Saturday, May 5, 2018
Friday, May 4, 2018
It Has Evolved
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
Lynching Didn’t Disappear, It Just Evolved
By A.T. McWilliams, Guest Writer
Whereas black people were presumed to be dangerous in the Jim Crow South for standing around — and killed as a result — they are now killed for fitting a description, being in a problem area or holding seemingly any object. Whereas thousands once gathered to watch black people be lynched, millions can now tune in to video recordings and livestreams to watch police brutality unfold.
Lynching hasn’t disappeared; it has evolved.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-mcwilliams-lynching-memorial_us_5aeb1d42e4b041fd2d23bdd4
Lynching Didn’t Disappear, It Just Evolved
By A.T. McWilliams, Guest Writer
Whereas black people were presumed to be dangerous in the Jim Crow South for standing around — and killed as a result — they are now killed for fitting a description, being in a problem area or holding seemingly any object. Whereas thousands once gathered to watch black people be lynched, millions can now tune in to video recordings and livestreams to watch police brutality unfold.
Lynching hasn’t disappeared; it has evolved.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-mcwilliams-lynching-memorial_us_5aeb1d42e4b041fd2d23bdd4
Wish This Was a Surprise
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Three black teens are finalists in a NASA competition. Hackers spewing racism tried to ruin their odds.
By Perry Stein
The three D.C. students couldn’t believe the news. They’d developed a method to purify lead-contaminated water in school drinking fountains, and NASA announced last month that they were finalists in the agency’s prestigious high school competition — the only all-black, female team to make it that far.
“Hidden figures in the making,” one of the teens wrote in a celebratory text message to her teammates and coaches, a reference to the 2016 movie about the true story of three African American women who worked for NASA in the 1960s.
The next stage of the science competition included public voting, and the Banneker High School students — Mikayla Sharrieff, India Skinner and Bria Snell, all 17-year-old high school juniors — turned to social media to promote their project.
But while the teens were gaining traction on social media and racking up votes, users on 4chan — an anonymous Internet forum where users are known to push hoaxes and spew racist and homophobic comments — were trying to ensure the students wouldn’t win.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/three-black-teens-are-finalists-in-a-nasa-competition-then-hackers-spewing-racism-tried-to-ruin-their-odds/2018/05/02/a702f53e-4d72-11e8-84a0-458a1aa9ac0a_story.html?utm_term=.bd933cbe8c55&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
Three black teens are finalists in a NASA competition. Hackers spewing racism tried to ruin their odds.
By Perry Stein
The three D.C. students couldn’t believe the news. They’d developed a method to purify lead-contaminated water in school drinking fountains, and NASA announced last month that they were finalists in the agency’s prestigious high school competition — the only all-black, female team to make it that far.
“Hidden figures in the making,” one of the teens wrote in a celebratory text message to her teammates and coaches, a reference to the 2016 movie about the true story of three African American women who worked for NASA in the 1960s.
The next stage of the science competition included public voting, and the Banneker High School students — Mikayla Sharrieff, India Skinner and Bria Snell, all 17-year-old high school juniors — turned to social media to promote their project.
But while the teens were gaining traction on social media and racking up votes, users on 4chan — an anonymous Internet forum where users are known to push hoaxes and spew racist and homophobic comments — were trying to ensure the students wouldn’t win.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/three-black-teens-are-finalists-in-a-nasa-competition-then-hackers-spewing-racism-tried-to-ruin-their-odds/2018/05/02/a702f53e-4d72-11e8-84a0-458a1aa9ac0a_story.html?utm_term=.bd933cbe8c55&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Monday, April 30, 2018
Balikbayan Boxes
An excerpt from the LA Times -
These boxes are a billion-dollar industry of homesickness for Filipinos overseas
By FRANK SHYONG
Today balikbayan boxes, named after the Tagalog word for a returning Filipino, have become one of the most enduring symbols of the Filipino diaspora. The boxes help feed relatives who are struggling, console daughters separated from their mothers, and give far-flung overseas workers a tangible tether to their families.
"This is the Filipino way. You can't go home without a box." Marie Maruquin
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-balikbayan-boxes-20180428-htmlstory.html#nws=mcnewsletter
These boxes are a billion-dollar industry of homesickness for Filipinos overseas
By FRANK SHYONG
Today balikbayan boxes, named after the Tagalog word for a returning Filipino, have become one of the most enduring symbols of the Filipino diaspora. The boxes help feed relatives who are struggling, console daughters separated from their mothers, and give far-flung overseas workers a tangible tether to their families.
