Sunday, February 28, 2010

San Diego Campus Awakens to Uneasy Race Relations - NYTimes.com


San Diego Campus Awakens to Uneasy Race Relations - NYTimes.com: ...Students at the University of California, San Diego, held an off-campus “Compton Cookout” Feb. 15 to mock Black History Month, with guests invited to don gold teeth in the style of rappers from the Los Angeles suburb of Compton, eat watermelon, and dress in baggy athletic wear.

Outrage ensued from the relatively small black student population here and their supporters, who grew more inflamed when a satirical campus television program broadcast a segment on the party and used a racial epithet to denounce black students.

On Thursday night, a third incident, a student’s hanging a noose from a bookcase in the main library, spurred a large, multicultural mass of chanting and drumming students to occupy the chancellor’s office for several hours on Friday and fed a simmering, some say much-needed, debate over race relations.

“The campus has been pretty silent about racism and nobody, until now, says anything,” said Aaron Gurlly, 30, an African-American graduate student who was among those occupying the administration building. The fallout from the incidents has jolted this campus in an era when many students and faculty believed that the progress of African-Americans nationwide have made such discussions passe.

Civil rights-era killings yield secrets to FBI probe - washingtonpost.com


Civil rights-era killings yield secrets to FBI probe - washingtonpost.com: Three years after the FBI pledged to investigate more than 100 unsolved civil rights killings, the agency is ready to close all but a handful. Investigators say they have solved most of the mysteries behind the cases, but few will result in indictments, given the passage of decades, the deaths of prime suspects and the challenge of gathering evidence.

'There's maybe five to seven cases where we don't know who did it,' said FBI Special Agent Cynthia Deitle, who is heading the bureau's effort. 'Some we know; others we know but can't prove. For every other case, we got it.'

Even without taking cases to court, the project has filled in broad gaps in the stories of the murdered, many of whom were forgotten victims from a brutal chapter of American history.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Taking Black History Out Of The Peanut Gallery : NPR


Taking Black History Out Of The Peanut Gallery : NPR: ...We need a better Black History Month, one that recounts the intricacies of the lives our ancestors lived, their human flaws, something that made them a little bit more — relatable. Or better yet, something that would help us believe we could aspire to their greatness. Because now, based on what I hear every February, the only way to make black history is to be completely perfect — and rather uninteresting.

It would have been nice to have a discussion in my youth about how George Washington Carver's fervent belief in God ostracized him from many in the scientific community he became a leader in.

I would have loved to learn earlier that legendary black soul singer Nina Simone wasn't just an amazing voice, but was also someone who grappled with bipolar disorder for much of her life.

Column: Pay homage to 'first' blacks in history - Opinion - USATODAY.com

Column: Pay homage to 'first' blacks in history - Opinion - USATODAY.com: Every February, thousands of students write their Black History Month essays about Martin Luther King Jr., Sojourner Truth and sometimes even Medgar Evers. These are very prominent African Americans in U.S. history. There are many others who sometimes get mentioned, but there are those who will never be mentioned. They are the people who were the first to do something in their city. They are your neighbors.

Take a moment and think of the very first African American hired to drive a city bus. It doesn't seem like anything earth-shattering now, but think of how it was when the event happened. Think about how nervous he was, and it was a male. Think of how he must have felt when he picked people up, how they talked disrespectfully about him. Think about how he must have felt when no one would eat lunch with him. This man could have been your neighbor or at least your friend's grandfather. This man was African-American history.

Think of the very first African-American policeman in your area. In some areas, he may not have been allowed to carry a gun. He could only arrest people who looked like him. There was no one for him to talk with on his lunch break. He, too, could have been your neighbor or someone's father whom you knew.

Black churches' 'Great Gathering' to work on social solutions - Faith & Reason


Black churches' 'Great Gathering' to work on social solutions - Faith & Reason: In times of crisis, illness, or uncertainty, many people seek solace in religion. But next week, leaders from the largest black Methodist churches will come together to seek not just solace, but solutions to the problems plaguing many young African Americans.

The event, which is being called the Great Gathering, is the first time these three denominations will jointly meet.

Participating churches are:

* African Methodist Episcopal (AME)
* African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ)
* Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME)

The bishops organizing the summit, which takes place Monday through Wednesday (March 1-3) at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, S.C., say they will address issues including incarceration, drug abuse, unemployment and high school dropout rates that disproportionately affect blacks.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Perspectives: Adapting to Achieve

Perspectives: Adapting to Achieve: ...For the United States to be competitive globally, increasing the number of students who complete a certificate or degree that is aligned with higher-value-added labor market skill demands will be critical. Unfortunately, many educational institutions are not equipped to offer the necessary student and academic support, policies, practices, content and care that are required to help students succeed. Despite the nation’s long tradition of being a melting pot, multicultural appreciation and global citizenship remain foreign concepts in many U.S. colleges and universities. The nation’s changing demographics also suggest that a heightened appreciation and understanding of diversity and citizenship will be essential learning for many institutions and their stakeholders. Furthermore, tailoring educational offerings to meet the needs of diverse learners will require new ways of working with students, faculty, administrators, trustees and other stakeholders to increase student success. How do institutions dig in and help students achieve their educational and career goals?

Obama Initiative May Cut Loan Burdens


Obama Initiative May Cut Loan Burdens: With the typical four-year college graduate accumulating more than $20,000 in loans, the Obama administration is banking on a new initiative that is a reboot of an existing but little-known concept – income-based loan repayment.

While complex in execution, the idea has a simple premise: Students repay their loans based only on how much they earn. Since payments are pegged to income, borrowers would have the flexibility to take lower-paying public service jobs without excessive debt burden.

“This is a fantastic program for students who want to go into lower-paying careers or are just having a hard time,” said Rich Williams, higher education advocate at US PIRG in Washington, D.C., a consumer and public interest group. If approved, the plan could have a “profound” effect on students, he told Diverse.

With jobs scarce for recent graduates in a down economy, students could have their monthly loan payments capped at 10 percent of their discretionary income — defined as the earnings that exceed the poverty level. Any remaining debt would be forgiven after 20 years.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Upcoming Smithsonian exhibit to center on historic Apollo Theater - washingtonpost.com

Upcoming Smithsonian exhibit to center on historic Apollo Theater - washingtonpost.com: Their names are part of the cultural vocabulary: Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Lionel Hampton, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Redd Foxx, Duke Ellington, Diana Ross.

