Observations on African Americans and other people of color and the significance of "race" in a (purportedly) colorblind world
Sunday, November 6, 2011
CT Scans And Minority Children
From OrthoSuperSite: "African-American and Hispanic children are less likely than Caucasian children to receive a cranial CT scan in an emergency department following minor head trauma, accoridng to a study presented at the 2011 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition."
"Moving Beyond Civil Rights"
Check out Stanford law professor Richard Thompson Ford's recent NYT op-ed and his argument that "[i]f civil rights ideals are to be as relevant in the 21st century as they were in the 20th, we must adapt the tactics of the past to the complexities of the present."
Friday, September 30, 2011
More Than Half
More than half (52.2%) of black children in Nebraska live in poverty. The numbers for other groups living in that state: 49.7% of Native American children, 33.8% of Latino children, and 14/5% of white children.
More Pat Buchanan
From the mouth of Pat Buchanan (still a commentator for MSNBC!): "I think what he is saying is they bought a lot of liberal propaganda on the liberal plantation and I think he's right!" (Buchanan was referring to Herman Cain's statement that black voters "have been brainwashed into not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view.")
By the way, Buchanan's forthcoming book gives "special thanks to Marcus Epstein for the invaluable assistance and untold hours he devoted to researching ideas, issues, and anecdotes." It has been reported that Epstein "was previously arrested for attacking a woman with a 'karate chop' and calling her the n-word." I'm just saying . . .
By the way, Buchanan's forthcoming book gives "special thanks to Marcus Epstein for the invaluable assistance and untold hours he devoted to researching ideas, issues, and anecdotes." It has been reported that Epstein "was previously arrested for attacking a woman with a 'karate chop' and calling her the n-word." I'm just saying . . .
Racial Bias In Lead Study
From the NYT: A class action lawsuit filed against the Kennedy Krieger Institute (affilaited iwth Johns Hopkins University) alleges that over 100 black children were knowingly exposed to lead poisoning in the 1990s as part of a study of the hazards of lead paint.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Dahlia Lithwick's "A Killer Issue"
Dahlia Lithwick's Slate article argues that the "same Republicans who are dubious of government's ability to do anything right have an apparently bottomless faith in the capital-justice system. Everything is broken in America, they claim--except the machinery of death."
"The GOP War on Voting"
Check out Ari Berman's article in the Rolling Stone. From the article: "Just as Dixiecrats once used poll taxes and literacy tests to bar black Southerners from voting, a new crop of GOP governors and state legislators has passed a series of seemingly disconnected measures that could prevent millions of students, minorities, immigrants, ex-convicts and the elderly from casting ballots."
Driving While Dreadlocked
John McWhorter's New Republic piece addresses the question why the police are so bad at racial profiling.
Recommended
Randall Kennedy, The Persistance of the Color Line: Racial Politics and the Obama Presidency (Pantheon 2011).
Kennedy recently discussed his work with Tavis Smiley.
Kennedy recently discussed his work with Tavis Smiley.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Uh Oh
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that, according to the National Enquirer, Joe McGinnis' new book on Sarah Palin "alleges that, in her twenties, Sarah Palin had hush-hush sex with then-University of Michigan star basketball player Glen Rice. Sort of redefines her stance on 'Drill, Baby Drill,' doesn't it?" According to the Enquirer story, "McGinnis claims Sarah had a 'fetish' for black men at the time . . ." (I know, consider the source, etc., but the story is now out there.)
"Rick Perry's Lethal Overconfidence"
Check out this terrific Daily Beast piece by my friend and colleague David Dow.
Duane Edward Buck
From the Texas Tribune:
"The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles today voted against recommending clemency for Duane Edward Buck, rejecting the pleas of his lawyers, a victim he shot and a prosecutor who was on the team that sentenced him to death.
"During Buck's 1997 capital murder trial in Houston, Dr. Walter Quijano told jurors that the fact that he was black meant Buck was more likely to be violent in the future."
A colorblind world?
"The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles today voted against recommending clemency for Duane Edward Buck, rejecting the pleas of his lawyers, a victim he shot and a prosecutor who was on the team that sentenced him to death.
"During Buck's 1997 capital murder trial in Houston, Dr. Walter Quijano told jurors that the fact that he was black meant Buck was more likely to be violent in the future."
A colorblind world?
"What If Michael Vick Were White?"
Sean Gregory discusses ESPN's story asking and answering this question.
The Death Penalty And The Military
From the NYT: "Racism in the application of capital punishment has been well documented in the civilian justice system since the Supreme Court reinstated the penalty in 1976. Now comes evidence that racial disparity is even greater in death penalty cases in the military system."
