March 18, 2008

toward a more perfect union

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.

Posted by wrjacobs at 08:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 02, 2008

Barack Obama's turn?

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.

Posted by wrjacobs at 09:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 28, 2007

graphic design as social commentary

Zimbabwean graphic designer Chaz Maviyane-Davies uses "creative defiance" to "cut through complacency and apathy while trying to raise consciousness about an array of social issues from discrimination and human rights, to health and the environment." His work is very powerful.

Posted by wrjacobs at 05:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 16, 2007

technical difficulties

Yesterday the University's blog server went down, just after I posted an entry to the AA&AS chair's blog. Here's the thing: the posting contained an error, and I had to wait until this morning to correct it! Ggggggrrrrrr.

Posted by wrjacobs at 09:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 18, 2007

a history of rope

The following post is from my AA&AS chair's blog.

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.

Posted by wrjacobs at 11:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 18, 2007

Jena 6

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.

Posted by wrjacobs at 08:24 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

August 31, 2007

AA&AS website

Check out the newly redesigned African American and African Studies department website.

Posted by wrjacobs at 05:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.