An excerpt from the LA times -
The first U.S. boxer to fight as a woman, and then as a man
By KEVIN BAXTER
A five-time amateur boxing champion whose biggest tournament ended in surrender, Manuel is just months away from his pro debut.
He has cycled through a number of dead-end jobs and now owns a digital marketing company. It’s called Dark Horse, a name Manuel hopes is prophetic as well as prosaic.
Manuel says the biggest daily reminder that he has finally taken control of his life comes when he looks in the mirror each morning. For years he saw an uncertain woman looking back at him. Now the reflection is of a confident young man, the Adam’s apple and scruffy facial hair evidence that while Manuel’s journey is not complete, it’s now headed in the right direction.
“I still have split seconds of not recognizing myself. But for the most part, I feel more comfortable than I ever have in my body,” says Manuel, who underwent gender-reassignment surgery, becoming the first boxer in U.S. history to fight first as a woman and later as a man.
“It never crossed my mind to give up. It has absolutely been worth this journey to live publicly as my true self.”
http://www.latimes.com/sports/boxing/la-sp-pat-manuel-20170804-htmlstory.html#nws=mcnewsletter
Saturday, August 5, 2017
This Legacy Lives On
An excerpt from the Atlantic -
The Lost Cause Rides Again
HBO’s Confederate takes as its premise an ugly truth that black Americans are forced to live every day: What if the Confederacy wasn’t wholly defeated?
By TA-NEHISI COATES
Having inaugurated a war which killed more Americans than all other American wars combined, the Confederacy’s leaders were back in the country’s political leadership within a decade. Within two, they had effectively retaken control of the South.
Knowing this, we do not have to wait to point out that comparisons between Confederate and The Man in the High Castle are fatuous. Nazi Germany was also defeated. But while its surviving leadership was put on trial before the world, not one author of the Confederacy was convicted of treason. Nazi Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop was hanged at Nuremberg. Confederate General John B. Gordon became a senator. Germany has spent the decades since World War II in national penance for Nazi crimes. America spent the decades after the Civil War transforming Confederate crimes into virtues. It is illegal to fly the Nazi flag in Germany. The Confederate flag is enmeshed in the state flag of Mississippi.
The symbols point to something Confederate’s creators don’t seem to understand—the war is over for them, not for us. At this very hour, black people all across the South are still fighting the battle which they joined during Reconstruction—securing equal access to the ballot—and resisting a president whose resemblance to Andrew Johnson is uncanny. Confederate is the kind of provocative thought experiment that can be engaged in when someone else’s lived reality really is fantasy to you, when your grandmother is not in danger of losing her vote, when the terrorist attack on Charleston evokes honest sympathy, but inspires no direct fear. And so we need not wait to note that Confederate’s interest in Civil War history is biased, that it is premised on a simplistic view of white Southern defeat, instead of the more complicated morass we have all around us.
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/08/no-confederate/535512/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-080417
The Lost Cause Rides Again
HBO’s Confederate takes as its premise an ugly truth that black Americans are forced to live every day: What if the Confederacy wasn’t wholly defeated?
By TA-NEHISI COATES
Having inaugurated a war which killed more Americans than all other American wars combined, the Confederacy’s leaders were back in the country’s political leadership within a decade. Within two, they had effectively retaken control of the South.
Knowing this, we do not have to wait to point out that comparisons between Confederate and The Man in the High Castle are fatuous. Nazi Germany was also defeated. But while its surviving leadership was put on trial before the world, not one author of the Confederacy was convicted of treason. Nazi Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop was hanged at Nuremberg. Confederate General John B. Gordon became a senator. Germany has spent the decades since World War II in national penance for Nazi crimes. America spent the decades after the Civil War transforming Confederate crimes into virtues. It is illegal to fly the Nazi flag in Germany. The Confederate flag is enmeshed in the state flag of Mississippi.
The symbols point to something Confederate’s creators don’t seem to understand—the war is over for them, not for us. At this very hour, black people all across the South are still fighting the battle which they joined during Reconstruction—securing equal access to the ballot—and resisting a president whose resemblance to Andrew Johnson is uncanny. Confederate is the kind of provocative thought experiment that can be engaged in when someone else’s lived reality really is fantasy to you, when your grandmother is not in danger of losing her vote, when the terrorist attack on Charleston evokes honest sympathy, but inspires no direct fear. And so we need not wait to note that Confederate’s interest in Civil War history is biased, that it is premised on a simplistic view of white Southern defeat, instead of the more complicated morass we have all around us.