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Rep. Allen West: Today's Harriet Tubman?
From the "I'm here to save you" file: Representative Allen West, R.-Fla., has presented his view and critique of the Democratic Party "plantation" and claims that he is the "modern-day Harriett Tubman." But no worries, he's here to lead "us" . . . somewhere. His brother Arlan, who attended a job fair in Atlanta last week organized by the Congressional Black Caucus, says "that kind of conversation and that kind of dialogue is not productive."
Senator Coburn Said What?
The Tulsa World reports that Senator Tom Coburn told a crowd in Langley, Oklahoma that President Obama does not intend to destroy the United States, "his intent is to create dependency because it worked so well for him." "As an African-American male" Obama received "tremendous advantage from a lot of these programs." I'm not going to even attempt to unpack that, it is what it is and says what it says.
Accidental Shootings Of Black People, Family Dogs
From Elie Mystal's Above the Law posting: "I just don't like living in a world where shooting my dog is a bigger liability risk for a police officer than shooting me."
White Voters And The Republican Party
From the Pew Research Center: In 2008 the Republican Party held a 46-44 percent edge among white voters. The edge today: 52-39.
Another Workplace Noose Incident
A nurse employed at Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston, who happens to be black, found a noose hanging over her desk in the hospital's emergency department. The noose was reportedly placed there by a white male. Concluding that there was no "malicious or threatening intent" motivating "this serious incident," the hospital district is developing a diversity program.
"Your Boy"
Pat Buchanan (still an MSNBC commentator!!) referred to President Obama as "your boy" during an on-air discussion with Al Sharpton on MSNBC. The next day Buchanan said, "Some folks took what I said as some kind of slur. None was meant, none was intended, none was delivered." Oh. OK.
Emmett Till And The Money, Mississippi Gas Station
The gas station at which Emmett Till allegedly whistled at a white woman is being restored by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The woman's husband and his hal-brother murdered and mutilated the 14-year-old from Chicago.
"Tar Baby"
Representative Doug Lamborn, R.-Colo., said on a radio show that association with President Obama's policies would be like "touching a tar baby." He later apologized.
Time magazine discussed "tar baby" and its various uses in a 2006 article noting then Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's use of the term.
Time magazine discussed "tar baby" and its various uses in a 2006 article noting then Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's use of the term.
The "Half-black, Half-Hispanic" Spiderman
Meet the new Spiderman: Miles Morales. Peter Parker was killed in Marvel Comics' June issue.
On Media And Stereotypes
WBBM-TV, the CBS television affiliate in Chicago, broadcast an interview with a four-year-old boy (that alone is problematic) as part of a story on the shootings of teenagers in the city. Asked "What are you going to do when you get older?" the young boy responded "I'm going to have me a gun!"
The following was edited out of and not included in the broadcast piece: After saying "I'm going to have me a gun!" the reporter stated "You are! Why do you want to do that?" The boy's answer: "I'm going to be the police!"
Shameful.
The following was edited out of and not included in the broadcast piece: After saying "I'm going to have me a gun!" the reporter stated "You are! Why do you want to do that?" The boy's answer: "I'm going to be the police!"
Shameful.
"The Biggest Lie About Race? That It's Real"
The Root interviews law professor Dorothy Roberts, author of Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century.
Criminal Background Checks Of Applicants
Last month the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission held a meeting to discuss employer use of criminal background checks and the impact of that practice on African-American applicants. The EEOC's guidelines currently provide that this practice has an adverse impact on black and Latino applicants, and that an employment decision based on an applicant's conviction record is impermissible absent business necessity.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Racial/Ethnic Wealth Gap
From the Pew Research Center:
The median wealth of households:
White: $113,149
"Hispanic": $6325
Black: $5677
The median wealth of households:
White: $113,149
"Hispanic": $6325
Black: $5677
From 2 To 13
From the Pew Research Center: The Republican Party's edge among white voters in 2008: 2 points (46% to 44% for Democrats). Today's edge: 13 points (52% to 39%).
Half As Likely To Die In Prison
From The Root: "Researchers found that African-American men are half as likely to die if they are in prison because they are isolated from alcoholism and drug-related deaths, as well as lethal accidents and certain chronic diseases . . . White men, on the other hand, ar slightly more likely to die in prison than outside it."
Be Careful Who You Mess With
Daren Abbey, described in this article as a Neo-Nazi, allegedly confronted Marlon Baker, who happens to be black, in an Idaho bar. Baker knocked him out with one punch.
David Dow On The Racist And Arbitrary Death Penalty
My friend and colleague David Dow's recent NYT op-ed can be viewed here.