"This is the Filipino way. You can't go home without a box." Marie Maruquin
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-balikbayan-boxes-20180428-htmlstory.html#nws=mcnewsletter
Wait. What?
The NRA has evolved into such a hilarious parody of itself. pic.twitter.com/6Pw6NTQAe6— Cameron Kasky (@cameron_kasky) April 28, 2018
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Friday, April 27, 2018
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Monday, April 23, 2018
Sunday, April 22, 2018
How We Cope
From the NY Times Race/Related -
We asked readers about whether they felt their race contributed to how others behaved around them in their daily lives. Here are some of their responses, lightly edited for clarity.
I keep my Platinum American Express Card near my driver’s license so that law enforcement can see that I am a “citizen,” someone in the upper middle class, without overtly saying so. – Christopher Scott, 58, Chicago
When I go into stores, I try to avoid wearing large purses or a lot of layers. I am educated (with a master’s degree) and have a career, but that does not matter because I cannot wear that as my skin color is worn. – Shawna Francis, 31, Columbia, Mo.
I have registered my car with the N.Y.P.D. with stickers all over the car saying that I am in an “anti-theft program.” What I am really doing is to “mark” myself as friendly to the police so that I can get respect. – Miriam Allen, 61, New York
I try not to talk to people and keep to myself, usually I listen to music or I talk to the people I went with. I try to stay away from other patrons unless they're black. – C.S., 39, New York
https://static.nytimes.com/email-content/RR_1293.html?nlid=38867499
We asked readers about whether they felt their race contributed to how others behaved around them in their daily lives. Here are some of their responses, lightly edited for clarity.
I keep my Platinum American Express Card near my driver’s license so that law enforcement can see that I am a “citizen,” someone in the upper middle class, without overtly saying so. – Christopher Scott, 58, Chicago
When I go into stores, I try to avoid wearing large purses or a lot of layers. I am educated (with a master’s degree) and have a career, but that does not matter because I cannot wear that as my skin color is worn. – Shawna Francis, 31, Columbia, Mo.
I have registered my car with the N.Y.P.D. with stickers all over the car saying that I am in an “anti-theft program.” What I am really doing is to “mark” myself as friendly to the police so that I can get respect. – Miriam Allen, 61, New York
I try not to talk to people and keep to myself, usually I listen to music or I talk to the people I went with. I try to stay away from other patrons unless they're black. – C.S., 39, New York
https://static.nytimes.com/email-content/RR_1293.html?nlid=38867499
Starbucks is Not Alone
From CNN -
Starbucks isn't the only chain that's faced claims of racial bias
By Amir Vera
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/20/us/racial-incidents-at-restaurants-and-starbucks/index.html
Starbucks isn't the only chain that's faced claims of racial bias
By Amir Vera
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/20/us/racial-incidents-at-restaurants-and-starbucks/index.html
Making a Statement
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jim-carrey-rudy-giuliani-portrait-trump_us_5adade10e4b089e33c8842b2
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Unapologetically Black
An excerpt from CNN -
Beyoncé and Lamar show what it means to be 'unapologetically black'
By John Blake, CNN
Part of what was so thrilling about Beyoncé's and Lamar's achievements is that they seemed indifferent to the white gaze. They weren't arrested, killed or fired from their jobs. They were applauded.
Consider the gushing tributes to Beyoncé's performance from many white critics such as Jon Caramanica of The New York Times. Though she was the first black woman to headline the largely white music festival in California, she didn't adjust her performance to the white gaze. It was drenched in black culture: There were references to the black marching bands and Greek step shows that are part of historically black college culture, and vocal snippets from Malcolm X and black singer Nina Simone. Beyoncé also performed part of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," known as the black national anthem.
~~~~~~~~~~
There's an uncomfortable truth, though, about Lamar's and Beyoncé's successes:
Many white Americans have long accepted black people's humanity when they are performing, says Stephanie Batiste, a performance artist and an associate professor of black studies and English at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
"If you're an athlete or a musician, your blackness is acceptable," she says. "If you're not performing, white audiences view your blackness with suspicion."
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/21/us/beyonce-lamar-unapologetically-black/index.html
Beyoncé and Lamar show what it means to be 'unapologetically black'
By John Blake, CNN
Part of what was so thrilling about Beyoncé's and Lamar's achievements is that they seemed indifferent to the white gaze. They weren't arrested, killed or fired from their jobs. They were applauded.
