"The principal of a South Los Angeles elementary school has apologized after some children carried photos of O.J. Simpson, RuPaul and Dennis Rodman in a parade celebrating Black History Month…. Youngsters carried the photos during a parade last week. Three white teachers have been suspended while the school district investigates." @3:30 PM 9
Chris Matthews Was Just Trying To Say That He Noticed Other People Didn't Think Of Barack Obama As Black @10:20 AM
Chris Matthews, who got in a bit of trouble for saying that he forgot Barack Obama was black during the State of the Union address—perhaps because the president was not wearing his usual gold chains and dashiki—quickly issued a clarification. Turns out he meant it in a really good way! 4
"Whites-Only Basketball League": Is It The Racist Flash Mob? @1:50 PM
I've been extremely skeptical about the supposed "whites-only basketball league" being "launched" by former pro wrestling promoter Don "Moose" Lewis because of, you know, everything, but watching this interview with the man it occurrs to me that even publicity stunts (and I'm still leaning toward the idea that this is what we're dealing with) now exist as promotions designed to will themselves into existence. It's all very meta and head-hurty, and it probably doesn't even matter. OR IS THAT WHAT THEY WANT US TO THINK? 26
"He is perhaps the kind of immigrant you want if you are going to have them."
—A spokesman for the British National Party on Rajinder Singh, its first non-white member. Singh, "an anti-Islam activist in his late seventies who blames Muslims for the death of his father during the Partition of India in 1947," was recruited after Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission threatened to sue the BNP for its whites-only membership policy. @1:45 PM 5
Australians Confused About Racism, Harry Connick Jr. @11:50 AM
Australians, furious at Harry Connick Jr. for getting upset by that whole blackface thing, are cheering the emergence of this 13-year-old clip from "MADtv," which apparently exposes Connick as a hypocrite because he is, uh, playing a southern preacher next to an actual black guy. As one of the many YouTube commenters to the clip notes, "By people comparing this, it's apparent that many Australians don't get what blackface is. No wonder why they are left scratching their heads about the whole incident." Exactly. Australians: too stupid to be racist? 27
Still Fresh And Funny In Australia: Blackface @11:50 AM
"Hey Hey It's Saturday," an Australian variety show that ran for 28 years, recently aired a reunion special in which they brought back some classic bits, including this performance by a Jackson 5 tribute group called the "Jackson Jive." You know what never gets old for the folks on Prison Island? Blackface! Oh, how they chuckle! Somewhat less amused was American celebrity judge Harry Connick, Jr., who helpfully explains at the end of this clip that those of us in this country "have spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons that when we see something like that we really take it to heart." Indeed. 30
Does Racism Even Exist? @11:45 AM
I guess this is, what, balance? "Posters portraying President Obama as a witch doctor may be racist, organizers of Tea Party protests say, but they reflect anger about where he is leading the country." But it turns out that we live in a world where acknowledging racism apparently devalues the seriousness of acknowledging racism, so the next time you see something that is racist, do not say anything about it and it will magically stop being racist. And anyway, white people are perfectly happy to pay black people to cook for them and watch their entertainers perform, so everything's fine! Or something. I'm glad we're having a rational and honest conversation about all of this. 15
Modern Day Rights Activists Pay Tribute To Their Predecessors @9:48 AM
"Last weekend, Cindy Wilkerson, a 44-year-old former social worker, helped organize three busloads of protesters who rode from Mississippi to Washington for the big protest targeting President Obama and his policies. The passengers, all white, wore T-shirts identifying themselves without irony as 'Freedom Riders.'"