What they all have in common is the hot spotlight on the famed Apollo Theater stage. Though many of the artists are gone, the Apollo moments endure. And soon their songs, dance steps, dresses, suits, jokes and instruments will be gathered together in Washington to tell the story of the Apollo's special place in American life.

The theater, a national landmark in New York's historic Harlem neighborhood, stands as one of the 20th century's best-known entertainment spots. For its two-year 75th anniversary celebrations, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the current administrators of the Apollo have organized an extensive exhibition about the theater and the performers; a list of artifacts that will probably be displayed was released Thursday.

Black History Month Book Review: A One-Woman Miracle

Black History Month Book Review: A One-Woman Miracle: ...The release of this book has generated a great deal of media buzz and commentary, most of it focused on the ethics of taking human cells without consent and profiting from them without compensating the donor or family. Commentators also lamented the exploitation of Black people in medical experiments they likened to the Tuskegee syphilis studies, though there are distinctions between the cases. No one stood by and watched Lacks die without treating her, as far as we know. Lacks died in the colored ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital, the only one around that would treat Blacks then and one of the best in the country.

The ethical issues are of the utmost importance, of course, but what seems to be missing from the discussion so far is the human element that goes to the heart of this book and the writer’s apparent intent.

Caribbeans Urged to Write in Ancestry on U.S. Census


Caribbeans Urged to Write in Ancestry on U.S. Census: Identify yourself as being of 'Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin' on the 2010 U.S. Census questionnaire and you will get to be more specific about your ancestry, such as Mexican-American, Cuban or Puerto Rican.

But check the box for 'Black, African-American or Negro' and there will be no place to show whether you trace your identity to the African continent, a Caribbean island or a pre-Civil War plantation.

Some Caribbean-American leaders are urging their communities to write their nationalities on the line under 'some other race' on the forms arriving in mailboxes next month, along with checking the racial categories they feel identify them best.

It's another step in the evolution of the Census, which has moved well beyond general categories like 'Black' and 'White' to allow people to identify themselves as multiracial, and in some cases, by national origin.

Black History Month Special: Oberlin’s Celebrated, But Difficult History

Black History Month Special: Oberlin’s Celebrated, But Difficult History: After nearly a decade of reviewing hundreds of sources, including slips of paper tallying Oberlin College’s historic vote to admit students 'irrespective of color' photographs of young Black students like Johnnetta (Betsch) Cole and luminaries like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr striding across campus to deliver the 1965 commencement address, Dr.Roland M. Baumann delivers a story worth telling in Constructing Black Education at Oberlin College: A Documentary History.

In his new book, the Oberlin emeritus archivist and professor of history painstakingly unravels clues of how the college faced the challenges of establishing a racially and culturally diverse institution from 1835 up to 2007.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Decades in the Making, Ellison's Unfinished Second Novel Emerges as Essential Read

Decades in the Making, Ellison's Unfinished Second Novel Emerges as Essential Read: ...The framework of a great novel is certainly here. A Black preacher and former musician named Hickman takes in a child whom he calls Bliss. Hickman raises Bliss as a light-skinned Black in Georgia, grooming him to be a preacher. But when he grows up, Bliss disappears, resurfacing as Adam Sunraider, a senator from New England who demagogues relentlessly on race. A third character named Severen, who was also abandoned as a child, targets the hypocritical Sunraider.

This is a deeply complex, even epic, story. And it's rendered as majestically as you would expect from Ellison. Those who want a traditional read, however, might be dissuaded by the book's length and what is in essence its lack of filter. (Those turned off might be better off spending less and picking up Juneteenth, an extraction of the work showcased here and published in 1999.)

HBCU Case Study Documents How Schools Can Help Students Pay Back Loans


HBCU Case Study Documents How Schools Can Help Students Pay Back Loans: They are called recession graduates. They have moved back home; they are just beginning to understand what their credit score means; and after four-plus years of attending their choice school they find themselves jobless or under-employed.

Without the money to pay back thousands of dollars in school loans, increased defaults will debilitate a growing number of graduates — many of whom came from low-income households and attended schools as first-generation college students — and their institutions will suffer stiff penalties due to having increased rates of delinquent borrowers.

A new report from the Washington-based Education Sector organization released Tuesday called “Lowering Student Loan Default Rates: What One Consortium of Historically Black Institutions Did to Succeed,” argues that institutions can work proactively to reduce default rates among former students using “default-aversion” strategies. Education Sector is an independent, nonpartisan think tank that develops progressive education policy ideas and proposals.

Payton, Rice and Robinson Lead First Black College Football Hall Class

Payton, Rice and Robinson Lead First Black College Football Hall Class: ATLANTA – Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Deacon Jones and former Grambling coach Eddie Robinson were among the first set of honorees inducted into the Black College hall of Fame on Saturday.

The Atlanta-based Black College Football Hall of Fame was established last year by former Pro Bowl quarterback James Harris and Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams. The first class included eight players, two coaches and one contributor.

Williams, who starred at Grambling, said Saturday's event was the culmination of a lot of work.

“Just like you practice for weeks before the season, we've been preparing for this night for a long time, and it's game-time now,” Williams said, “We're inducting some people who everyone knows, but some who have contributed just as much, but are just not as well known yet.”

Although several of the inductees have passed away, all were represented Saturday. Several, such as Jones and Bill Nunn Jr., a former Pittsburgh Steelers scout, were present. Other local dignitaries in attendance included civil rights icon Andrew Young and Falcons owner Arthur Blank.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Publisher Releases Updated and Re-written “From Slavery to Freedom”


Publisher Releases Updated and Re-written “From Slavery to Freedom”: WASHINGTON — Since the seminal Black history book — From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans — was published in 1947, it continues to break ground with each new edition that emerges.

Black history scholar-activist Dr. John Hope Franklin’s influential work comes alive in its ninth rendition under the direction of his mentee Dr. Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. She brings the narrative into the 21st century with scholarship on the African-American experience.

Franklin’s son Dr. John W. Franklin said the development of the civil rights movement could be followed by gauging the rise in demand for the book, when commenting on his father’s legacy during a Thursday commemoration event at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

“As people became more aware of their history, it was difficult to keep up with demand,” he said during a question-and-answer session before a crowd of about 50 people. “It’s used as proof of our history.”

