This week’s top 5 long reads

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The former plantation has been transformed into a source of pride. Freedom for stray dogs. The cost of gambling addiction is high. The tense lives of South African copper thieves. And the elated profile of a rock icon. This week’s favorites handpicked by our editors.

1. Take back North Carolina plantations

Cynthia R. Greenlee | Garden & Guns | April 24, 2023 | 3,050 words

I attended college in North Carolina and took a history and writing seminar about Stagville, a former slave plantation near campus. By following historical documents and walking the site, we learned how the 30,000-acre operation was made possible (and profitable) by the labor of approximately 900 black people in bondage. Stagville is currently maintained by the state. As a student, it never occurred to me that this land could be used for purposes other than research and respecting the past. Like this story, garden & gun It shows that there is another way to approach land that was once tended by slaves, and how it can contribute to the community now and in the future. Two outstanding sisters are turning Snow Hill, a former plantation near Stagville, into a nursery for gardeners and small farmers. They promote sustainability and combat food insecurity, while at the same time promoting land access to populations that have long been denied access. The sisters currently lease the land, but as Cynthia R. Greenlee explains, they “utilize conservation easements that limit their development rights and reduce property values,” likely hundreds. He plans to buy land valued at $30,000 for just $37,000. “Land is not only a source of complex trauma for Black Americans, including slavery, sharecropping, migration, and food insecurity,” Greenlee writes. “It is also a source of pride, knowledge, economic power, and spiritual connection.” —SD

2. Free Dogs in India

Krishika Srinivasan | Aeon Magazine | May 4, 2023 | 2,800 words

India has the world’s largest population of stray dogs, and they have historically been labeled by the British as “pariahs” and “feral dogs” and seen as a symbol of India’s decline. British colonialism spread the idea that dogs were only legitimate if they belonged to a certain breed. Others are unclean, lowly creatures that should be culled. As Krishika Srinivasan argues in this insightful article, dogs existed before there were breeds, before fancy dog ​​shows, and before the upper classes groomed them. Shouldn’t stray dogs in this country be allowed to live freely in public places? Despite needing to find their own food, water, and shelter, and despite being exposed to most human-induced harms such as traffic and abuse, these free-living dogs… They live mostly autonomous and peaceful lives. Srinivasan challenges us to reconsider her long-held belief that dogs should be companions to humans, and to rethink how humans can coexist with the rest of the planet. —CLR

3. I made my first bet when I was 10 years old. Since then, he has bet more than $1 million.

Noah Vinberg | McClain | May 10, 2023 | 5,098 words

In my city, the climate is wreaking havoc on infrastructure. Lots of potholes. After just one harsh winter, the curb crumbles into pieces. But what’s all the sparkle? The newly renovated and expanded casino is within walking distance of some of the poorest zip codes in town. The government claims gambling proceeds will fund “health care, education, social services, housing and infrastructure.” I’m not against gambling, but for some people it costs too much to fund community and social services that they can never repay.in Mr. MacLean, recovering gambling addict Noah Vinberg talks about how he became addicted to gambling from sports betting as a teenager and the high non-monetary price he has paid since then. —K.S.

4. Life inside a South African gang that risks everything for copper

Monica Mark | Financial Times | May 10, 2023 | 4,823 words

Sausages, Mafia, and Two Sixes: Three men at the end of a supply chain that sources stolen copper for an international syndicate. Monica Mark uses their stories to explain how South African gangs stealing copper reached industrial scale, causing water, sanitation, hospital outages and even train accidents. She sets these men’s personal stories into a larger context with intricate skill. Copper thieves are widely despised (vigilantes even bludgeon suspected thieves to death), but Mark’s account evokes sympathy among those driven to this crime by poverty. True, they often used the money to buy drugs, but Mark explains that “the heroin helped numb everything, like the chills seeping through the thin walls and the stomach cramps from hunger.” After weeks of negotiations, Mark manages to spend time with Two-Six, a thin, soft-spoken man. TwoSix will break your heart. While this essay does not shy away from the devastating effects of these thefts, it also shines a fierce and unflinching light on the plight of those who commit the theft. As always, it’s complicated. —C.W.

5. Dave Matthews’ Guide to Living and Dying

alex papademas | GQ | May 18, 2023 | 5,777 words

I don’t know if I ever had an opinion about Dave Matthews. I knew how I felt about his music – which is probably best left for another time, but the words “no thanks” pretty much sum it all up – but… At the same time, I think I thought he was Jack Johnson. (Hey white people with guitars, I don’t know what to say.) But after reading Alex Papademas’ excellent profile, I finally have an opinion. The opinion is that the world needs more people like Dave. Matthews.Papademas has always been able to walk the razor tightrope of insertion. just His own talent is on full display here, enough to let the story ferment without pushing it into the realm of ‘This celebrity is an excuse for what I think.’ Beyond the effortlessly funny writing, it’s the type of profile you don’t see as much these days. Over the course of several days at different locations and activities, a relationship of trust deepens and the individuality of the target person emerges. There’s a lot here about Matthews’ understanding of who he is and how the world sees him, but there’s just as much about how he moves through the world. And there’s also a lot about the joy with which he approaches life and its inevitable end. Regardless of how he felt about DMB before, this one will leave you feeling like things have changed a bit for the better. Perhaps that’s exactly what Matthews wants. —PR

audience award

Now, let’s get to the important part. Here are our readers’ favorites this week.