The Astros New Owner?
Check out this Forbes piece on Jim Crane, whose bid to buy the Houston Astros is awaiting the approval of Major League Baseball.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
July 4, 1911
From Jonathan Mahler's piece "From Jackie Robinson to Dead Silence" in the NYT: On July 4, 1911 Rafael Almeida and Armando Marsans, who happened to be Cuban, made their major league baseball debut with the Cincinnati Reds. "The Reds took great pains to highlight the irreproachable ethnicities of their newest employees: yes, they were Cubans, but they were purebred Spaniards, without so much as a trace of African blood."
Invoking MLK
I must admit that this never occurred to me. According to Mike Huckabee, political analysts discriminated against Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour: "There were people who said, 'Nobody is going to elect some white guy from Mississippi with a real, slow molasses-type Southern accent for president of the United States.'" Invoking the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Huckabee said, "I thought our nation had learned something, I thought that maybe we had taken seriously the message of Dr. King who said that we should not be judged by the color of our skin but by the contents of our character." Huckabee added that people "should not be judged by the accent of our speech."
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
A Nagging Tale
From the NYT: Madison Phillips "says that he and his mother, Annette Singleton, both black, were turned away from a church shelter by a white woman on the afternoon of April 27, the day of the tornadoes [in Alabama]. And within hours, Ms. Singleton and two of Madison's young friends, who had been huddling with him in his house within yards of that church, were dead."
Oh No He Didn't
In May of this year James Bolling, a Fox host, posted on Facebook and Twitter that President Obama was "chugging 40's in IRE while tornadoes ravage MO." He recently followed that up with this teaser for a segment of his Follow the Money Show regarding a White House visit by the president of Gabon: "Guess who's coming to dinner? A dictator. Mr. Obama shares a laugh with one of Africa's kleptocrats. It's not the first time he's had a hoodlum in the hizzouse." Now that's playing the race, stereotyping, implicit association, etc. cards.
Of course, Bolling later apologized.
Of course, Bolling later apologized.
My Race Is . . .
When filling out a college application, how should an applicant with an Asian mother and a black father describe herself?
Monday, June 13, 2011
Loving Day
Herman Cain: Obama "Was Raised In Kenya"
GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain on President Obama: "I think he's out of the mainstream and always has been. Look, he was raised in Kenya, his mother was white from Kansas and her family had an influence on him." Silly season never ends.
The Genesis Group
Plessy And (Not Versus) Ferguson
Keith Plessy, a descendant of Homer Plessy, the plaintiff in the Supreme Court's infamous 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, and Phoebe Ferguson, the great-great-granddaughter of the Louisiana trial court judge who upheld Louisiana's separate-but-equal law, have started a new civil rights education organization, the Plessy & Ferguson Foundation.
On Inter-Minority Racism
"Some minorities uphold White supremacy in what has become multiracial White supremacy," says Dr. Nitasha Sharma.
Sam Garrison, Rest In Peace
Sam Garrison, the youngest member of the Tuskegee Airmen, has passed away.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Eleven Percent
That's the number of black children with an incarcerated parent; the comparable number for white children is 1.75%.
Westboro Baptist Church And (Versus) The KKK
This CNN story notes that the Ku Klux Klan challenged Westboro Baptist Church protesters this past Memorial Day.
The "Mothership" In The Smithsonian
Parliament-Funkadelic's Mothership will land at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History. As the song goes, make my funk the P-Funk.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Alexander Tureaud
Alexander Tureaud was the first black undergradudate student at LSU; because of the actions of university officials, faculty, students, and others, he did not complete his first semester. LSU recently awarded Tureaud an honorary doctorate.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Word Association
I haven't seen this in years: Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
A Pardon For Jack Johnson?
Senator John McCain and Representative Peter King are pursuing a Congressional resolution seeking a pardon for Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion of the world.
From Gary Younge, writing in The Nation: "Millions of black kids may well aspire to the presidency now that a black man is in the White House. But such a trajectory is less likely for them now than it was under Bush. Herein lies what is at best a paradox and at worst a contradiction within Obama's core base of support. The very group most likely to support him--black Americans--is the same group that is doing worse under him."
Black Women Are Less Attractive Than Other Women?
In a Psychology Today article Satoshi Kanazawa wrote that black women are "far less attractive than white, Asian, and Native American women." While the article has been removed from that site, you can check it out here. Can't make it up.
The "Huxtable Effect"?
Did "The Cosby Show" transform racial attitudes? That question is addressed here.
Ron Paul And The 1964 Civil Rights Act
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has made clear that he would not have voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For more on Paul, check out this May 2010 posting.