Monday, February 22, 2010

New TV show makes science cool for girls - Science Fair: Science and Space News - USATODAY.com


New TV show makes science cool for girls - Science Fair: Science and Space News - USATODAY.com: ...SciGirls are here. A new TV show and website sponsored by the National Science Foundation is aimed at making 'tween' girls realize science, technology, engineering and math are way cool.

The show, called SciGirls, debuted nationwide on PBS stations this week.

It's a worthy goal. While science and engineering jobs are set to grow twice as fast as other jobs by 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women only make up a quarter of those in science and engineering.

Izzy is the animated host of the new PBS series SciGirls.

Each episode follows the show's mascot, Izzie as she finds a new group of middle school girls to embark on a project. Examples include making a local wetland more enticing for turtles, engineering a giant blinking puppet for a parade, exploring dolphin behavior, uncovering artifacts at a Utah archeological dig and designing and building a miniature wind farm

The show is also tightly linked to a website where girls (and boys) can upload their own projects. The creators hope this will make 'the SciGirls website a destination for any girl who is interested in science.'

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Muslims turning to home schooling in increasing numbers - washingtonpost.com


Muslims turning to home schooling in increasing numbers - washingtonpost.com: ... Although three-quarters of the nation's estimated 2 million home-schoolers identify themselves as Christian, the number of Muslims is expanding 'relatively quickly,' compared with other groups, said Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute.

They do so, he said, for the same reasons as non-Muslims: "Stronger academics, more family time, they want to guide social interaction, provide a safe place to learn and . . . teach them [their] values, beliefs and worldview."

Parents say it is an attractive alternative to public schools, with whose traditions and values they are not always comfortable, and Islamic schools, which might be too far away, cost too much or lack academic rigor.

If Muslims have come to embrace home schooling later than others, it might be in part because so many Muslims in the United States are immigrants who might not be aware of the option. In fact, for many immigrants, the idea of home schooling runs counter to their reasons for coming to America, which frequently include better educational opportunities. And public school has long been seen as a key portal to assimilation.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

N.A.A.C.P. Names Roslyn Brock as New Chairman - NYTimes.com


N.A.A.C.P. Names Roslyn Brock as New Chairman - NYTimes.com: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Saturday announced the selection of its first new board leader in more than a decade.

Roslyn M. Brock, 44, the board’s current vice chairwoman, will become chairwoman of the board, taking the reins from Julian Bond, who last year, on the eve of the organization’s centennial celebration, announced his decision to step down. The 64-member board is the policymaking arm of the organization.

In being named vice chairwoman of the N.A.A.C.P. board at 35, Ms. Brock was the first woman and the youngest person to hold the position.

She has more than 20 years of experience in health care administration and policy. In her current job as a vice president of Bon Secours Health Care, Ms. Brock serves as the chief spokeswoman on government relations, advocacy and public policy.

Friday, February 19, 2010

UC-San Diego Condemns Party Mocking Black History

UC-San Diego Condemns Party Mocking Black History: SAN DIEGO – The chancellor of the University of California, San Diego, is condemning a ghetto-themed party organized by fraternity students to mock Black History Month, but officials say no one is likely to be disciplined.

The weekend “Compton Cookout” held off-campus was offensive and a “blatant disregard of our campus values,” Marye Anne Fox said in a statement e-mailed this week to staff and 29,000 students.

“We reject acts of discrimination ... and we will confront and appropriately respond to such acts,” Fox said.

A Facebook posting advertising the party invited people to a condominium complex off-campus “in hopes of showing respect” during Black History Month, according to a copy posted on the Web site for San Diego TV station 10 News.

The posting offered a dress code heavy on T-shirts, rapper-style urban clothing by makers such as FUBU, and gold chains. Women were urged to go as “ghetto chicks,” described in the invitation as having gold teeth, cheap clothes, and “short, nappy hair.”

High School Graduation Rates Low Where Most American Indians, Alaska Natives Live, Report Says


High School Graduation Rates Low Where Most American Indians, Alaska Natives Live, Report Says: A new national report has found that fewer than 50 percent of Native American Indian and Alaska Native students from the Pacific and Northwest regions of the U. S. graduate from high school. Released on Thursday, “The Dropout/Graduation Crisis Among American Indians and Alaska Native Students: Failure to Respond Places the Future of Native People at Risk” report was conducted by The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.

The report found drastic disparities in graduation rates between American Indian/Alaska Native students and others in the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming. In addition to the most recent graduation data, the report includes discussion of challenges and possibilities specific to the education of this population.

U.S. approves settlement for black farmers - washingtonpost.com


U.S. approves settlement for black farmers - washingtonpost.com: The Obama administration announced a $1.25 billion settlement Thursday to resolve charges by thousands of black farmers who say that for decades the Agriculture Department discriminated against them in loan programs.

Cabinet officials exhorted Congress to approve the deal by setting aside money for the farmers, who have fought through three administrations to secure a measure of justice. In the starkest cases, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, farmers lost their property after local administrators slow-pedaled loan applications, leaving them unable to plant key crops.

The agreement is part of a wider effort by Obama and senior officials to dispense with lawsuits stemming from America's checkered civil rights legacy. In December, the Justice Department led efforts to settle a long-standing case with Native Americans who accuse the federal government of mismanaging royalty payments for natural resources mined on tribal lands. A settlement is awaiting congressional action.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

African gene trawl may provide secrets to long life | Reuters


African gene trawl may provide secrets to long life | Reuters: Researchers sequenced the complete genomes of five southern Africans over the age of 80 -- Archbishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa and four Bushmen from Namibia.

'On average we found as many genetic differences between two Bushmen than between a European and an Asian,' said Dr. Vanessa Hayes of the University of New South Wales in Australia, who worked on the study reported in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

'This research now provides us with the tools to read the story of human evolution and specifically the story of disease evolution.'

Geneticists have long known that, on the level of DNA, there is no such thing as race.

They have also known that Africa, the source of all modern humans, also has more genetic diversity. This is probably because so many different peoples stayed and evolved there, while Europeans, Asians and other groups arose from smaller populations that migrated from the continent.

Breaking New Ground on Faculty Diversity in STEM Fields

Breaking New Ground on Faculty Diversity in STEM Fields: Just over 10 years after releasing a groundbreaking report on the status of their women faculty, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has made public a much-anticipated review of their small community of underrepresented minority faculty in an effort to shed light on the need for greater diversity within the MIT professoriate. The importance of faculty diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields cannot be overstated. Faculty represent the face of their institution and carry a great responsibility in that they exemplify, in the eyes of many students, the profile of individuals that successfully generate and disseminate knowledge.

