Monday, April 16, 2018
Beychella
From the Washington Post -
Beyoncé’s Coachella performance wasn’t just pure entertainment. It was a historic cultural moment.
By Elahe Izadi
Beyoncé’s Coachella performance wasn’t just pure entertainment. It was a historic cultural moment.
By Elahe Izadi
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/04/15/beyonces-coachella-performance-wasnt-just-pure-musical-entertainment-it-was-a-historic-cultural-moment/?utm_term=.99f6290c8dbf&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Arrested While Black at Starbucks
From the Washington Post -
Two black men were arrested waiting at a Starbucks. Now the company, police are on the defensive.
By Alex Horton
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/04/15/two-black-men-were-arrested-waiting-at-a-starbucks-now-the-company-police-are-on-the-defensive/?utm_term=.bb1c34017240
Two black men were arrested waiting at a Starbucks. Now the company, police are on the defensive.
By Alex Horton
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/04/15/two-black-men-were-arrested-waiting-at-a-starbucks-now-the-company-police-are-on-the-defensive/?utm_term=.bb1c34017240
A Second Grader Knows
Black kids know, as early as the 2nd grade, that they can be killed by the police.— Ryan P. Haygood (@RyanPHaygood) April 12, 2018
Directions: Add a predicate to each sentence below.
1. The police officer: “killed a boy”—2nd grade Black student in New Jersey pic.twitter.com/FIRWmVPVZi
Recommended Books
From Salon TV -
Junot Díaz’s five books for all
https://video.salon.com/m/Bk4tzxp3/junot-dazs-five-books-for-all
Junot Díaz’s five books for all
https://video.salon.com/m/Bk4tzxp3/junot-dazs-five-books-for-all
Saturday, April 14, 2018
He's No Hero
An excerpt from the Atlantic -
James Comey Is No Hero
The former FBI director has a low opinion of the president who fired him, but his disregard for Justice Department rules helped put Trump in the White House to begin with.
By ADAM SERWER
Comey’s admission that he believed Clinton would win is also dramatically at odds with Comey’s own sworn testimony before the Senate in May of 2017. “There was a great debate. I have a fabulous staff at all levels and one of my junior lawyers said, ‘Should you consider that what you’re about to do may help elect Donald Trump president?’” Comey said. “And I said, ‘Thank you for raising that, not for a moment because down that path lies the death of the FBI as an independent institution in America. I can’t consider for a second whose political fortunes will be affected in what way.’” Now, Comey admits Clinton’s political fortunes were a factor in his decision, which means that by his own assessment, he personally put the FBI’s political independence at risk.
Comey’s explanation in a Higher Loyalty also makes little sense. If a potential Clinton administration’s legitimacy might be thrown into question by concealing the restarted investigation, why did Comey not have even greater concerns about a Trump administration, given the fact that the FBI believed that Trump’s campaign may have been drawing aid from a hostile foreign power, an allegation far more serious than mishandling of classified information?
~~~~~~~~~~
Comey has a long record of public service, and Trump has none to speak of more than a year into his presidency. Yet there’s another way in which the virtuous and forthright Comey resembles the degenerate and deceitful Trump. Both are the main characters in their own cinematic dramas, the heroes of their own great epic stories, a mindset that blinds each of them to the consequences of their actions on other people.
Comey cares a great deal about honor, and regards the president as dishonorable. But in 2016, Comey robbed the American people of the opportunity to fairly judge each candidate in the 2016 election. That would be the case even if Clinton had prevailed; that she lost simply dramatizes the consequences of his decision. He chose honor over duty, and the nation, the political process, and the independence of FBI all continue to suffer for it.
Trump fired Comey for self-interested reasons, an act that may amount to obstruction of justice. But by that point, Comey had proven himself unfit to hold his office.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/james-comey/557981/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20180413&silverid=MzEwMTkwMTQ4ODk4S0
James Comey Is No Hero
The former FBI director has a low opinion of the president who fired him, but his disregard for Justice Department rules helped put Trump in the White House to begin with.
By ADAM SERWER
Comey’s admission that he believed Clinton would win is also dramatically at odds with Comey’s own sworn testimony before the Senate in May of 2017. “There was a great debate. I have a fabulous staff at all levels and one of my junior lawyers said, ‘Should you consider that what you’re about to do may help elect Donald Trump president?’” Comey said. “And I said, ‘Thank you for raising that, not for a moment because down that path lies the death of the FBI as an independent institution in America. I can’t consider for a second whose political fortunes will be affected in what way.’” Now, Comey admits Clinton’s political fortunes were a factor in his decision, which means that by his own assessment, he personally put the FBI’s political independence at risk.
