John Hope Franklin
Historian John Hope Franklin passed away at age 94 on March 25, 2009. Professor Franklin was a pioneer in African American Studies. Duke University has set up a web site in his memory.
Historian John Hope Franklin passed away at age 94 on March 25, 2009. Professor Franklin was a pioneer in African American Studies. Duke University has set up a web site in his memory.
The first comic book by and for African Americans is up for auction. 1947's All-Negro Comics No. 1 is for sale by comics entrepreneur Stephen Fishler. The comic book &mdash featuring characters such as detective Ace Harlem and Hep Chicks on Parade &mdash is for sale online at the ComicConnect Event Auction.
The February 28, 2009 "State of the Black Union" will re-air on C-SPAN2 Friday, March 6, 2009, 7:00 PM (Central Time). The theme of this year's event is "Making America As Good As Its Promise."
The January/February 2009 of The Atlantic magazine has several articles on American race relations in the "State of the Union" section:
Many Minnesotans are making pilgrimages to Washington, D.C. to witness President Obama's historic inauguration. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has posted a multimedia story about an event most African Americans did not think they would see in their lifetimes.
The New York Times has posted a long article on Black political leadership: "Is Obama the End of Black Politics?" The article can also be downloaded.
On July 23 and 24, CNN television will air a "Black in America" report. Many blogs exist on this special broadcast, such as at Black Voices.
EW.com has posted an interesting article: "Diversity in Entertainment: Why is TV So White?"
Many African Americans are pleasantly surprised by Senator Obama's breakthrough as the Democratic nominee for United States President.
On March 18, 2008, Barack Obama delivered a speech about race in the United States. The blog "Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast" offers an abridged and highlighted version of key points in the speech.
The Minneapolis StarTribune recently posted a commentary about whether a White woman (Hillary Clinton) or a Black man (Barack Obama) should be elected President ("Whose Turn Is It?"). See also an article from The Atlantic about how Obama may transcend divisive political battles.
Even though we are in the year 2008, the African American male population on many college campuses is still significantly composed of athletes. We have much work to do in order to really diversify higher education.
The January 2008 issue of Wired magazine contains an interesting article on page 74: "Criminal Code: A new DNA test can ID a suspect's race, but police won't touch it."
In the past few weeks there have been a string of race-related issues at St. Cloud State University. Most recently, a student of color was spat on and shown the Nazi salute. What happened to Minnesota Nice?
Reports have recently surfaced about parties with celebrants wearing blackface, such as at Homeland Security and Hamline University. Are we living in 2007 or 1907?
According to an Associated Press poll, parents of color are les likely than Whites to allow their children to go trick-or-treating on Halloween.
Leonard Pitts' Miami Herald op-ed piece on "A history of rope" is being widely posted to the Net, such as on TheState.com. Pitts argues, "you might say the country has changed since [the early 1900s], and it has. The problem is, it's changing again." Indeed.
A cross-burning hoax has fueled misconceptions that there are no significant race problems in Minnesota, which may cause people enduring legitimate racial discrimination to become more reluctant to report it to the police.
The Jena 6 case is presenting many African American college students with opportunities to study and engage social change activism.
Germany has created the first memorial of a Black victim of Nazi genocide.
The "Jena 6" are six African-American teens facing jail time after racial unrest in Jena, LA. For information, see stories on Wikipedia, NPR,
the Color of Change, and YouTube.
On September 16, 2007, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune published a story about the reactions of Minnesota's Liberians to an 18-month reprieve from deportation.
On September 12, 2007, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune posted a story about Minnesota's African immigrants.
The president of the Atlanta NAACP believes that NFL quarterback Michael Vick should be allowed to return to the NFL after his release from prison for participating in a dogfighting operation. What do you think?
On August 13, 2007 there was an interesting article in InsideHigherEd.com about the state of affirmative action and education. Check it out!