A key strategy to increasing diversity in STEM majors is increasing the number of tenured faculty who stand at the front of STEM classrooms. Furthermore, growing the number of diverse faculty translates into the expansion of learning through diversity of thought, pedagogy, and life experiences. As higher education scholars have repeatedly shown, diverse learning environments not only result in positive learning outcomes, but they are critical to sustaining a democratic citizenry.

Coming to Grips With Negrophobia


Coming to Grips With Negrophobia: ...Negrophobia — or the contempt of blackness — has a long and ugly legacy in Latin American and Caribbean countries, where 90 percent of the approximately 10 million enslaved Africans brought to the Americas were taken. Only 4.6 percent were brought to the U.S.

Although Latin American peoples are generally of mixed heritage, experts say the historical emphasis on mestizaje — or the doctrine of miscegenation — obscures a divisive system that prefers Whiteness to Blackness. In practice, not all parts of the mixture are equally appreciated, and some are scorned, says Tanya Hernandez, a law professor at the Fordham University School of Law.

“I think what is traditionally viewed as distinctive in Latin America is this notion of fluid racial identity that people can identify how they want. But the way people are encouraged to identify is away from Blackness,” says Hernandez, who is writing a book on the subject. “The hierarchy is left unchallenged because everyone is busy denying it.”

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Wanting Access to College, Americans Report Feeling ‘Squeezed’ by Higher Education

Wanting Access to College, Americans Report Feeling ‘Squeezed’ by Higher Education: An increasing number of Americans say college is important but is becoming less accessible for qualified students due to rising tuition, says a national report on public perceptions about higher education released on Tuesday.

Americans are being “squeezed” by the bloated costs of higher education, according to “Squeeze Play 2010,” a study prepared by Public Agenda, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public opinion research firm.

“People want college but are really losing trust in management and leadership,” said Patrick Callan, president of The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education organization, which collaborated in the survey.

An anxious public is questioning whether colleges are working toward affordability or their bottom line. Six out of 10 of surveyed respondents agreed colleges today operate more like businesses than nonprofit organizations, which purportedly educate students for the public good.

Racially-Targeted Billboard Campaign Links African-Americans, Abortion


Racially-Targeted Billboard Campaign Links African-Americans, Abortion: ATLANTA – The message on dozens of billboards across the city is provocative: Black children are an “endangered species.”

The eyebrow-raising ads featuring a young Black child are an effort by the anti-abortion movement to use race to rally support within the Black community. The reaction from Black leaders has been mixed, but the “Too Many Aborted” campaign, which so far is unique to only Georgia, is drawing support from other anti-abortion groups across the country.

...“The language in the billboard is using messages of fear and shame to target women of color,” said Leola Reis, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Georgia. “If we want to reduce the number of abortions and unintended pregnancies, we need to work as a community to make sure we get quality affordable health care services to as many women and men as possible.”

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Black Professor Denied Tenure at Emerson Vindicated by Report


Black Professor Denied Tenure at Emerson Vindicated by Report: After six years of living and working in the greater Boston area, Pierre Desir’s transient life began to settle down just a few years ago. He moved into a sun-lit loft spacious enough for the artist to practice his hand at sculpting and woodwork, while developing the film curriculum at Emerson College.

Filled with optimism, Desir relished laying permanent roots at the communication arts school when he applied for tenure in the 2008 spring semester. Sure of his work, the 62-year-old Black man’s sanguine disposition soured after his application for tenure was rejected on the basis of what he determined to be racial discrimination.

The news began to spread of the tenure dismissal of Desir and a colleague, Roger House — both Black males — reaching the local NAACP chapter and resulting in an Emerson faculty committee calling for an independent review of Emerson’s tenure practices and policies. Earlier this month, the college released a report produced by an independent panel that found fault with Emerson’s tenure process.

Leaders Mark 50th Anniversary of Nashville Sit-ins

Leaders Mark 50th Anniversary of Nashville Sit-ins: NASHVILLE, Tenn.— Civil rights leaders observing Saturday's 50th anniversary of the sit-in movement that would integrate Nashville's lunch counters said that group of college students went on to become civil rights leaders across the South.

“This nation owes a lot to Nashville and the students of Nashville,” Rip Patton, one of those student demonstrators, said during a Friday panel discussion. “They went all throughout the nation making people aware of the movement and what was going on.''

Fisk University student Diane Nash went on to help found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. John Lewis, a student at American Baptist Theological Seminary, now American Baptist College, was another founding member, a principal speaker at the 1963 March on Washington and a leader of the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights marches. He is now a Georgia congressman.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

The Devoted: She spent her life transforming Trinity. So where does Pat McGuire -- and the university she rebuilt -- go from here? - washingtonpost.com


The Devoted: She spent her life transforming Trinity. So where does Pat McGuire -- and the university she rebuilt -- go from here? - washingtonpost.com: A dusting of snow had thinned the crowd that turned out to watch the Trinity Washington University women's basketball team play Valley Forge Military College on a gloomy Saturday afternoon. But one fan at the far end of the court made the most of the game, and followed the players patiently with her camera lens as she cheered a bit louder than everyone else.

The visiting team might have wondered who this woman was, roving the stands in an untucked button-down shirt, laboring with her camera, very nearly the only white figure in the crowd of black and Hispanic faces. But among Trinity students -- her students -- Pat McGuire needed no introduction.

McGuire, who is in her 21st year as president of this college in the Brookland section of Northeast Washington, is not only the university's academic leader: She's the smiling face of Trinity at nearly every game, performance or campus event. She gives out the freshman medals at orientation; she hands seniors their diplomas at graduation. To many of these students, Pat McGuire is Trinity.

Report: Black Harvard professor donated handcuffs - washingtonpost.com

Report: Black Harvard professor donated handcuffs - washingtonpost.com: NEW YORK -- Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. says he he's donated the handcuffs used on him during his arrest last year outside his home to the Smithsonian Institution's black history museum.

Gates says in Sunday's edition of The New York Times Magazine that he donated the handcuffs to the new National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Gates' arrest last July by police investigating a report of a possible break-in at his home near Harvard University sparked a national debate over racial profiling.