Consider the gushing tributes to Beyoncé's performance from many white critics such as Jon Caramanica of The New York Times. Though she was the first black woman to headline the largely white music festival in California, she didn't adjust her performance to the white gaze. It was drenched in black culture: There were references to the black marching bands and Greek step shows that are part of historically black college culture, and vocal snippets from Malcolm X and black singer Nina Simone. Beyoncé also performed part of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," known as the black national anthem.
~~~~~~~~~~
There's an uncomfortable truth, though, about Lamar's and Beyoncé's successes:
Many white Americans have long accepted black people's humanity when they are performing, says Stephanie Batiste, a performance artist and an associate professor of black studies and English at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
"If you're an athlete or a musician, your blackness is acceptable," she says. "If you're not performing, white audiences view your blackness with suspicion."
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/21/us/beyonce-lamar-unapologetically-black/index.html
Black Women Are Dying in Childbirth at Record Rates
An excerpt from the NY Times -
Easing the Dangers of Childbirth for Black Women
By The Editorial Board
The rate of maternal mortality in the United States, already higher than in other wealthy countries, has risen by more than half since 1990. The grim increase is largely because of alarmingly high rates among black women, who nationally are three times as likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth as white women.
In New York City, the numbers are even more staggering. Black women here are 12 times as likely to die from childbirth-related causes as white women. They experience severe, life-threatening complications from pregnancy and childbirth in about 387 out of every 10,000 births, according to city data. That is triple the rate of white New Yorkers, and roughly comparable to complication rates in Sierra Leone.
The disturbing phenomenon has been closely examined by The New York Times Magazine and ProPublica, which in recent months have laid out the shameful details of how we have failed to protect the lives of black women in pregnancy and childbirth. One stunning find: Wealthier, more educated black women in New York City are also dying or almost dying in childbirth at a far higher rate than their white neighbors. One city study found that black college-educated women were more than twice as likely to experience severe complications from childbirth as white women without a high school diploma.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/opinion/childbirth-black-women-mortality.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
Easing the Dangers of Childbirth for Black Women
By The Editorial Board
The rate of maternal mortality in the United States, already higher than in other wealthy countries, has risen by more than half since 1990. The grim increase is largely because of alarmingly high rates among black women, who nationally are three times as likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth as white women.
In New York City, the numbers are even more staggering. Black women here are 12 times as likely to die from childbirth-related causes as white women. They experience severe, life-threatening complications from pregnancy and childbirth in about 387 out of every 10,000 births, according to city data. That is triple the rate of white New Yorkers, and roughly comparable to complication rates in Sierra Leone.
The disturbing phenomenon has been closely examined by The New York Times Magazine and ProPublica, which in recent months have laid out the shameful details of how we have failed to protect the lives of black women in pregnancy and childbirth. One stunning find: Wealthier, more educated black women in New York City are also dying or almost dying in childbirth at a far higher rate than their white neighbors. One city study found that black college-educated women were more than twice as likely to experience severe complications from childbirth as white women without a high school diploma.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/opinion/childbirth-black-women-mortality.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
Racism Shapes Customer Service
An excerpt from the NY Times -
Beyond Starbucks: How Racism Shapes Customer Service
By Alexandra C. Feldberg and Tami Kim
While well-designed racial bias training is certainly a positive step forward and an important public statement, research on the long-term effectiveness of such training is mixed at best. Instead of relying primarily on trainings to remedy bias, if they truly want to transform the way they serve customers, companies need to make structural changes. For instance, they should standardize scripts and provide employees with specific protocols for managing these situations. Such efforts can institutionalize norms of behavior for employees when they interact with customers.
But even before putting new processes in place for employees to follow, companies must systematically assess the current state of their customer service. We encourage businesses to begin by conducting internal audit studies of customer service. Many of the service behaviors we discussed are subtle. To detect bias in these behaviors requires quantifying different aspects of customer service and comparing treatment quality across a range of customers. After all, a store manager may conclude that an employee is doing a great job upon hearing him say “Have a great day!” to an Asian customer but not recognize that the same employee says “Have a great day! You should come back and try our new blonde cappuccino, with soy!” to a white customer. It is only after identifying these disparities that companies can develop targeted interventions to combat biases.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/opinion/starbucks-racism-customer-service.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
Beyond Starbucks: How Racism Shapes Customer Service
By Alexandra C. Feldberg and Tami Kim
While well-designed racial bias training is certainly a positive step forward and an important public statement, research on the long-term effectiveness of such training is mixed at best. Instead of relying primarily on trainings to remedy bias, if they truly want to transform the way they serve customers, companies need to make structural changes. For instance, they should standardize scripts and provide employees with specific protocols for managing these situations. Such efforts can institutionalize norms of behavior for employees when they interact with customers.