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/08/no-confederate/535512/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-080417
PAINTBACK by Legacy BLN - Graffiti Culture & Art Tools
From the Good -
When Swastikas Started Popping Up In Their City, These Graffiti Artists Came Up With A Creative Solution
by Liz Dwyer
https://www.good.is/articles/artists-covering-swastikas-with-street-art?utm_source=thedailygood&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood
When Swastikas Started Popping Up In Their City, These Graffiti Artists Came Up With A Creative Solution
by Liz Dwyer
https://www.good.is/articles/artists-covering-swastikas-with-street-art?utm_source=thedailygood&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood
Friday, August 4, 2017
More Black Girl Magic
An excerpt from Black America Web -
Simone Askew Is The First African American To Lead West Point’s Corps Of Cadets
By Diannah Watson
A woman from Fairfax, Virginia has become the first African-American to lead West Point’s Corps of Cadets.
According to FOX 5, cadet Simone Askew has attained the highest position in the cadet commands. She will start her new position on Monday, August 14, 2017.
She is currently in charge of 1, 502 cadets as the Regimental Commander of Cadet Basic Training II. As the First Captain, she will be responsible for 4,400 member Corps of Cadets.
https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/08/04/simone-askew-is-the-first-african-american-to-lead-west-points-corps-of-cadets/?omcamp=es-baw-nl&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Campaign&utm_term=BAW%20Subscribers%20%28Daily%29
Simone Askew Is The First African American To Lead West Point’s Corps Of Cadets
By Diannah Watson
A woman from Fairfax, Virginia has become the first African-American to lead West Point’s Corps of Cadets.
According to FOX 5, cadet Simone Askew has attained the highest position in the cadet commands. She will start her new position on Monday, August 14, 2017.
She is currently in charge of 1, 502 cadets as the Regimental Commander of Cadet Basic Training II. As the First Captain, she will be responsible for 4,400 member Corps of Cadets.
https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/08/04/simone-askew-is-the-first-african-american-to-lead-west-points-corps-of-cadets/?omcamp=es-baw-nl&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Campaign&utm_term=BAW%20Subscribers%20%28Daily%29
Low-Down Nasty Priests
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/08/04/guam-priest-child-sex-abuse-scandal/503680001/?csp=dailybriefing
Hypocrisy in Action
An excerpt from Salon -
Donald Trump, a classic case of affirmative action for the wealthy, wants to take it away from the disadvantaged
President often claims he's "like, a smart person" — but he didn't get into Wharton on his academic merits
By PETER DREIER
Of all the issues facing higher education today — skyrocketing student debt, for-profit colleges ripping off its students and government subsidies, declining college enrollment – President Trump has chosen to make it harder for black and Latino students to get into college.
The Trump administration is preparing to sue universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants, according to a document obtained by The New York Times.
Apparently Trump objects to affirmative action for African-Americans and Latinos, but not to affirmative action for the super-rich and the well-connected. That’s how Trump got into the University of Pennsylvania in 1966.
http://www.salon.com/2017/08/03/donald-trump-a-classic-case-of-affirmative-action-for-the-wealthy-wants-to-take-it-away-from-the-disadvantaged/
Donald Trump, a classic case of affirmative action for the wealthy, wants to take it away from the disadvantaged
President often claims he's "like, a smart person" — but he didn't get into Wharton on his academic merits
By PETER DREIER
Of all the issues facing higher education today — skyrocketing student debt, for-profit colleges ripping off its students and government subsidies, declining college enrollment – President Trump has chosen to make it harder for black and Latino students to get into college.
The Trump administration is preparing to sue universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants, according to a document obtained by The New York Times.
Apparently Trump objects to affirmative action for African-Americans and Latinos, but not to affirmative action for the super-rich and the well-connected. That’s how Trump got into the University of Pennsylvania in 1966.
http://www.salon.com/2017/08/03/donald-trump-a-classic-case-of-affirmative-action-for-the-wealthy-wants-to-take-it-away-from-the-disadvantaged/
Thursday, August 3, 2017
A Travel Advisory for Black Folks
From the Good -
Racism Is So Bad In This State, The NAACP Is Telling Black People To Avoid It
by Liz Dwyer
Americans are regularly advised by the State Department to avoid going to countries — like Venezuela, Haiti, or the Philippines — that are considered too violent or politically unstable to visit. But according to the NAACP, people of color don’t need to cross an international border for their lives to be in danger. Racism is so bad in Missouri that the civil rights organization has issued a travel advisory warning people of color that they could be endangering their lives if they visit the state.