The charge against Gates was dropped, and the Harvard scholar later reconciled with the police sergeant who arrested him outside his Cambridge home.

Gates says he met with Sgt. James Crowley several months ago at a cafe, where the officer gave him the handcuffs.

String of snow days deprives many students of food - washingtonpost.com


String of snow days deprives many students of food - washingtonpost.com: As back-to-back snowstorms shuttered schools for the week across the mid-Atlantic states, parents fretted about lost learning time, administrators scheduled makeup days and teachers posted assignments online. But Marla Caplon worried about a more fundamental problem: How would students eat?

The two snowstorms that pummeled the region, leaving more than 3 feet of snow in some areas, deprived tens of thousands of children from Virginia to Pennsylvania of the free or reduced-price school lunch that may be their only nutritious meal of the day. The nonprofits that try to meet the need when school is not in session also closed their doors for much of the week, leaving many families looking at bare cupboards. And many parents working hourly jobs were unable to earn any money during the week, as the snow forced businesses to close.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Willie Mays Reflects On Legendary Baseball Career : NPR

Willie Mays Reflects On Legendary Baseball Career : NPR: A new authorized biography, Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, has the baseball great, now 78 years old, back out mixing with his fans. At a tour stop in New York, he talks with NPR's Robert Siegel about his life, career and — inevitably — the famous play he made in the 1954 World Series, known in baseball lore simply as 'The Catch.'

The Entertainer
Mays was not only a great player, but he was also a performer. He took time to craft tricks to use on the field and amuse the fans.

"When I played ball, I tried to make sure that everybody enjoyed what I was doing," Mays says. "I made the clubhouse guy fit me a cap that when I ran, the wind gets up in the bottom and it flies right off. People love that type of stuff."

The author of his biography, James Hirsch, attributes much of Mays' creativity to the Negro League he played with before going to the major league. But Mays says this flair for entertaining comes from an even earlier influence: his father.

"My father was a steel mill worker, and he would teach me the game of baseball. So when I came to Birmingham Black Barons, I already knew how to play the game," Mays says. "My father had already taught me that you can do just anything in the outfield."

Friday, February 12, 2010

Louisiana, at Last, Says Here’s to You, Mr. Robinson - NYTimes.com

Louisiana, at Last, Says Here’s to You, Mr. Robinson - NYTimes.com: BATON ROUGE, La. — When Eddie Robinson was growing up here in Louisiana’s capital city about 80 years ago, he discovered the only way a black person infatuated with football could attend a game at the state university: He showed up at 5 a.m. on Saturdays to clean the stadium.

To take his first job as a football coach, in 1941, Mr. Robinson had to travel several hundred miles north, to a segregated teachers’ college in an unincorporated hamlet called Grambling. Mail arrived by train, and students helped harvest peaches and sweet potatoes from the college farm.

As for the white world, it was if anything more hostile than Baton Rouge’s. Just three years before Mr. Robinson’s arrival, a black man had been raped with a hot poker, then lynched in the neighboring town of Ruston.

Yet Mr. Robinson worked and lived nowhere else for the rest of his life. In 55 years of coaching the Grambling Tigers, he amassed 408 victories and an .844 winning percentage and sent more than 200 players to the pros. He also personally oversaw their regular attendance at class and church.

And now, three years since Mr. Robinson died at age 88, the state that once subjugated him has put its money and imprimatur on a museum devoted to his life and legacy. Some 900 coaches, admirers, and former players, including the head coaches of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Notre Dame, are streaming into Grambling on for the official opening of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum on Saturday.

Black History Special Book Review: Redefining ‘Black Power’


Black History Special Book Review: Redefining ‘Black Power’: Images from the heyday of the Black Power movement live on in popular culture, but the view tends to be blurred. Most people probably consider it as a blip on the 400-year chronology of race relations in America. While some Americans romanticize the movement, others remember it as a short-lived, inflammatory and ill-advised crusade that ran against the tide of peaceful efforts to gain and protect civil rights.

Dr. Peniel E. Joseph dips into the warehouse of history to sharpen the picture, making the case that the Black Power movement co-existed with, drew from and contributed to the nonviolent civil rights movement in many ways. He says many people had a foot in both camps.

“Black Power did not suddenly appear in Northern cities after 1965 as an alternative to civil rights activism,” he writes. “Instead, it existed alongside its more celebrated Southern-based counterpart.”

WVU Reprinting Long-lost African American Works

WVU Reprinting Long-lost African American Works: MORGANTOWN, W.Va. _ West Virginia University Press is reprinting important African American texts that have either gone unnoticed for generations or fallen out of print.

The initiative, ``Regenerations: African American Literature and Culture,'' is aimed at encouraging regional research into Black history.

To start, WVU Press has reprinted the 1896 novel ``Hearts of Gold'' by J. McHenry Jones, an activist from Ohio who became principal of the Lincoln School in Wheeling.

Jones spent more than a decade as president of the West Virginia Colored Institute, now West Virginia State University.

The novel challenges the conventional wisdom of the time on a variety of subjects that other writers were unwilling to address, from interracial relationships to forced labor in coal mines.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Obama Says Music Fueled Civil Rights Movement

Obama Says Music Fueled Civil Rights Movement
WASHINGTON — Crediting civil rights-era protest songs and their spiritual predecessors for his election, President Barack Obama on Tuesday sat in the East Room of his White House and listened to an all-star lineup of performers pay tribute to the music that he said fueled freedom marches and civil disobedience.

The nation's first black president transformed the grand ballroom into a concert hall packed with members of his Cabinet, Congress, civil rights leaders and students for a program that will air on public television later this week for Black History Month. Queen Latifah's rendition of the Marvin Gaye classic 'What's Going On' and Yolanda Adams' spirited rendition of Sam Cooke's 'A Change Is Gonna Come' were early highlights of a night that continued the Obamas' effort to open the White House to America's soundtrack.

Black History Special: Students Mentored By Civil Rights Veterans Changed American History


Black History Special: Students Mentored By Civil Rights Veterans Changed American History: I have nothing but praise to offer Ezell Blair Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil, the four North Carolina A & T State University students who conducted the Feb. 1, 1960 sit-in at the counter of the Woolworth’s in Greensboro, N.C. These four men deserve our national thanks for their roles in igniting a generation of young people to take part in one of the great political campaigns in American history.