Comey’s explanation in a Higher Loyalty also makes little sense. If a potential Clinton administration’s legitimacy might be thrown into question by concealing the restarted investigation, why did Comey not have even greater concerns about a Trump administration, given the fact that the FBI believed that Trump’s campaign may have been drawing aid from a hostile foreign power, an allegation far more serious than mishandling of classified information?
~~~~~~~~~~
Comey has a long record of public service, and Trump has none to speak of more than a year into his presidency. Yet there’s another way in which the virtuous and forthright Comey resembles the degenerate and deceitful Trump. Both are the main characters in their own cinematic dramas, the heroes of their own great epic stories, a mindset that blinds each of them to the consequences of their actions on other people.
Comey cares a great deal about honor, and regards the president as dishonorable. But in 2016, Comey robbed the American people of the opportunity to fairly judge each candidate in the 2016 election. That would be the case even if Clinton had prevailed; that she lost simply dramatizes the consequences of his decision. He chose honor over duty, and the nation, the political process, and the independence of FBI all continue to suffer for it.
Trump fired Comey for self-interested reasons, an act that may amount to obstruction of justice. But by that point, Comey had proven himself unfit to hold his office.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/james-comey/557981/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20180413&silverid=MzEwMTkwMTQ4ODk4S0
Single Mom Rocks
From BlackAmericaWeb-
Single Mom Breaks The Internet With Law School Graduation Photos
By Diannah Watson
Single Mom Breaks The Internet With Law School Graduation Photos
By Diannah Watson
https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/04/13/single-mom-breaks-the-internet-with-law-school-graduation-photos/
A Raging Buffon
An excerpt form the NY Times -
Tethered to a Raging Buffoon Called Trump
by Richard Cohen
We are tethered to a buffoon. He rages and veers, spreading ugliness, like an oil slick smothering everything in its viscous mantle. He’s about to bomb Syria. He’s not about to bomb Syria. His attention span is nonexistent. He attacks the foundations of our Republic: an independent judiciary, a free press, truth itself. His cabinet looks terrorized, the way Saddam Hussein’s once did.
President Donald Trump is dangerous. The main things mitigating the danger are his incompetence and cowardice. We live in a time that teaches how outrage can turn to a shrug, how the unthinkable repeated over and over can induce moral numbness, how a madman’s manic certainties can overwhelm reason. He is very busy; people resist; he opens another front; people shake their heads. It’s hard to remember on Friday what happened on Monday. Trump’s is the unbearable lightness of the charlatan.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/opinion/trump-hitler-europe.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
Tethered to a Raging Buffoon Called Trump
by Richard Cohen
We are tethered to a buffoon. He rages and veers, spreading ugliness, like an oil slick smothering everything in its viscous mantle. He’s about to bomb Syria. He’s not about to bomb Syria. His attention span is nonexistent. He attacks the foundations of our Republic: an independent judiciary, a free press, truth itself. His cabinet looks terrorized, the way Saddam Hussein’s once did.
President Donald Trump is dangerous. The main things mitigating the danger are his incompetence and cowardice. We live in a time that teaches how outrage can turn to a shrug, how the unthinkable repeated over and over can induce moral numbness, how a madman’s manic certainties can overwhelm reason. He is very busy; people resist; he opens another front; people shake their heads. It’s hard to remember on Friday what happened on Monday. Trump’s is the unbearable lightness of the charlatan.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/opinion/trump-hitler-europe.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
Seeking Whiter, Richer Students
From the NY Times -
Colleges Recruit at Richer, Whiter High Schools
By Ozan Jaquette and Karina Salazar
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/13/opinion/college-recruitment-rich-white.html
Colleges Recruit at Richer, Whiter High Schools
By Ozan Jaquette and Karina Salazar
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/13/opinion/college-recruitment-rich-white.html
Pounded by a Mexican
From the Huffington Post -
Boxer Wearing ‘America 1st’ Shorts Gets Pounded By Mexican Opponent
The message on those boxing shorts is truly below the belt.