Travel with extreme caution.
The advisory is the first statewide warning to be issued by the national NAACP in its 108-year history, and it’s an adoption of a warning issued in June by the Missouri NAACP State Conference. “Individuals traveling in the state are advised to travel with extreme CAUTION. Race, gender and color based crimes have a long history in Missouri,” read the state chapter’s warning.
https://www.good.is/articles/naacp-travel-warning-racism?utm_source=thedailygood&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood
Racism Is So Bad In This State, The NAACP Is Telling Black People To Avoid It
by Liz Dwyer
Americans are regularly advised by the State Department to avoid going to countries — like Venezuela, Haiti, or the Philippines — that are considered too violent or politically unstable to visit. But according to the NAACP, people of color don’t need to cross an international border for their lives to be in danger. Racism is so bad in Missouri that the civil rights organization has issued a travel advisory warning people of color that they could be endangering their lives if they visit the state.
Travel with extreme caution.
The advisory is the first statewide warning to be issued by the national NAACP in its 108-year history, and it’s an adoption of a warning issued in June by the Missouri NAACP State Conference. “Individuals traveling in the state are advised to travel with extreme CAUTION. Race, gender and color based crimes have a long history in Missouri,” read the state chapter’s warning.
https://www.good.is/articles/naacp-travel-warning-racism?utm_source=thedailygood&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood
I Love Her!
Trump asked what Blacks had to lose. It was apparently healthcare, housing, college admission, & freedom after Sessions locks everyone up— Maxine Waters (@MaxineWaters) August 2, 2017
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Joking? Really?
An excerpt from the New Yorker -
Donald Trump Is Serious When He “Jokes” About Police Brutality
By Jelani Cobb
In Trump’s world, toughness is not a means to an end—it is an end in itself. When Trump invokes Chicago as the exemplar of what is wrong with American law enforcement, the irony is that the city’s crime problem was made worse by its anything-goes ethic of policing. The city where police ran a black site for torturing suspects, attempted to cover up the circumstances in which the seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald was killed, and regularly paid out millions in police-brutality settlements is the same city where seventy per cent of residents do not believe that police can be trusted to treat all residents fairly. The idea that community trust is more valuable to a police department than “toughness”—really a Trumpian euphemism for brutality—might seem quaint, but Chicago’s experience would point to the contrary. When Trump says police need not be concerned if suspects suffer head injuries in their custody, it’s not simply a wink and a nod at the old days of unrestrained policing. It’s a foreshadowing of a world he’s actively attempting to resurrect.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/donald-trump-is-serious-when-he-jokes-about-police-brutality?mbid=nl_TNY%20Template%20-%20With%20Photo%20(194)&CNDID=27124505&spMailingID=11612091&spUserID=MTMzMTgyODE2ODQxS0&spJobID=1220182297&spReportId=MTIyMDE4MjI5NwS2
Donald Trump Is Serious When He “Jokes” About Police Brutality
By Jelani Cobb
In Trump’s world, toughness is not a means to an end—it is an end in itself. When Trump invokes Chicago as the exemplar of what is wrong with American law enforcement, the irony is that the city’s crime problem was made worse by its anything-goes ethic of policing. The city where police ran a black site for torturing suspects, attempted to cover up the circumstances in which the seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald was killed, and regularly paid out millions in police-brutality settlements is the same city where seventy per cent of residents do not believe that police can be trusted to treat all residents fairly. The idea that community trust is more valuable to a police department than “toughness”—really a Trumpian euphemism for brutality—might seem quaint, but Chicago’s experience would point to the contrary. When Trump says police need not be concerned if suspects suffer head injuries in their custody, it’s not simply a wink and a nod at the old days of unrestrained policing. It’s a foreshadowing of a world he’s actively attempting to resurrect.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/donald-trump-is-serious-when-he-jokes-about-police-brutality?mbid=nl_TNY%20Template%20-%20With%20Photo%20(194)&CNDID=27124505&spMailingID=11612091&spUserID=MTMzMTgyODE2ODQxS0&spJobID=1220182297&spReportId=MTIyMDE4MjI5NwS2
Supersized Inequality
An excerpt from the New Republic -
How Fast Food Chains Supersized Inequality
Fast food did not just find its way to low-income neighborhoods. It was brought there by the federal government.