Which is why when I think of the sit-ins these days, I linger on the roles of two older people whose names don’t make the headlines. James Lawson and Ella Baker found brilliant ways to channel and guide the energy of the young student protesters who joined the sit-ins in cities across the South. Lawson and Baker (among many others) helped ensure that the sit-ins gained an enduring power that was needed in the years ahead to mount a frontal challenge to entrenched Southern racism.

Lawson was the spiritual leader of the Nashville Student Movement, the group of young people that was in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, “the best organized and the most disciplined in the Southland.” Their number included Diane Nash, John Lewis, James Bevel, Bernard LaFayette and Marion Barry.

Massive King memorial nearly ready for trip to Mall for assembly - washingtonpost.com


Massive King memorial nearly ready for trip to Mall for assembly - washingtonpost.com: Sometime in the next several weeks, if all goes as planned, 159 huge blocks of granite will be loaded aboard ships in the seaport of Xiamen, China, for an 11,000-mile journey to Washington.

Bound for a site on the Tidal Basin, the cargo includes one block that bears the likeness of Martin Luther King Jr. and the dreams of generations of African Americans.

The other blocks -- which weigh as much as 55 tons each -- make up the rest of the mammoth, three-part sculpture that is the centerpiece of the $120 million memorial to the slain civil rights leader. Assembly is scheduled to begin this year.

More than a decade in the making, finally 'it's here,' said Ed Jackson Jr., the project's executive architect.

The memorial, the first on the Mall honoring an African American, also will be a monumental construction project.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Maryland has nation's highest rate of students who pass an AP test before graduating - washingtonpost.com

Maryland has nation's highest rate of students who pass an AP test before graduating - washingtonpost.com: ...The results for the graduating seniors in the majority-black D.C. school system reflected a national pattern: The College Board noted that African American students tended to be under-represented among those who had passed an AP test. 'Major initiatives are needed to ensure adequate preparation of students in middle school and ninth and 10th grades so that all students will have an equitable chance at success when they go on to take AP courses and exams later in high school,' the report concluded.

The College Board, a nonprofit organization based in New York, oversees the AP and SAT testing programs. A score of 3 or higher on a 5-point scale is considered a passing mark for an AP test and can earn credit at many colleges. The most popular of the three-hour tests are in U.S. history, English literature, English language and calculus.

Lastword - Black Greek Deathwatch

Lastword - Black Greek Deathwatch: After the hand-wringing over a hazing death comes a period of reckless behavior leading to yet another death. Will we stop the cycle?

A little more than 20 years ago, during the third week of October, as I returned to my apartment my neighbor said, 'Kimbrough, one of the Alphas is dead!' Panicking, I hurriedly turned on the television and began making phone calls. I thought he meant a brother in my chapter. However, the deceased turned out to be Morehouse College student Joel Harris, who was pre-pledging Alpha Phi Alpha without the approval of the fraternity or the college. His heart condition could not take what he witnessed; his line brothers being beaten at an off-campus apartment.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Oregon-based Minority Group to Offer White Students Aid

Oregon-based Minority Group to Offer White Students Aid: PORTLAND, Ore.— An Oregon group that represents minorities plans to offer scholarships for White college students to study race relations and help champion issues important to minorities.

“I want to reach White students because I believe the more the majority is involved in our conversations and in our work, the more we are able to get to solutions,' said Promise King, executive director of the Oregon League of Minority Voters.

King told The Oregonian that details for the scholarships are being worked out, but the first are expected to be awarded this spring and will be about $2,000 over five years. Recipients must live in Oregon and can't be of Asian, African, Latino or Native descent.

Whites far outnumber people of color in Oregon, who make up about 20 percent of the state's population. Of the 90 members in the Oregon Legislature, all but three are White.

“The minorities we have in Oregon are not in a position to effect changes,' King said. “The ones in position to effect changes are White.”

Not all minority leaders are comfortable with the scholarships."

Revised FAFSA Form Easing Financial Aid Process


Revised FAFSA Form Easing Financial Aid Process: WASHINGTON – New changes are making it easier to complete the federal government's financial aid form. But some experts are calling for more changes to simplify a multipage application that may deter students from seeking aid.

'It is a move in the right direction,' says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of the online resource, finaid.org, about recent improvements.

He adds, however, 'It's a first step in simplification.' The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a linchpin of the federal aid system and a form that students must complete to become eligible for federal aid.

Changes made by the Obama administration and Congress have removed about 20 questions and, in the online version, 17 web screens, according to the United States Student Association, another advocate of simplification.

Monday, February 08, 2010

U.S. colleges court Hispanic families using espanol - USATODAY.com


U.S. colleges court Hispanic families using espanol - USATODAY.com: PHILADELPHIA (AP) — For some Hispanic students, navigating the college application process can be a double-whammy: Balancing high school coursework with essays and interviews, and then translating the whole system for their parents, who don't speak English.

Some venerable East Coast universities are trying to ease that burden — and tap the booming pool of Hispanic students — by offering Spanish translations of their admissions and financial aid material.

Mahalia Jackson: Voice Of The Civil Rights Movement : NPR


Mahalia Jackson: Voice Of The Civil Rights Movement : NPR: When you hear the voice, you know the woman.

'That's where the power comes from,' says the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who first met the singer in the 1960s. 'When there is no gap between what you say and who you are, what you say and what you believe — when you can express that in song, it is all the more powerful.'

Mahalia Jackson was born in 1911 in New Orleans. When she was 16, she traveled the well-worn path up the Mississippi River to Chicago.

Beginning in the 1940s, she was one of the first singers to take gospel out of the church, drawing white audiences and selling millions of records. She inspired generations of singers, including Aretha Franklin, Della Reese, Albertina Walker and Mavis Staples of The Staples Singers.

Still, Staples says, Mahalia Jackson's success didn't always go over well back home in the black church.

Retracing the Journey Through Hallowed Ground


Retracing the Journey Through Hallowed Ground: Few regions in the U.S. boast a more plentiful array of historically significant sites than the 175-mile-long route between Monticello, Va., and Gettysburg, Pa. From the most venerated of Civil War battlefields to nine historic homes of U.S. presidents and thousands of sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the region, named the Journey Through Hallowed Ground, acquired status as a National Heritage Area in 2008 with approval by the U.S. Congress and President George W. Bush.

The four-state Journey Through Hallowed Ground corridor, spanning 15 counties in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania along U.S. Route 15, is one of 48 National Heritage Areas in the U.S.

