for Epstein and academics who immediately clocked him as a charlatan
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Here's a photo of Cornelia Crow Carr, just 'cause I think she's pretty.
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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Hand ground watercolour on khadi paper by Zarah Hussain, artist who creates mathematically precise, geometric art inspired by Islamic Geometry #WomensArt
Three images featuring symmetrical neat patterns in different colours with flower like motifs
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
This made me laugh out loud. And wince a little.
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Thank you, @scholarschoice.bsky.social, for including #FreemansChallenge in your display at @c19americanists.bsky.social! @uchicagopress.bsky.social #c19
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
This is exactly what I think.
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
I love this.
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 26/02/2026
1. Numerous transgender people in Kansas are reporting that the state has sent them a letter demanding the immediate surrender of drivers licenses. Those driving could be arrested, charged, and see privileges revoked. Subscribe to support our journalism. www.erininthemorning.com/p/kansas-sen...
Kansas Sends Letters To Trans People Demanding The Immediate Surrender Of Drivers Licenses
"The legislature did not include a grace period."
ERIN REED
FEB 25, 2026
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Kansas Sate Capitol // farzinvousoughian
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Pippin (8 lb chihuahua mix) demanded to go outside in the blizzard. Here's how far she got before she changed her mind.
Photo of heavy snow on porch near door. Dog's footprints are near door but nowhere else.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 20/02/2026
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Same. Crypto is exactly the same as Beanie Babies, but without the Beanie Babies.
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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Norwegian photographer, women's suffragist Marie Høeg (1866-1949) made late 19thc and early 20thc photography including self portraits which challenged how women were expected to be portrayed #WomensArt
Monochrome photograph of a young standing white woman in bold stance, wearing a cap, shirt and breeches, smoking, in a photography studio
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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
I have some bad news. One, if you need to use ChatGPT for your graduate application letter, you are not ready for graduate school. Two, no, not "everyone is doing it" and those who don't do it aren't "losing out." ChatGPT is not an advantage.
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Jessica Valenti @jessicavalenti.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
How many women have died with “fucking bitch” ringing in their ears? Don’t let the misogyny get erased here
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 03/01/2026
what a terrible loss to the commonwealth www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
washingtonpost.com
He exposed myth of the South’s ‘Lost Cause.’ His death shook Richmond.
William “Bill” Martin, 71, died Sunday, Dec. 28, a day after being struck by a car near the Valentine local history museum where he had served as director more than 30 years.
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Brooke Harrington @ebharrington.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
They're going to *throw out* one-of-a-kind NASA archives?! Not even a year since the Inauguration & we're already at the 2nd-time-as-farce version of the burning of the Library of Alexandria.
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
Why? Why? Why?
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
The Strong National Museum of Play has put together a lovely online exhibit on Black dolls designers since the 1950s. Enjoy. artsandculture.google.com/story/MAUx6p... #BlackDolls #Play #Toys #ToyDesigners
artsandculture.google.com
A Brief History of Black Doll Designers Since the 1950s - Google Arts & Culture
Celebrate the role of Black designers in diversifying dolls to help children build pride and encourage conversation.
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Matt Zoller Seitz @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
This is a metaphor for the tech industry overall circa 2025
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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
Collaborative artwork, 2019 by the senior Indigenous women artists of Amata in the APY Lands of Australia #WomensArt
Multicoloured painting with lines, circles and star like motif representing significant meaning
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Josh Shepperd @joshshepperd.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Do not cite an academic paper unless you’ve read it
rollingstone.com
AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real Journals
Academic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
From a focus group of Gen Z Republicans. (www.city-journal.org/article/manh...) Tell me again about how Zohran Mamdani is the big threat to Jewish thriving in the US today.
"Moderator: What do you think of Adolf Hitler?

Ashley: I think he was a great leader, to be honest. I think what he was going for was terrible, but I think he showed very strong leadership values.


Andrew: I’m in favor of a strong executive. I think we should have a stronger executive branch. I don’t think we should be killing people or doing mass genocide, obviously, but I do think we should have a strong executive. I feel like one of the biggest problems Trump is running into right now is all these little courts, they want to throw up little blockages against everything he’s trying to do, whether it be his tariffs or deporting people. So I’m very pro-strong executive, strong leader, strong man. I support national sovereignty, and Hitler was a nationalist. He was like, we have to take Germany back for Germans. And I feel like we should do that in America. We should take America back for our native population. So, I’m not an expert on Hitler by any means, but as far as nationalism is concerned, I’m all that.


Brice: I myself am actually Jewish, ancestrally. I’m Christian by faith, but Jewish by blood. I’ve actually read Mein Kampf. The end conclusions that he came to: absolutely abominable. But I strangely understood where he was coming from as far as wanting to improve the national state of Germany."
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
AI is a war on Christmas. Spread the word.
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Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
YES INDEED
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Lisa Diedrich @lisadiedrich.bsky.social · 07/12/2023
This summer I was in Toronto for the Graphic Medicine conference & on the path called Philosopher’s Walk, I found this memorial & grove of trees planted for the 14 women killed in the Montreal Massacre in 1989. "It is not enough to look back in pain. We must create a new future."
The plaque reads in English & French: “These fourteen trees are with sorrow planted in memory & in honour of fourteen sisters slain because of their gender in Montreal on December 6, 1989. May commitment to the eradication of sexism & violence against women be likewise planted in the hearts & minds of you who stand here now & all who come after. It is not enough to look back in pain. We must create a new future.
This memorial was created by ‘Women Won’t Forget’ December 6, 1990.”
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Yes. Yes. Yes. Sob. Yes. @huffpost.com #AI #teaching www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/set-tr...
huffingtonpost.co.uk
I Set A Trap To Catch Students Cheating With AI. The Result Was Deflating
"I am no stranger to students trying to cut corners by copying and pasting from Wikipedia, but the introduction of generative AI has enabled them to cheat in startling new ways."
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Does #FunHome pass the #BechdelTest? I asked this question in the program notes for the @huntingtontheatre.bsky.social's production of this amazing musical. Hope you'll take a peek at my answer! It's on p. 10. And do check out this show! www.huntingtontheatre.org/whats-on/fun...
huntingtontheatre.org
Fun Home | Huntington Theatre Company
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Robin Bernstein @robinmbernstein.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Not Sure How They Deal With Criminals In Your Town, But ’Round Here We Use A Restorative Justice Process — theonion.com/not-sure-how...
theonion.com
Not Sure How They Deal With Criminals In Your Town, But ’Round Here We Use A Restorative Justice Process
Well, well, well. What have we got here? Another city slicker who thinks he can waltz into my town and start causin’ all sorts of trouble. I’d be careful if I was you, fella. Because however they do t...
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