Weekend Read: Thanks for spending a year with us

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Good morning.

It’s been an extraordinary 12 months. From hate infiltrating the mainstream to extremists rallying in the streets; from the 60th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine to modern-day public school segregation; since the Weekend Read began arriving in email inboxes a year ago, we’ve explored these pressing issues and more each Saturday morning.

We know the fight for equality and justice doesn’t begin and end in the courts. Investigative reporting and analysis from outlets around the country — and by our own staffers — are critical to raising awareness and holding the powerful accountable.

We’re heartened to know so many people are reading along with us. Here’s a look back at some of our most widely read Weekend Reads:

Weekend Read: Kris Kobach wants to decide who has the right to vote
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has long had an appetite for nativist, anti-immigrant thinking.

Weekend Read: Trump’s anti-immigrant crusader
Stephen Bannon may have left the White House, but anti-immigrant nativism didn't go anywhere.

Weekend Read: Miscarriage of justice
In rural Alabama, the men were told they were being treated for rheumatism, bad stomachs, or “bad blood.” They were promised free meals and free health care. They didn’t get the health care they needed most.

Weekend Read: Mississippi police called ICE. Then police shot an unarmed man.
Gabino Hernandez is at least the third person to allege ICE brutality in federal court this year. A bystander to a traffic stop, he wound up shot and bleeding on the ground in his own neighborhood in July 2016.

Weekend Read: Déjà vu: Fighting for school desegregation in 2017
History was repeating itself for U.W. Clemon. More than 40 years after winning a school desegregation case in Alabama, he found himself in a courtroom arguing once again for the integration of the very same school district.

Weekend Read: It took Charlottesville for Silicon Valley to stand up to hate
Silicon Valley has a reputation as a liberal place, but it was a critical partner in the deadly “Unite the Right” rally that cost a counter-protester her life.

Weekend Read: Disaster might not discriminate, but recovery does
There was nowhere to go from the kitchen counter: Trina Moore had already called the Coast Guard.

Weekend Read: When will Reddit stand up to its racist users?
Until recently, Reddit hosted forums that included videos that showed black men being hit with hammers, burned alive, or lynched. In more than one forum, users applauded the violence and agitated for more.

Weekend Read: White supremacists rally in Virginia to defend the Confederacy
The removal of a Confederate monument was the impetus for white supremacists descending on Charlottesville, Virginia, but it’s not the only town grappling with the issue of Confederate monuments.

Of course, there are many more Weekend Reads to peruse. As we begin a second year, we welcome your feedback, and, as always, appreciate your support.

The Editors.

P.S. Here are some other pieces we think are valuable this week:

• ‘Our backyard has become a graveyard': Saving lives on the U.S.-Mexico border by Louise Roug for HuffPost
• A 15-year-old says he was beaten and called racial slurs, but the police won’t call it a hate crime by Albert Samaha for BuzzFeed News
• Protester hugs Nazi outside Richard Spencer event, asks ‘Why do you hate me?’ by David Moye for HuffPost
• Contempt for the black soldier by Jamelle Bouie for Slate

SPLC’s Weekend Readings are a weekly summary of the most important news reporting and commentary from around the country on civil rights, economic and racial inequality, and hate and extremism. Sign up to receive Weekend Readings every Saturday morning.