By David Moye
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rod-salka-america-1st-shorts-francisco-vargas_us_5ad0ee0fe4b016a07e9c2a24
Boxer Wearing ‘America 1st’ Shorts Gets Pounded By Mexican Opponent
The message on those boxing shorts is truly below the belt.
By David Moye
 |
| TOM HOGAN/HOGANPHOTOS |
Friday, April 13, 2018
Just Being Can Be a Problem
From VerySmartBrothas -
How to Make White People Uncomfortable
By Damon Young
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/50-ways-to-make-white-people-uncomfortable-1825188582?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-12
How to Make White People Uncomfortable
By Damon Young
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/50-ways-to-make-white-people-uncomfortable-1825188582?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-12
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Black Genius on Full Display
An excerpt from the Root -
Atlanta, Donald Glover and the Invisibility of Black Genius
By Michael Harriot
However, like the previously mentioned pieces of art, it will likely never be hailed for its genius because it is too black. But Atlanta’s blackness alone doesn’t preclude its value being perceived by the masses. There is another noticeable element that Glover subtly infuses into the show that might make it immune to white applause:
Atlanta doesn’t give a fuck.
The show’s subversive personality doesn’t even try to accommodate white sensibilities. It is not unapologetically black, because it seems to be unaware that an apology is even necessary. It is “I don’t give a damn if they’re watching” black. It is dripping with wet-lemon-pepper-wings seasoning, the hilarity of Caucasian puppy love and indifference to white eyes. Even the title of the “Sportin’ Waves” episode seems unaware that there exists a whole world outside of blackness.
https://www.theroot.com/atlanta-donald-glover-and-the-invisibility-of-black-ge-1825116384?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-10
Strange Fruit - Lynchings in America
An excerpt from VerySmartBrothas -
Dear White People: If a Memorial Dedicated to Lynchings of Black People Makes You Uncomfortable, Good
By Panama Jackson
What stood out most about the story on 60 Minutes were the pictures of lynched black people, often with several (up to as many as 15,000) people standing around watching the execution of illegal justice for “crimes” committed by black Americans.
In many of the communities, the lynchings were public spectacles, outings for the entire family to attend, dressed in their Sunday best, with callous articles written that read as if the public torture and deaths of black people were just what one did on a warm afternoon in September. As is often the case with American history, oftentimes it was.
Watching that story pissed me off. No more than usual, but it still pissed me off—though not for the reason you might think.
What truly pissed me off was that I knew for a fact that CBS would receive complaints that it had had the nerve to show the pictures of bodies hanging from rope as a public spectacle. I know that white people HATE seeing their fucked-up-ness. They hate it. They think none of it is necessary to see. To many, the story can be told without the pictorial proof of hate.
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/dear-white-people-if-a-memorial-dedicated-to-lynchings-1825117175
Dear White People: If a Memorial Dedicated to Lynchings of Black People Makes You Uncomfortable, Good
By Panama Jackson
What stood out most about the story on 60 Minutes were the pictures of lynched black people, often with several (up to as many as 15,000) people standing around watching the execution of illegal justice for “crimes” committed by black Americans.
In many of the communities, the lynchings were public spectacles, outings for the entire family to attend, dressed in their Sunday best, with callous articles written that read as if the public torture and deaths of black people were just what one did on a warm afternoon in September. As is often the case with American history, oftentimes it was.
Watching that story pissed me off. No more than usual, but it still pissed me off—though not for the reason you might think.
What truly pissed me off was that I knew for a fact that CBS would receive complaints that it had had the nerve to show the pictures of bodies hanging from rope as a public spectacle. I know that white people HATE seeing their fucked-up-ness. They hate it. They think none of it is necessary to see. To many, the story can be told without the pictorial proof of hate.
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/dear-white-people-if-a-memorial-dedicated-to-lynchings-1825117175
How About "Congratulations?"