Fifty Three
According to the Pew Research Center, that's the percentage of Americans who say that the Civil War continues to be relevant today.
Driving While Black In Houston
According to the Houston Chronicle, a Houston Police Department study reports that in 2010 African Americans (23% of Houston's population) represented 33% of drivers stopped by the HPD.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
On Soul Patrols
First boxer Bernard Hopkins claimed that Washington Redskins (Redskins--that's a whole 'nother story) quarterback Donovan McNabb is not black enough. Now Professor Cornel West opines that "I think my dear brother Barack Obama has a certain fear of free black men." "All he has known culturally is white." "When he meets an independent black brother, it is frightening." Disappointing.
Check out Professor Melissa Harris-Perry's reaction to West's comments here. A few snippets: Regarding West's "fear of free black men" and culturally white statements, Harris-Perry writes that West "has spent the bulk of his adulthood living in those deeply rooted, culturally rich, historically important black communities of Cambridge, MA and Princeton, NJ." Noting West's critique of President Obama's economic policies, she writes that West "remains silent on his friend Tavis Smiley's relationship with Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, and McDonald's--all corporations whose invasive and predatory actions in poor and black communities have been the target of progresive organizing for decades."
Who's "black enough" is such a tired question and weapon of mass distraction. But check out all of the linked materials.
UPDATE: Check out Paul Devlin's "The Professor and the Bellhop."
Check out Professor Melissa Harris-Perry's reaction to West's comments here. A few snippets: Regarding West's "fear of free black men" and culturally white statements, Harris-Perry writes that West "has spent the bulk of his adulthood living in those deeply rooted, culturally rich, historically important black communities of Cambridge, MA and Princeton, NJ." Noting West's critique of President Obama's economic policies, she writes that West "remains silent on his friend Tavis Smiley's relationship with Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, and McDonald's--all corporations whose invasive and predatory actions in poor and black communities have been the target of progresive organizing for decades."
Who's "black enough" is such a tired question and weapon of mass distraction. But check out all of the linked materials.
UPDATE: Check out Paul Devlin's "The Professor and the Bellhop."
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
President Obama's Long Form Birth Certificate
If you want or have a need to see President Obama's Certificate of Live Birth (what a world we live in), go to this White House blog posting and click on the link provided therein.
Why does Donald Trump's fantasy and other conspiracy theories about the President (he did not write his books, his real father was not Barack Obama, Sr., etc.) continue to persist? Consider this from David Remnick: "Let's say what is plainly true (and what the President himself is reluctant to say): these rumors, this industry of fantasy, are designed to arouse a fear of the Other, of an African-American man with a white American mother and a black Kenyan father. . . . Let's be even plainer: to do what Trump has done . . . is a conscious form of race-baiting, of fear-mongering. And if that makes Donald Trump proud, then what does that say of him?"
Trump a race-baiter? I'm sure The Donald would disagree with that view. After all, he's told us this: "I have a great relationship with the blacks. I've always had a great relationship with the blacks." Oh.
Why does Donald Trump's fantasy and other conspiracy theories about the President (he did not write his books, his real father was not Barack Obama, Sr., etc.) continue to persist? Consider this from David Remnick: "Let's say what is plainly true (and what the President himself is reluctant to say): these rumors, this industry of fantasy, are designed to arouse a fear of the Other, of an African-American man with a white American mother and a black Kenyan father. . . . Let's be even plainer: to do what Trump has done . . . is a conscious form of race-baiting, of fear-mongering. And if that makes Donald Trump proud, then what does that say of him?"
Trump a race-baiter? I'm sure The Donald would disagree with that view. After all, he's told us this: "I have a great relationship with the blacks. I've always had a great relationship with the blacks." Oh.
Russ Douthat's Thinking About Black And Brown Folks
In his April 17, 2011 "The Middle-Class Tax Trap" op-ed in the New York Times, columnist Russ Douthat drops this gem:
"[T]he working-age America of the future will be far more diverse than the retired cohort it's laboring to support. Asking a population that's increasingly brown and beige to accept punishing tax rates while seniors receive roughly $3 in Medicare benefits for every dollar they paid . . . promises to polarize the country along racial as well as generational lines."
Commenting on Routhat's piece, Hendrik Hertzberg writes that Routhat thinks that "taxophobic people of color will take out their Ayn Randian anger on the old, sick, and the white. (Never mind that brown and beige seniors will be just as 'entitled' as white ones to a ride on that three-bucks-for-a-dollar Medicare gravy train.)"
Colorblind my . . . well, you know the rest.