This past year, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, the coalition of 350 nonprofit organizations, businesses, state agencies and local governments that lobbied for the National Heritage Area designation, published Honoring Their Paths: African American Contributions Along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground, a 248-page book highlighting African-American history in the region.

Costa Rica elects 1st woman president in landslide - washingtonpost.com


Costa Rica elects 1st woman president in landslide - washingtonpost.com: SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- Costa Ricans have elected their first woman president as the ruling party candidate won in a landslide after campaigning to continue free market policies in Central America's most stable nation.

With most of the votes from Sunday's election counted, Laura Chinchilla held a 22-point lead over her closest rival. Her 47 percent share of the vote was well beyond the 40 percent needed to avoid a run-off.

The 50-year-old protege of the current president, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias, promised to pursue the same economic policies that recently brought the country into a trade pact with the U.S. and opened commerce with China.

'Today we are making history,' said Chinchilla, who will be the fifth Latin American woman to serve as president when she takes office in May. 'The Costa Rican people have given me their confidence, and I will not betray it.'

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Hidden In Old Home Deeds, A Segregationist Past : NPR

Hidden In Old Home Deeds, A Segregationist Past : NPR: Myers Park, a historic neighborhood in Charlotte, N.C., has wide, tree-lined streets, sweeping lawns and historic mansions worth millions. It's the kind of neighborhood where people take pride in the pedigree of their homes.

But Myers Park is also struggling with a racial legacy that plagues many communities across the country: discriminatory language written into original home deeds. The restrictions are no longer enforceable, but the words are a painful reminder of history.

The deed on homeowner John Williford's 75-year-old Myers Park house includes restrictions written by the original developers geared to preserve the parklike feel of the neighborhood. The deeds also include racial restrictions: 'This lot shall be owned and occupied by people of the Caucasian race only.'

Black farmers urged to lobby Senate ag panel - washingtonpost.com

Black farmers urged to lobby Senate ag panel - washingtonpost.com: LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The head of the National Black Farmers Association is urging African-American farmers to strongly lobby lawmakers to get them to approve a $1.15 billion discrimination settlement.

The proposal to pay claims filed by the farmers who say the U.S. Department of Agriculture discriminated against them was included in the budget President Barack Obama sent to Congress last week.

NBFA founder John Boyd Jr. told about 200 supporters at a rally in Little Rock on Saturday that supporters now need to make sure the plan gets through.

He urged them to 'light a fire' under Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a Democrat and the new head of the Senate Agriculture Committee, who faces a tough re-election campaign this year.

Friday, February 05, 2010

Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions Must Adapt to Serve Latino Students, Report Says

Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions Must Adapt to Serve Latino Students, Report Says: Dozens of schools will qualify for “Hispanic-serving institution” (HSI) status in the coming years, but those colleges and universities must adapt their practices and policies to better serve Latino students, according to a report to be released Monday by the educational nonprofit organization Excelencia in Education.

In the report, 'Emerging HSIs: Serving Latino Students,' Excelencia highlighted 176 “emerging” HSIs in 20 states that had Hispanic undergraduate full-time enrollment between 12 and 24 percent in the 2006-07 school year. The report, which includes survey responses and contributions from many institutions, demonstrates that, for states and academic entities, enrolling and graduating Hispanic students is a priority.

Diversity a Winner in NFL Head Coach Hires; Minorities Gaining Modest Ground in College Ranks

Diversity a Winner in NFL Head Coach Hires; Minorities Gaining Modest Ground in College Ranks: When the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts take to the field this Sunday for Super Bowl XLIV, there will be what has become a familiar sight on the sidelines: a Black head coach. Jim Caldwell became head coach of the Colts after Tony Dungy, the first Black coach to win a Super Bowl, retired in January 2009.

A year ago, when Mike Tomlin led the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Super Bowl, it seemed to some like a non-issue. Diversity seemed to be an increasing reality in the pro game. On the other hand, college football continued to be under fire for its blatant absence of head coaches of color.

It’s telling that Caldwell, the fourth African-American to lead a team to the Super Bowl, is the only one of the four to have held a head coaching job in the college ranks given that the odds of a minority becoming a head NFL coach over the past several years have been greater than attaining a Division I-A head football coaching position. Caldwell, the first African-American head football coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference, led the Wake Forest University team from 1993 to 2000. Each of the four – Caldwell, Dungy, Tomlin, and Lovie Smith – worked as assistant coaches for college teams early on in their careers.

Criminal Justice Scholar Dispels Racial Stereotypes


Criminal Justice Scholar Dispels Racial Stereotypes: Each semester, Dr. Shaun Gabbidon teaches a course on race and crime at Penn State Harrisburg, where he is a Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice.

His objective: change perceptions.

“I ask who commits the most crime and inevitably they say Blacks commit the most crime,” he says. “Then I spend a whole semester getting them to understand the reality. We get into crack cocaine laws, powder cocaine laws, the prison industrial complex and everything from law creation to policing to what happens in court systems.”

Gabbidon, 42, is widely regarded as one of the nation’s top scholars on race and crime. In nearly 15 years in the academy, he has amassed a vast body of work on the subject. He is the author, co-author or editor of more than a dozen books and has written scores of articles for scholarly journals. He has received numerous honors.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

SAT scores show disparities by race, gender, family income - USATODAY.com

SAT scores show disparities by race, gender, family income - USATODAY.com: Average national SAT scores for the high school class of 2009 dropped two points compared with last year, a report out today says. And while the population of test takers was the most diverse ever, average scores vary widely by race and ethnicity.

On one end, students who identified themselves as Asian, Asian-American or Pacific Islander posted a 13-point gain. On the other end, students who identified themselves as Puerto Rican posted a 9-point drop in average scores.

Judge Dismisses Suit Against AKA President and Sorority

Judge Dismisses Suit Against AKA President and Sorority: WASHINGTON – A judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit by eight members of the nation's oldest black sorority, who accused the group's president of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in improper compensation and spending sorority money on a wax statue of herself and other questionable purposes.

In a 17-page opinion, D.C. Superior Court Judge Natalia M. Combs Greene said the plaintiffs failed to prove they were entitled to relief, in large part because their lawsuit against Chicago-based Alpha Kappa Alpha and its president, Barbara McKinzie, was the wrong kind of legal action. Combs Greene suggested they should have filed a shareholder derivative suit, which allows shareholders to sue on behalf of a corporation after first meeting certain requirements.