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fox-5-dc-anchors-black-student-20-colleges_us_5acbdf40e4b07a3485e78869Check out @FoxNews anchors call a young black man, Michael Brown, “obnoxious” for applying to and getting accepted with full scholarships to 20 colleges.— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) April 5, 2018
Either we’re “lazy” and need to “work hard,” or we’re “obnoxious” when we excel for working hard.#Racist#SitDownAndShutUp pic.twitter.com/QWGPVVcdpD
Monday, April 9, 2018
Sunday, April 8, 2018
Making Money Online
From StumbleUpon -
35 Creative Ways to Make Money Online
By Sophie Miura
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/29NJjj/:jPcV8Ttc:l19_EslK/www.mydomaine.com/make-money-online
35 Creative Ways to Make Money Online
By Sophie Miura
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/29NJjj/:jPcV8Ttc:l19_EslK/www.mydomaine.com/make-money-online
Evictions in America
An excerpt from the New York Times -
In 83 Million Eviction Records, a Sweeping and Intimate New Look at Housing in America
By EMILY BADGER and QUOCTRUNG BUI
RICHMOND, Va. — Before the first hearings on the morning docket, the line starts to clog the lobby of the John Marshall Courthouse. No cellphones are allowed inside, but many of the people who’ve been summoned don’t learn that until they arrive. “Put it in your car,” the sheriff’s deputies suggest at the metal detector. That advice is no help to renters who have come by bus. To make it inside, some tuck their phones in the bushes nearby.
This courthouse handles every eviction in Richmond, a city with one of the highest eviction rates in the country, according to new data covering dozens of states and compiled by a team led by the Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond.
Two years ago, Mr. Desmond turned eviction into a national topic of conversation with “Evicted,” a book that chronicled how poor families who lost their homes in Milwaukee sank ever deeper into poverty. It became a favorite among civic groups and on college campuses, some here in Richmond. Bill Gates and former President Obama named it among the best books they had read in 2017, and it was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
But for all the attention the problem began to draw, even Mr. Desmond could not say how widespread it was. Surveys of renters have tried to gauge displacement, but there is no government data tracking all eviction cases in America. Now that Mr. Desmond has been mining court records across the country to build a database of millions of evictions, it’s clear even in his incomplete national picture that they are more rampant in many places than what he saw in Milwaukee.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/07/upshot/millions-of-eviction-records-a-sweeping-new-look-at-housing-in-america.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top-stories
In 83 Million Eviction Records, a Sweeping and Intimate New Look at Housing in America
By EMILY BADGER and QUOCTRUNG BUI
RICHMOND, Va. — Before the first hearings on the morning docket, the line starts to clog the lobby of the John Marshall Courthouse. No cellphones are allowed inside, but many of the people who’ve been summoned don’t learn that until they arrive. “Put it in your car,” the sheriff’s deputies suggest at the metal detector. That advice is no help to renters who have come by bus. To make it inside, some tuck their phones in the bushes nearby.
This courthouse handles every eviction in Richmond, a city with one of the highest eviction rates in the country, according to new data covering dozens of states and compiled by a team led by the Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond.
Two years ago, Mr. Desmond turned eviction into a national topic of conversation with “Evicted,” a book that chronicled how poor families who lost their homes in Milwaukee sank ever deeper into poverty. It became a favorite among civic groups and on college campuses, some here in Richmond. Bill Gates and former President Obama named it among the best books they had read in 2017, and it was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
But for all the attention the problem began to draw, even Mr. Desmond could not say how widespread it was. Surveys of renters have tried to gauge displacement, but there is no government data tracking all eviction cases in America. Now that Mr. Desmond has been mining court records across the country to build a database of millions of evictions, it’s clear even in his incomplete national picture that they are more rampant in many places than what he saw in Milwaukee.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/07/upshot/millions-of-eviction-records-a-sweeping-new-look-at-housing-in-america.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top-stories
Federally Funded Ghettos
An excerpt from the New York Times -
America’s Federally Financed Ghettos
By The Editorial Board
Ben Carson, the secretary of housing and urban development, showed utter contempt for his agency’s core mission last month when he proposed deleting the phrase “free from discrimination” from the HUD mission statement. Yet Mr. Carson is not the first housing secretary to betray the landmark Fair Housing Act of 1968 — which turns 50 years old this week — by failing to enforce policies designed to prevent states and cities from using federal dollars to perpetuate segregation.
By its actions and failure to act, HUD has prolonged segregation in housing since the 1960s under both Democratic and Republican administrations. The courts have repeatedly chastised the agency for allowing cities to confine families to federally financed ghettos that offer little or no access to jobs, transportation or viable schools. The lawsuits, filed by individuals and fair housing groups, have forced the agency to adopt rules and policies that have been crucial in advancing the goals of the Fair Housing Act.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/opinion/sunday/americas-federally-financed-ghettos.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
America’s Federally Financed Ghettos
By The Editorial Board
Ben Carson, the secretary of housing and urban development, showed utter contempt for his agency’s core mission last month when he proposed deleting the phrase “free from discrimination” from the HUD mission statement. Yet Mr. Carson is not the first housing secretary to betray the landmark Fair Housing Act of 1968 — which turns 50 years old this week — by failing to enforce policies designed to prevent states and cities from using federal dollars to perpetuate segregation.