"[T]he working-age America of the future will be far more diverse than the retired cohort it's laboring to support. Asking a population that's increasingly brown and beige to accept punishing tax rates while seniors receive roughly $3 in Medicare benefits for every dollar they paid . . . promises to polarize the country along racial as well as generational lines."
Commenting on Routhat's piece, Hendrik Hertzberg writes that Routhat thinks that "taxophobic people of color will take out their Ayn Randian anger on the old, sick, and the white. (Never mind that brown and beige seniors will be just as 'entitled' as white ones to a ride on that three-bucks-for-a-dollar Medicare gravy train.)"
Colorblind my . . . well, you know the rest.
On Red Lobster And Black Diners
Steven Barboza asks, "Why is Red Lobster so popular, particularly among African Americans?"
46 Percent
That's the number reported in a poll of Mississippi Republicans who were asked about their views on interracial marriage and answered that such marriages should be illegal.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
A Racist Image Of The President
Check out this story and the racist image of President Obama. No worries, though, the person who sent it out apologized.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Donald Trump's A Birther
Watch this from Trump's appearance on The View. And check out this "Dear Birthers" item I posted in August 2009 with pictures of the President's birth certificate with stamp and seal.
Incident At The University Of Kentucky School Of Law
Someone posted this sign at the UK law school: "How Do You Spell Nigger? OBAMA."
An Elementary School's Mock Slave Auction
From The Root: A teacher in an elementary school in Ohio conducted a slave auction. Ten-year-old Nikko Burton, one of two black students in the class, was designated a slave and was inspected by "masters." This from Nikko: "The masters got to touch people and do all sorts of stuff. They got to look in your mouth and feel your legs and stuff and see if you're strong and stuff." According to the story, the principal apologized to Nikko and his mother; the teacher has not.
Hat Tip: ddow
Hat Tip: ddow
Saturday, March 12, 2011
HNIC
While scrolling through the Comcast viewer guide I saw "HNIC" listed on the National Hockey League channel. Wondering what that referred to (and knowing that it wasn't an acronym for "Head N__r In Charge"), I checked it out (I know, way too much time on my hands). It's Hockey Night In Canada.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Nearly Double
That's the jobless rate of African American college graduates as compared to the jobless rate of their white counterparts.
Health Care And Race
This Huffington Post entry discusses a study linking some of the opposition to health care reform to racial bias.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Wales Window
Please read this story about a Welsh artist's remarkable response to the September 15, 1963 bombing at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Bus Driver's Confederate Flag
School bus driver Ken Webber has and displays on his vehicle a Confederate flag. "It's about fighting for state rights. It's a way of life. It's who you are. It has nothing to do with racism." The school district that employed Webber asked him to remove the flag; when he refused to do so his employment was terminated.
"Getting Past The Bouncer"
From this Houston Press story: "Every few months or so, the simmering racial tension that goes hand-in-hand with nightclubs' right to decide who they do and don't let in boils over into another episode of hurt feelings, ugly allegations and hungry headlines."
Nooses At Work
For some reason (insert yours here), the last few years have seen an increase in reports of the number of African-American employees who discover a noose placed in their work area. Here's another one.
Celebrating Black History Month . . . In March
OK, Black History Month is already held in February, the shortest month of the year. But at least get the month right. The Los Angeles Clippers celebrated in March. That's right, March.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
From "What Would You Do?"
This ABC News show staged a racial profiling scenario, complete with hidden cameras, in Arizona. Watch the reactions.
The Beating Of Chad Holley
This video shows Houston police officers beating 15-year-old Chad Holley.
Black History, Black Families
Colbert King writes that we are in another Black History Month, "[a]nother month of looking back with pride--as we ignore the calamity in our midst."
Saturday, February 5, 2011
"Posing Beauty: African-American Images From The 1890s To The Present"
This photography exhibition can be seen at the Newark Museum.
Going Incog-Negro
Actor Michael Fosberg discusses how his life changed after he learned, in his early thirties, that his biological father was a black man.
The Civil Rights Movement Comic Book And Egypt
An interesting question: "did a 50-year old comic book about Martin Luther King help change the course of history in Egypt? Rep. John Lewis thinks so."
An Interview With Neil deGrasse Tyson
The Root talks with the director of the Rose Center at the American Museum of Natural History.
Racial Disparities In Health
This report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention details certain racial disparities in health. For instance, babies born to black women are three times as likely to die during their infancy than babies born to women of other races, and Mexican-Americans have the lowest success rate in controlling high blood pressure. The NYT discusses the report here.
Tim Scott
The Grio takes a look at Tim Scott, an African-American Congressman and member of the Republican Party.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Carol Moseley Braun Goes Off
In a debate, in a church, Chicago mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun called her opponent, Paul Watkins, a crackhead. Read about it here and watch the video.