“This case is largely about several disgruntled AKA members disillusioned with what they see as an increasingly opaque, authoritarian, and self-serving leadership in their organization. Based on the voluminous record, questions may exist as to the propriety of the Directorate's actions,” the judge wrote.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Eddie Robinson Museum Opening Feb. 13


Eddie Robinson Museum Opening Feb. 13: GRAMBLING La. – Almost a decade after the Legislature authorized a state museum to honor former Grambling State University (GSU) football coach Eddie G. Robinson, it will open on what would have been his 91st birthday.

New Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly will give the keynote address at the dedication on Saturday, Feb. 13. The evening before, Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin headlines a corporate fundraising banquet.

Many former Grambling players, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Davis, Doug Williams, and James 'Shack' Harris, will join Secretary of State Jay Dardenne and local officials at the dedication.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Parents, Students on Edge Over Soaring Tuition

Parents, Students on Edge Over Soaring Tuition: SEATTLE – As students around the country anxiously wait for college acceptance letters, their parents are sweating the looming tuition bills at public universities.

Florida college students could face yearly 15-percent tuition increases for years, and University of Illinois students will pay at least 9 percent more. The University of Washington will charge 14 percent more at its flagship campus. And, in California, tuition increases of more than 30 percent have sparked protests reminiscent of the 1960s.

Tuition has been trending upward for years, but debate in statehouses and trustee meeting rooms has been more urgent this year as most states struggle their way out of the economic meltdown.

The College Board says families are paying about $172 to $1,096 more in tuition and fees this school year. The national average for 2009-2010 is about $7,020, not including room and board, according to the nonprofit association of colleges that oversees the SATs and Advanced Placement tests.

Obama Budget Plans More for Education


Obama Budget Plans More for Education: Federal education programs would receive a 7-percent boost under the Obama administration’s proposed budget for next year, with Pell Grants and minority-serving institutions among those receiving small to moderate increases despite fiscal constraints.

The president proposed a zero net increase in domestic discretionary spending, leaving education as one of the few winners across federal agencies.

'This budget sends a very clear signal to the country that this president is serious about education,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday. “There are some very innovative proposals in this budget that come from across America. We want to advance reform on a bipartisan basis.”

Revisiting civil rights history: News & Videos about Revisiting civil rights history - CNN iReport


Revisiting civil rights history: News & Videos about Revisiting civil rights history - CNN iReport: Many historians trace the civil rights movement back 50 years ago to when a group of four African American students hosted a sit-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Did you or your relatives experience the civil rights movement firsthand? Or, have you visited civil rights sites in your area? We’d like to hear your stories of what it was like to live in the U.S. during this time.

Share your images and stories of your experiences with the civil rights movement. We’re interested in hearing about the past, but also how the reminders of the movement have lived on in your town.

Study: 1 in 8 get help at food banks - USATODAY.com


Study: 1 in 8 get help at food banks - USATODAY.com: One in eight Americans — 37 million — received emergency food help last year, up 46% from 2005, the nation's largest hunger-relief group reports today.

Children are hit particularly hard, according to the report by Feeding America, a network of 203 food banks nationwide. One in five children, 14 million, received food from soup kitchens, food pantries and other agencies, up from 9 million in 2005, the year of the group's last major survey.

'This is a crisis,' says Vicki Escarra, president of Feeding America. 'People need to understand that this is America, and we're seeing this kind of need.' She says the report is her group's most comprehensive study on emergency food distribution.

Monday, February 01, 2010

The End of Black History Month?


When did everybody start hating on Black History Month? I have yet to find a person, black or white or anything else, looking forward to the February festivities. At one point, when speaking to a well-known black intellectual about participating in a video NEWSWEEK is putting together, I was stunned by the vehemence of his refusal. It's not as if I was asking him to march to Birmingham. But I get it. It seems ghettoizing and patronizing to spend one month of every year proving that black history is a holistic part of American history. As Morgan Freeman once famously told Mike Wallace, "You're going to relegate my history to a month? … Which month is White History Month? … I don't want a Black History Month. Black history is American history." Because today the divisions between black and white are not as cavernous or ugly as they once were. The contributions of famous black Americans, from Frederick Douglass to Oprah Winfrey, are widely known. Martin Luther King Jr. has his own federal holiday. The president of the United States is black. If tens of millions of white people voted for Barack Hussein Obama, the lesson has been learned, right? As if. Despite the election of Obama, African-Americans still live in a culture that is overreliant on stereotype and slow to explore the complexity of racialized issues such as the ghetto or Haiti. So you can complain about Black History Month all you want. But there's still work to be done.

Protesters Reflect on Success of 1960s Student Sit-ins


Protesters Reflect on Success of 1960s Student Sit-ins: GREENSBORO N.C. – The four college freshmen walked quietly into a Greensboro dime store on a breezy Monday afternoon, bought a few items, then sat down at the 'Whites only' lunch counter and sparked a wave of civil rights protest that changed America.

Violating a social custom as rigid as law, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr. and David Richmond sat near an older White woman on the silver-backed stools at the F.W. Woolworth. The Black students had no need to talk; theirs was no spontaneous act. Their actions on Feb. 1, 1960, were meticulously planned, down to buying a few school supplies and toiletries and keeping their receipts as proof that the lunch counter was the only part of the store where racial segregation still ruled.

“The best feeling of my life,” McCain said, was “sitting on that dumb stool.”

“I felt so relieved,” he added. “I felt so at peace and so self-accepted at that very moment. Nothing has ever happened to me since then that topped that good feeling of being clean and fully accepted and feeling proud of me.”

Sit-ins reignited the civil rights movement 50 years ago - USATODAY.com


Sit-ins reignited the civil rights movement 50 years ago - USATODAY.com: Fifth Avenue downtown bustles with activity on a blustery recent afternoon. People of all races mingle: This could be any midsize city in the United States, circa 2010.

Fifty years ago, things were different. The stores along Fifth — specifically, their lunch counters — and the city itself were the site of a battle that also played out in dozens of other cities in the South.

The fight pitted black college students and a few of their white peers against the city's white power structure and its downtown merchants over the right to sit down and eat lunch. At the time, blacks could spend money in those stores but couldn't eat at the stores' lunch counters.