By its actions and failure to act, HUD has prolonged segregation in housing since the 1960s under both Democratic and Republican administrations. The courts have repeatedly chastised the agency for allowing cities to confine families to federally financed ghettos that offer little or no access to jobs, transportation or viable schools. The lawsuits, filed by individuals and fair housing groups, have forced the agency to adopt rules and policies that have been crucial in advancing the goals of the Fair Housing Act.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/opinion/sunday/americas-federally-financed-ghettos.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
White House Scandals
https://hlsrv.vidible.tv/prod/5ac528c0d900854392e201cb/2018-04-04/hls/playlist_v2.m3u8?PR=E&S=yApqXxNWdU2L8oZhxDxCoCDw4PbEkJiRgXT7RXbHG3UtfnlW20z1UEm5sKoWbKCq
Summer Camp Letters - Priceless
From the Huffington Post -
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Childhood Letters Are Way Too Real For People Who Hated Summer Camp
“Please come and take me back to New York, away from this hell hole.”
By Hilary Hanson
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lin-manuel-miranda-letters-from-camp_us_5ac8f2fbe4b07a3485e52f30
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Childhood Letters Are Way Too Real For People Who Hated Summer Camp
“Please come and take me back to New York, away from this hell hole.”
By Hilary Hanson
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lin-manuel-miranda-letters-from-camp_us_5ac8f2fbe4b07a3485e52f30
Saturday, April 7, 2018
White Saviors
Living With Regrets
Following the death of @ReggieBullock35's transgender sister Mia Henderson, he has pledged to take a stand for Transgender awareness and acceptance. He met with representatives of @GLAAD & @AthleteAlly & hosted a Pride Night to show his support for the LGBTQ community. pic.twitter.com/cOOsFbuYtl— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) March 31, 2018
Friday, April 6, 2018
HBCU vs PWI
An excerpt from VerySmartBrothas -
Black-ish Explores the Decision Between Attending an HBCU or a PWI That So Many of Us Had to Make
By Panama Jackson
Now, back then, despite wanting to go to Michigan, I didn’t realize that by deciding to go to Morehouse, I was making the best and probably most significant decision of my life. But since graduating, I absolutely feel that way.
While I suppose I don’t really know what I missed, I can’t imagine that my college experience could have been any better than it was at an HBCU, Morehouse in particular. While life lessons and lasting friendships are probably common to most college experiences, the celebration of and validation of blackness is something I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gotten at Michigan—a fine school, no doubt, but totally different.
I walked out of Morehouse more confident in who I was than I ever had been, with an unshakable pride and belief in myself and the awesomeness that comes along with blackness. I’m glad I chose Morehouse over any “better” school, even the ones that are ranked higher and deemed better by black and nonblack people alike.
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/black-ish-explores-the-decision-between-attending-an-hb-1824991042?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-05
Black-ish Explores the Decision Between Attending an HBCU or a PWI That So Many of Us Had to Make
By Panama Jackson
Now, back then, despite wanting to go to Michigan, I didn’t realize that by deciding to go to Morehouse, I was making the best and probably most significant decision of my life. But since graduating, I absolutely feel that way.
While I suppose I don’t really know what I missed, I can’t imagine that my college experience could have been any better than it was at an HBCU, Morehouse in particular. While life lessons and lasting friendships are probably common to most college experiences, the celebration of and validation of blackness is something I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gotten at Michigan—a fine school, no doubt, but totally different.
I walked out of Morehouse more confident in who I was than I ever had been, with an unshakable pride and belief in myself and the awesomeness that comes along with blackness. I’m glad I chose Morehouse over any “better” school, even the ones that are ranked higher and deemed better by black and nonblack people alike.
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/black-ish-explores-the-decision-between-attending-an-hb-1824991042?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-05
Thursday, April 5, 2018
There Must Be Blood
An excerpt from the Root -
The Whitewashing of Martin Luther King Jr.