Five Times Greater
According to a commission report issued in Illinois, 19% of African Americans charged with low-level drug possession received prison sentences, compared with 4% of white defendants; in Cook County black persons were eight times more likely than whites to get prison time.
"A Rosa Parks Moment For Education"
In the Washington Post Kevin Huffman discusses Kelley Williams-Bolar's conviction for lying about her address so that her daughters could attend better schools. "Williams-Bolar has become a cause celebre in a case that crosses traditional ideological bounds. African American activists are outraged, asking: Would a white mother face the same punishment for trying to get ker kids a better education? (Answer: No.)"
(Don't) Ask Michelle Bachmann
From the "can't make it up" and "WTF?" categories: Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn., believes that "the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States. . . . Men like John Quincy Adams, who would not rest until slavery was extinguished in the country."
Fred Astaire In Blackface
In this NYT article Alastair Macaulay asks, "How should we react today to 'Bojangles of Harlem,' the extended solo in the 1936 film 'Swing Time' in which Fred Astaire, then at the height of his fame, wears blackface to evoke the African-American dancer Bill Robinson?"
Rebooting Segregation
Patricia Williams shares her concerns about "a right-wing power base informed by ideologues who would eviscerate the Fourteenth Amendment's promse of equality by restricting voting rights and limiting public expenditures on the 'parasites' who leech off the welfare of 'their' America."
The Legacy Of Challenger Astronaut Ronald McNair
Ronald McNair, a physicist, was one of the astronauts who died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. This ABC News story notes that "[i]n 1959, when McNair was just 9 years old, he famously made a scene at the Lake City [South Carolina] Public Library. Residents stared the African American boy down and watched as he walked to the main counter and attempted to check out books on advanced science and calculus. The librarian refused to release them and told him, 'We don't circulate books to Negroes.'" When McNair refused to leave the police were called and McNair's mother Pearl arrived at the library. The officers "determined the boy was not causing any public disturbance and Pearl convinced the librarian she'd pay for the books if they were not returned. The librarian gave in."
The Real Househusbands Of Beverly Hills Have Their Say
For those who watch the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (you know who you are) check this out.
The Felony Conviction Of Kelley Williams-Bolar
In Ohio Kelley Williams-Boar, seeking a better school district for her daughters, was convicted for lying about her residency and sentenced to 10 days in jail and two years probation. NPR's Michel Martin interviews the school district's superintendent.
We're No. 1 . . . And That's A Problem
There are times when being first is not a good thing. According to this story, my home state of Missouri "has the highest homicide rate involving African-American victims for the second time in the last five years . . ."
Rep. Jim Moran On The 2010 Midterm Election
Why did Republicans do so well in the 2010 midterms? According to Moran, "a lot of people in this country . . . don't want to be governed by an African-American."
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
"George Allen's Race Problem"
As George Allen gears up for a run for the United States Senate seat he lost to Jim Webb in 2006, this Daily Beast story by Benjamin Sarlin discusses Allen's "race problem."
Boy Scout Troop 914
In November of last year 12 young men (who happen to be black) earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in scouting.
Lady Justice's Changing Features And Color
Dennis Curtis and Judith Resnick discuss this subject in Slate.
Michelle Obama Is "Blackie O"?
From the mouth and mind of Joan Rivers: "We used to have Jackie O now we have Blackie O." That's supposed to be funny. Right.
The Memphis State Eight
As noted in this article, in 1959 eight black students enrolled in Memphis State University, integrating the university. One of the students, Sammie Burnett Johnson, died on January 15.
Fired For Using The N-Word
Tom Burlington, a news anchor, was fired for using the n-word in a staff meeting and has filed a lawsuit challenging his discharge. Read about it here.
Remapping Debate
Check out Remapping Debate's interactive maps and the high levels of segregation in various parts of hte United States.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Tony Dungy's Influence
The following individuals at one time served as coaches on the staff of former NFL head coach Tony Dungy (who won Super Bowl XLI): current Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith (who lost to Dungy's team in Super Bowl XLI); current Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell (who lost in Super Bowl XLIV); and current Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin (winner of Super Bowl XLIII). That's an amazing legacy.
The Wiley Price Gallery
Wiley Price is a longtime friend and played a mean trombone in our band. He's now a celebtrated photographer and some of his work can be seen here.
Black History Month Is Coming
February (the shortest month of the year . . . but I digress) is coming and that means that we will soon be in Black History Month. If you're looking for or interested in black hisory facts and figures, click here.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
The Real McCoy
Here is an interesting profile on the inventor Elijah McCoy, the man whose "name would come to symbolize quality workmanship-the Real McCoy!"