But even before putting new processes in place for employees to follow, companies must systematically assess the current state of their customer service. We encourage businesses to begin by conducting internal audit studies of customer service. Many of the service behaviors we discussed are subtle. To detect bias in these behaviors requires quantifying different aspects of customer service and comparing treatment quality across a range of customers. After all, a store manager may conclude that an employee is doing a great job upon hearing him say “Have a great day!” to an Asian customer but not recognize that the same employee says “Have a great day! You should come back and try our new blonde cappuccino, with soy!” to a white customer. It is only after identifying these disparities that companies can develop targeted interventions to combat biases.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/opinion/starbucks-racism-customer-service.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
Happy Slaves?
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
School Apologizes For Asking Students To List ‘Positive Aspects’ Of Slavery
“To be clear, there is no debate about slavery. It is immoral and a crime against humanity,” the superintendent said in a statement.
By Elyse Wanshel
“We are fully aware that there is a concerted effort by the far-right nationally to reframe slavery as being ‘not that bad’ and trying to revise the civil war as being about ‘states rights’ and not about slavery,” he told HuffPost in a Facebook message. “We were concerned that this assignment fell in line with that ideology and were naturally concerned, as well as other parents.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/school-texas-pros-cons-slavery-assignment_us_5ada30a5e4b01c279db434ca
School Apologizes For Asking Students To List ‘Positive Aspects’ Of Slavery
“To be clear, there is no debate about slavery. It is immoral and a crime against humanity,” the superintendent said in a statement.
By Elyse Wanshel
“We are fully aware that there is a concerted effort by the far-right nationally to reframe slavery as being ‘not that bad’ and trying to revise the civil war as being about ‘states rights’ and not about slavery,” he told HuffPost in a Facebook message. “We were concerned that this assignment fell in line with that ideology and were naturally concerned, as well as other parents.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/school-texas-pros-cons-slavery-assignment_us_5ada30a5e4b01c279db434ca
Mac & Cheese Recipes
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/best-macaroni-and-cheese-recipes_us_5a81b6dfe4b044b3821fb524
Friday, April 20, 2018
Thursday, April 19, 2018
This is Not an Isolated Incident
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Calling the police on black people isn’t a Starbucks problem. It’s an America problem.
By Karen Attiah
It’s good that Starbucks, with its announcement this week that it will close thousands of stores for a day of “racial bias training” in May, is taking steps in the right direction after a video of two black men getting arrested in one of its coffee shops went viral. But white America’s habit of needlessly calling the police on black people is not just a Starbucks culture problem. It’s an American culture problem.
The tragic examples are all over the Internet. In McKinney, Tex., in 2015, after a neighbor called police about a pool party, a responding officer used brute force on 15-year-old Dajerria Becton, slamming the girl to the ground by her hair and jamming his knees into her back and neck. The video of the sobbing, 100-pound, swimsuit-clad girl went viral. The officer was fired.
That same year, South Carolina officer Ben Fields was fired over a viral video of him flipping a black high school girl over her desk and dragging her across the classroom. Her offense? Refusing to put away her cellphone.
And, of course, who can forget what happened in 2009 when a woman in Cambridge, Mass., called 911 to report a possible burglary in her neighborhood? The man she called the cops on was renowned black Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. He was arrested and charged — for trying to get into his own house.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/calling-the-police-on-black-people-isnt-a-starbucks-problem-its-an-america-problem/2018/04/18/e871d504-4330-11e8-ad8f-27a8c409298b_story.html?utm_term=.cf7377430434
Calling the police on black people isn’t a Starbucks problem. It’s an America problem.
By Karen Attiah
It’s good that Starbucks, with its announcement this week that it will close thousands of stores for a day of “racial bias training” in May, is taking steps in the right direction after a video of two black men getting arrested in one of its coffee shops went viral. But white America’s habit of needlessly calling the police on black people is not just a Starbucks culture problem. It’s an American culture problem.
The tragic examples are all over the Internet. In McKinney, Tex., in 2015, after a neighbor called police about a pool party, a responding officer used brute force on 15-year-old Dajerria Becton, slamming the girl to the ground by her hair and jamming his knees into her back and neck. The video of the sobbing, 100-pound, swimsuit-clad girl went viral. The officer was fired.