By Michael Harriot
Abraham Lincoln was disliked by many Americans when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. John F. Kennedy only had a 58 percent approval rating when he was killed in 1963. People even lined the streets to hurl insults at the man called Jesus of Nazareth as he carried the cross on which he would eventually be crucified—which brings us to the most important ingredient in the making of a martyr:
There must be blood.
This week, America will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the most famous and beloved civil rights leader in the nation’s history. Lost in the remembrance of the death of our nation’s most heralded warrior for social justice is the fact that—at the time of his death—King was a man in exile.
Contrary to popular belief, when King died, he was not an icon of freedom and equality. In fact, most of the country disliked him. Sadly, on April 4, 1968, a bullet splattered bits of Martin Luther King Jr.’s brains and blood across the balcony of Memphis, Tenn.’s Lorraine Motel.
Then, and only then, was white America ready to make him a hero.
https://www.theroot.com/from-most-hated-to-american-hero-the-whitewashing-of-m-1824258876?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-04
The Whitewashing of Martin Luther King Jr.
By Michael Harriot
Abraham Lincoln was disliked by many Americans when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. John F. Kennedy only had a 58 percent approval rating when he was killed in 1963. People even lined the streets to hurl insults at the man called Jesus of Nazareth as he carried the cross on which he would eventually be crucified—which brings us to the most important ingredient in the making of a martyr:
There must be blood.
This week, America will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the most famous and beloved civil rights leader in the nation’s history. Lost in the remembrance of the death of our nation’s most heralded warrior for social justice is the fact that—at the time of his death—King was a man in exile.
Contrary to popular belief, when King died, he was not an icon of freedom and equality. In fact, most of the country disliked him. Sadly, on April 4, 1968, a bullet splattered bits of Martin Luther King Jr.’s brains and blood across the balcony of Memphis, Tenn.’s Lorraine Motel.
Then, and only then, was white America ready to make him a hero.
https://www.theroot.com/from-most-hated-to-american-hero-the-whitewashing-of-m-1824258876?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-04
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Standing Tall
An excerpt from the Undefeated -
The reign of Lew Alcindor in the age of revolt
When black collegians debated boycotting the Olympics in 1968, he emerged as the most prominent face on campus
BY JOHNNY SMITH
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is known as one of the greatest basketball players in history. During his 20-year professional career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, he appeared in 19 All-Star Games, won six championships and collected six MVP awards. In retirement, he has become a prominent cultural commentator and writer, a leading voice on the intersection between sports and politics. Recently, he published a memoir about his collegiate career at UCLA, Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court.
Fifty years ago he was the most dominant college basketball player America had ever seen. Between 1967 and 1969, he led UCLA to three consecutive national titles and an 88-2 record. Yet, his legacy transcends the game; in the age of Black Power, he redefined the political role of black college athletes. In 1968, when black collegians debated boycotting the Olympics, Lew Alcindor, as he was then still known, emerged as the most prominent face in the revolt on campus.
Why did Alcindor refuse to play in the Olympics? To answer that question we have to return to Harlem, New York, in July 1964, the first of many long, hot summers.
https://theundefeated.com/features/lew-alcindor-kareem-abdul-jabbar-ucla-boycot-1968-olympics/
The reign of Lew Alcindor in the age of revolt
When black collegians debated boycotting the Olympics in 1968, he emerged as the most prominent face on campus
BY JOHNNY SMITH
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is known as one of the greatest basketball players in history. During his 20-year professional career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, he appeared in 19 All-Star Games, won six championships and collected six MVP awards. In retirement, he has become a prominent cultural commentator and writer, a leading voice on the intersection between sports and politics. Recently, he published a memoir about his collegiate career at UCLA, Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court.
Fifty years ago he was the most dominant college basketball player America had ever seen. Between 1967 and 1969, he led UCLA to three consecutive national titles and an 88-2 record. Yet, his legacy transcends the game; in the age of Black Power, he redefined the political role of black college athletes. In 1968, when black collegians debated boycotting the Olympics, Lew Alcindor, as he was then still known, emerged as the most prominent face in the revolt on campus.
Why did Alcindor refuse to play in the Olympics? To answer that question we have to return to Harlem, New York, in July 1964, the first of many long, hot summers.
https://theundefeated.com/features/lew-alcindor-kareem-abdul-jabbar-ucla-boycot-1968-olympics/
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