Unsung African-American Chemists
A recent Science Careers article in Science magazine notes the important contributions to chemistry made by Lawrence Knox (who received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Harvard in 1935) and his older brother, William Knox, Jr. (who received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from M.I.T. in 1940). Another Knox brother, Clinton, received his Ph.D. in history in 1940.)
Saturday, January 15, 2011
"Kiss My Butt"
That was Maine Governor Paul LePage's response to the NAACP's complaint that LePage was not participating in any MLK Day events in the coming week. Well, at least he didn't say "ass."
UPDATE: On Monday Governor LePage did appear at a breakfast honoring Dr. King.
UPDATE: On Monday Governor LePage did appear at a breakfast honoring Dr. King.
MLK Would Not Oppose The Iraq And Afghanistan Wars?
Speaking at a Pentagon commemmoration of the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Defense Department general counsel Jeh C. Johnson told the audience that King would understand the Iraq and Afghanistan wars: "I believe that if Dr. King were alive today, he would recognize that we live in a complicated world, and that our nation's military should not and cannot lay down its arms and leave the American people vulnerable to terrorist attack." As you assess and react to that statement, consider Dr. King's April 1967 speech on Vietnam delivered at the Riverside Church in Manhattan.
Hiring Discrimination
Laura Bassett addresses the problem of hiring discrimination and how employers weed out unemployed job applicants in this Huffington Post article.
The Council Of Conservative Citizens Is Boycotting The Movie "Thor"
Why the boycott? Because actor Idris Elba (Stringer Bell in "The Wire" and Charles Miner on "The Office," among other roles), who happens to be black, has been cast in the role of Thor.
Cookie Gilchrist, Rest In Peace
Cookie Gilchrist, former Buffalo Bills running back, has passed away at the age of 75. As Dave Zirin notes, in 1965 Gilchrist "led an African American boycott of the [American Football League] All Star game, which was to be played in New Orleans. In 1965, an informal Jim Crow system ruled the Crescent city and African American players talked among themselves about their inability to get cabs, be served in restaurants, or stay at certain hotels. Gilchrist organized all 22 African American All-Pros to approach AFL commissioner Joe Foss and make clear that unless the game was moved, they wouldn't be playing. White players also announced that they would stand in support of their Black teammates. Foss had no choice but to accede to their demands, and moved the game to Houston's Jeppesen Stadium."
The Limbaugh Billboard In Tucson
From Gawker: "Oh look, it's a billboard for Rush Limbaugh featuring a bunch of bullet holes. This billboard is located in Tucson, Arizona. We blame the liberal media, somehow."
Michael Starks, Rest In Peace
Michael Starks, the first black graduate of Tulane University's School of Law, has passed away at the age of 67.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Huckleberry Finn And The Word "Nigger"
Much has been written and said about a new edition of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in which the 219 instances of the use of the word "nigger" are omitted and replaced with the word "slave." In my view the word should not be removed and the classic work not altered or edited, by anyone, including the apparently well-intentioned Twain scholar Alan Gribben of Auburn University.
Consider several reactions to this development: Leonard Pitts argues that "is is never a good idea to sugarcoat the past" and that "any work of art represents a series of conscious choices on the part of the artist--what color to paint, what note to play, what word to use--in that artist's attempt to share what is in his or her soul. The audience is free to accept or reject those choices; it is emphatically not free to substitute its own."
John McWhorter notes that "Twain's use of the n-word was an illustration of injustice. The fact that he used it so often in the text served to make that point more effectively--that this was the warp and woof of how black people were viewed in the context he wrote about (as opposed to Rhett Butler saying 'damn' only once in 'Gone With the Wind')." And: "This genuflective brand of horror at the N-word is insulting to black people more generally. The idea, under this mission creep from civility to neurosis, is that for black people only, there is a particular sequence of sounds whose utterance is to be treated as gravely sociopathic. This, despite its frequent misinterpretation as lending black people some kind of strength, is actually a badge of weakness. We become America's only people who brandish proudly our potential to be shot to pieces at the presentation of a mere word."
And click here to watch Melissa Harris-Perry's reaction and analysis.
Consider several reactions to this development: Leonard Pitts argues that "is is never a good idea to sugarcoat the past" and that "any work of art represents a series of conscious choices on the part of the artist--what color to paint, what note to play, what word to use--in that artist's attempt to share what is in his or her soul. The audience is free to accept or reject those choices; it is emphatically not free to substitute its own."