BY MAX HOLLERAN
Supersizing Urban America, a new book by the historian of public health, Chin Jou, shows that fast food did not just find its way to low-income urban areas: It was brought there by the federal government. In the wake of the 1968 riots, Nixon’s law-and-order presidency began programs that doled out federal funds to fast food franchises. The administration asserted that black-owned businesses serving fast food would help to cure urban unrest by promoting an entrepreneurial spirit in poor communities. The federal subsidization of McDonald’s and other chains to enter urban markets previously considered too poor or dangerous was meant to promote “black capitalism.” It did make a select group of black entrepreneurs wealthy, but it was mostly a boon to fast food giants searching for new market demographics.
Like “ethnic” advertising in the alcohol and cigarette industries, fast food companies sold a dream of middle class affluence to communities of color that were nonetheless still excluded from the housing and education that would make those aspirations a reality. Jou’s book shows conclusively that obesity and diet in America have little to do with personal responsibility, and everything to do with public policy.
https://newrepublic.com/article/144168/fast-food-chains-supersized-inequality
How Fast Food Chains Supersized Inequality
Fast food did not just find its way to low-income neighborhoods. It was brought there by the federal government.
BY MAX HOLLERAN
Supersizing Urban America, a new book by the historian of public health, Chin Jou, shows that fast food did not just find its way to low-income urban areas: It was brought there by the federal government. In the wake of the 1968 riots, Nixon’s law-and-order presidency began programs that doled out federal funds to fast food franchises. The administration asserted that black-owned businesses serving fast food would help to cure urban unrest by promoting an entrepreneurial spirit in poor communities. The federal subsidization of McDonald’s and other chains to enter urban markets previously considered too poor or dangerous was meant to promote “black capitalism.” It did make a select group of black entrepreneurs wealthy, but it was mostly a boon to fast food giants searching for new market demographics.
Like “ethnic” advertising in the alcohol and cigarette industries, fast food companies sold a dream of middle class affluence to communities of color that were nonetheless still excluded from the housing and education that would make those aspirations a reality. Jou’s book shows conclusively that obesity and diet in America have little to do with personal responsibility, and everything to do with public policy.
https://newrepublic.com/article/144168/fast-food-chains-supersized-inequality
Dear GOP
An excerpt from the Boston Globe -
Dear Republicans: You know you can shut this mess down, right?
By Renée Graham
Hey GOP: Y’all know you can shut this mess down, right?
Instead you slump onto news talk shows lamenting the dismal state of affairs engulfing this bewildered nation. You’ve been there every step of the way since Jan. 20, as we’ve all been forced to understand such difficult things as collusion, emoluments, the 25th Amendment, and Jared Kushner’s voice.
Yet you behave like you’ve suddenly awakened to find President Trump looming over you, golf club in hand, ready to strike. You are even more responsible for this reign of incompetence and potential criminality masquerading as a presidency than those who voted for Trump. Still, you act as if you can simply tsk-tsk and finger-wag your way through every inflammatory tweet, statement, and action, as if the president is nothing more than a naughty puppy that has soiled the carpet.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/08/01/dear-gop-get-backbone/dibR5yES6PjxeUaXHYh6BJ/story.html
Dear Republicans: You know you can shut this mess down, right?
By Renée Graham
Hey GOP: Y’all know you can shut this mess down, right?
Instead you slump onto news talk shows lamenting the dismal state of affairs engulfing this bewildered nation. You’ve been there every step of the way since Jan. 20, as we’ve all been forced to understand such difficult things as collusion, emoluments, the 25th Amendment, and Jared Kushner’s voice.
Yet you behave like you’ve suddenly awakened to find President Trump looming over you, golf club in hand, ready to strike. You are even more responsible for this reign of incompetence and potential criminality masquerading as a presidency than those who voted for Trump. Still, you act as if you can simply tsk-tsk and finger-wag your way through every inflammatory tweet, statement, and action, as if the president is nothing more than a naughty puppy that has soiled the carpet.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/08/01/dear-gop-get-backbone/dibR5yES6PjxeUaXHYh6BJ/story.html
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