That same year, South Carolina officer Ben Fields was fired over a viral video of him flipping a black high school girl over her desk and dragging her across the classroom. Her offense? Refusing to put away her cellphone.
And, of course, who can forget what happened in 2009 when a woman in Cambridge, Mass., called 911 to report a possible burglary in her neighborhood? The man she called the cops on was renowned black Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. He was arrested and charged — for trying to get into his own house.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/calling-the-police-on-black-people-isnt-a-starbucks-problem-its-an-america-problem/2018/04/18/e871d504-4330-11e8-ad8f-27a8c409298b_story.html?utm_term=.cf7377430434
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Kendrick Lamar Wins a Pulitzer
An excerpt from CNN -
Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer is a thumb in the eye of Trump
By Clay Cane
Kendrick Lamar has created the perfect fusion of politics and hip hop, and on Monday he got a Pulitzer Prize -- and of course he did. In a time when hip hop is supersaturated with vapid pop hits and petty feuds, Lamar is socially resonant and musically gifted. He is the voice of this generation, and the first hip hop artist to win the music Pulitzer, for his 14-track "Damn."
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/16/opinions/kendrick-lamar-pulitzer-cane/index.html
Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer is a thumb in the eye of Trump
By Clay Cane
Kendrick Lamar has created the perfect fusion of politics and hip hop, and on Monday he got a Pulitzer Prize -- and of course he did. In a time when hip hop is supersaturated with vapid pop hits and petty feuds, Lamar is socially resonant and musically gifted. He is the voice of this generation, and the first hip hop artist to win the music Pulitzer, for his 14-track "Damn."
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/16/opinions/kendrick-lamar-pulitzer-cane/index.html
Monday, April 16, 2018
Don't Disrespect
An excerpt from VerySmartBrothas -
Don’t Disrespect Our Anthems: 6 Black Songs Off Limits to Taylor Swift and Other White Musicians
By Michael Harriot
I recently did a radio show on which I ran down the top five cookout songs of all time. The host, a white woman who swears she’s embedded in black culture, went on and on about how she loved this song, but during her diatribe, the black people in the room kept giving each other the secret black side eye; none of us believed her because she kept telling us how she was such a huge fan ...
... of “Frankie Beverly and the Maze.”
Look, I’m not one of those black supremacists who pepper their conversations with references to “the white devil,” but if Nickelback tries to remake “Before I Let Go,” black people are going to need some reparations. The brave men and woman of Maze didn’t sacrifice their lives for Frankie Beverly’s right to wear a white painter’s cap only to have his legacy marred by rockabilly bands who want to remix our music for a rodeo after-party. Frankie Beverly didn’t die for this.
You’re probably saying to yourself: “But Frankie Beverly isn’t dead,” and you’re right. But I can’t be certain that hearing Vince Staples sing this tune wouldn’t kill Frankie. While that might sound like hyperbole, how can you be so sure?
I don’t think we should take any chances.
https://www.theroot.com/dont-disrespect-our-anthems-6-black-songs-off-limits-t-1825285036?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-16
Don’t Disrespect Our Anthems: 6 Black Songs Off Limits to Taylor Swift and Other White Musicians
By Michael Harriot
I recently did a radio show on which I ran down the top five cookout songs of all time. The host, a white woman who swears she’s embedded in black culture, went on and on about how she loved this song, but during her diatribe, the black people in the room kept giving each other the secret black side eye; none of us believed her because she kept telling us how she was such a huge fan ...
... of “Frankie Beverly and the Maze.”
Look, I’m not one of those black supremacists who pepper their conversations with references to “the white devil,” but if Nickelback tries to remake “Before I Let Go,” black people are going to need some reparations. The brave men and woman of Maze didn’t sacrifice their lives for Frankie Beverly’s right to wear a white painter’s cap only to have his legacy marred by rockabilly bands who want to remix our music for a rodeo after-party. Frankie Beverly didn’t die for this.
You’re probably saying to yourself: “But Frankie Beverly isn’t dead,” and you’re right. But I can’t be certain that hearing Vince Staples sing this tune wouldn’t kill Frankie. While that might sound like hyperbole, how can you be so sure?
I don’t think we should take any chances.
https://www.theroot.com/dont-disrespect-our-anthems-6-black-songs-off-limits-t-1825285036?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-04-16
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