John McWhorter notes that "Twain's use of the n-word was an illustration of injustice. The fact that he used it so often in the text served to make that point more effectively--that this was the warp and woof of how black people were viewed in the context he wrote about (as opposed to Rhett Butler saying 'damn' only once in 'Gone With the Wind')." And: "This genuflective brand of horror at the N-word is insulting to black people more generally. The idea, under this mission creep from civility to neurosis, is that for black people only, there is a particular sequence of sounds whose utterance is to be treated as gravely sociopathic. This, despite its frequent misinterpretation as lending black people some kind of strength, is actually a badge of weakness. We become America's only people who brandish proudly our potential to be shot to pieces at the presentation of a mere word."
And click here to watch Melissa Harris-Perry's reaction and analysis.
Lithwick On The House Of Representatives' (Selective) Reading Of The Constitution
In her "Constitutional Whitewash" column in Slate, Dahlia Lithwick comments on the way in which the House of Representatives read the United States Constitution in its "most modern, amended form" on January 6, 2011, thereby leaving out the document's reference to enslaved men, women, and children as three-fifths of a person. (You may recall that during the reading of the section of the Constitution setting out the eligilibity requirements for the president a woman yelled out "except Obama, except Obama!") Also omitted, by accident, was a reading of sections of Article IV and Article V; apparently, the reader turned two pages instead of one and the missing material was later read into the Congressional record.
The Influence Of The Tea Party
Note this development in the Wake County School District in North Carolina: a "new majority-Republican school board backed by national tea party conservatives . . . has abolished the policy behind one of the nation's most celebrated integration efforts."
Remember Rep. Joe Wilson Yelling "You Lie" At President Obama?
EEOC Discrimination Charges: A New Record
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has announced that the number of private sector workpalce discrimination charges filed with the agency (99,922 in fiscal year 2010) set a record. During the 2010 fiscal year the EEOC filed 250 lawsuits, resolved another 285 lawsuits, and processed and resolved 104,999 private sector claims.
Mike Tyson's New Show
For real: "Taking on Tyson," a six-part docudrama coming to Animal Planet beginning March 6, focusing on his love for pigeons.
Integrating The University Of Georgia
Fifty years ago Charlayne Hunter (now Charlayne Hunter-Gault) and Hamilton Holmes were admitted as the first two black students at the University of Georgia. As Hunter-Gault told NPR's Steve Inskeep (listen to the story), "We were greeted by a screaming, howling mob of students, and I think some provocateurs. And as we walked under the arch, the students were yelling and screaming all kinds of epithets, and telling us to go home--in some cases saying, 'Kill the you-know-what.'"
Hat Tip: ddow
Hat Tip: ddow
Legacy Applicants And College Admissions
This story discusses a study of admissions at thirty highly selective colleges and the finding that "applicants to a parent's alma mater had, on average, seven times the odds of admission of nonlegacy applicants."
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Pat Buchanan On Haley Barbour
(MSNBC commentator!) Pat Buchanan, commenting on Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's recent and ridiculous statements about the White Citizens Council in the Yazoo, Mississippi of Barbour's youth: "No one has contradicted the facts as stated by Haley, that the Citizens' Council of Yazoo City consisted of 'town leaders' who did not want any Klan violence ripping their town apart." I almost stopped there but kept reading, finding this: "But if Haley had meant to leave the impression that the White Citizens' Councils were promoting peaceful integration, that would have been laughable. Like almost all the U.S. senators from the 11 states of the Old Confederacy who signed the Dixie Manifesto opposing the Brown decision, the White Citizens' Councils believed in massive resistance to integration." When even Pat Buchanan corrects you . . .
Billy Taylor, Rest In Peace
Jazz pianist Bily Taylor died last month at the age of 89. Stanley Crouch argues that Taylor "took with him something now symbolized by few black people in mass media or the academy."
"The Year Of The Black Quarterback"
Check out this article by Darren Everson and Ben Cohen in the Wall Street Journal.
Commemorating The Largest Slave Revolt In U.S. History
On January 8, 1811, Charles Deslondes and more than 200 enslaved men "staged a revolt . . . that historians say is the largest uprising of enslaved people in this country." The story is here.
The War On Drugs And Black America
From John McWhorter: "[W]ith no War on Drugs there would be, in one generation, no 'black problem' in the United States. Poverty in general, yes. An education problem in general--probably. But the idea that black America had a particular crisis would rapidly become history, requiring explanation to young people."
Universities And Demographics
From the NYT: "Although the changing demographics of college campuses may be grabbing the headlines, the more compelling issue is how the growing number of minority students presents serious social and academic challenges for financially strapped universities, even as the schools are under pressure to boost graduation rates."
Friday, January 7, 2011
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