Well, at least there was no irony involved. I guess it's the little things that matter at this point. 14
Jimmy Carter On Barack Obama And Race @9:10 AM
Former President Jimmy Carter jumped into the debate about whether the opposition to President Obama is, in part, due to racism with a fervent "yes." Naturally, the discussion is all about whether or not this is good politics. (Ben Smith says it's terrible for the White House and Mickey Kaus asks, "Remember the Carter era of smug moralizing? Anyone want to go back to that?" It's a good question! Do you remember the Carter era of smug moralizing?) And really, what was Carter thinking? Here's my guess: Maybe he was thinking that some of the opposition to President Obama is due to racism. Maybe he felt that, as a former President and a lifelong resident of the South, he had an obligation to speak out against it rather than to let it remain an ugly truth which we refuse to acknowledge because we still have difficulty talking about race in this country. But what do I know? Maybe he just wanted to be on TV. 23
Why They Hate Barack Obama @1:20 PM
Attempts to show equivalence to Joe Wilson's heckling of Barack Obama last night began probably just as soon as those on the right realized exactly how bad it looked to have an angry white man, sitting in a sea of other frowny-faced white men, screaming "You lie!" at the President of the United States. The arguments are as lame as they are predictable, and the fact that the best they can offer is, "The Democrats shouted 'No' at George W. Bush!" reveals just how deeply afraid they are that the conversation will turn to the uncomfortable truth that a lot of the opposition to Obama is… yes… about race. READ MORE 48
David Paterson: A Clarification @9:00 AM
My fellow New Yorkers, it is a great honor to have the privilege of addressing you in this fine forum. Today I would like to talk to you about some remarks I made earlier, remarks that were intended to clarify some previous remarks I had made. I would like to clarify those clarifications. Because all the stuff they're saying I said about how my low poll numbers and poor press coverage are the result of racism? Well, I never said it, even where it is completely clear that I did, which I didn't. I simply ask you to look at the record. READ MORE 1
How Race Is Lived In America @9:52 AM
So last night I was meeting a couple of friends for drinks in Brooklyn, which is always a dicey situation because I have no idea where the hell anything is in that borough and am reliant on cab drivers or bad directions from the subway to get to my destination. (Those of you from out of town should know that Brooklyn is laid out completely illogically, with bizarre and unpronounceable road names rather than an orderly set of numbered streets and avenues. There is also, excepting for a couple of bridges and a place that is famous for cheesecake, a distinct lack of local landmarks by which one might orient oneself.) Because of the sweltering heat and a recent bounty that fell into my lap via the good offices of the New York State Lottery Commission, Scratch-Off Card division, I felt both sweaty and flush enough to take a taxi. This was my first mistake. READ MORE 104
Fortunate Black Guy Reminds Historian Of Someone @10:10 AM
Historian and Laurence A. Tisch Professor at Harvard University Niall Ferguson, writing in the Financial Times:
President Barack Obama reminds me of Felix the Cat. One of the best-loved cartoon characters of the 1920s, Felix was not only black. He was also very, very lucky. And that pretty much sums up the 44th president of the US as he takes a well-earned summer break after just over six months in the world's biggest and toughest job.
Okay! [Via James Fallows] 7
Obama Poster No Joke (Haha, Get It?) @2:50 PM
National Review's Jonah Goldberg isn't quite sure what this poster—supposedly popping up all over the place in Los Angeles—really means, but he does hope we won't allow ourselves to get bogged down in the idea that putting Barack Obama in whiteface might be freighted with some unpleasant racial connotations. Focus on the socialism, okay? 25
Henry Louis Gates Laughs In The Face Of Death @9:10 AM
Welcome to week three of the Henry Louis Gates arrest story! Apparently we're at the stage where we can laugh about it now, unless we are National Arbiter of Morals Sally Quinn—herself a victim of discrimination from a black police officer—who thinks the professor is a dishonorable man. This has seemed like a very quick summer, but, man, it has NOT BEEN QUICK ENOUGH. 2
Cambridge Cop Related To Angry Black Man Henry Louis Gates @10:25 AM
Holy genealogy! It turns out that Skip Gates and the Cambridge cop who nabbed him for being dusky in his own domicile are related! Gates and Sgt. James Crowley are both descendants of fourth century Irish warlord Niall of the Nine Hostages, who was so named because he would niall anything that moved. (Haha, get it?) The article notes that "many famous African-Americans [have] Irish heritage, including President Barack Obama and award-winning author Alice Walker." Also, many unfamous African-Americans have Irish heritage, because back in the slavery era there was a whole lot of raping going on. Anyway, this will surely be a great ice-breaker at the kegger President Obama is hosting tomorrow night. It will also provide further fuel for your racist uncle who has always said that the Irish "are just as bad as the blacks." 9
Skip Gates' Beer Will Be Watery, Domestic @11:55 AM
Here's the most disturbing part about the entire Henry Louis Gates arrest story:
"I look forward to meeting Sgt. Crowley under more pleasant circumstances, and having that beer," Gates told the Globe yesterday in an e-mail, saying a date has not been set. He said he's partial to Red Stripe and Beck's. He may not get his pick, as they are foreign beers, which are not stocked at the White House, under a tradition dating to the Johnson administration.
Really? No goddamn imported beer? This is an outrage. Also outrageous? A man who needs a cane to get around being arrested for reacting uncivilly after being challenged by police in his own home. But the beer thing really pisses me off. 31
Shocker: Congresslady In Trouble For Saying THE N WORD @9:00 AM
Some sage political advice for Carolyn Maloney from the Daily News' Liz Benjamin: If you're planning to give up a House seat you've held for 9 terms to challenge an incumbent Senator who has almost all—including the President of the Unites States—of the Democratic establishment behind her, it's probably better for your campaign if you don't go around sounding like a Richard Pryor record. 4
"Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen" Embroiled In Racial Controversy @11:09 AM
Is Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen racist? That's what some viewers are saying after seeing the movie (which one reviewer called "endless, extremely long and unbelievably loud and nonsensical") and its characters Mudflap and Skids, who "constantly brawl and bicker in rap-inspired street slang. They're forced to acknowledge that they can't read. One has a gold tooth." READ MORE 33
Colbert On Byron York @2:58 PM
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We're not gonna get into the habit of posting a ton of Colbert Report/Daily Show clips, because you're probably inundated with them everywhere else, but sometimes they're just too good, like this Colbert bit on Bryon York's recent complaint about letting black people have opinions. Also it includes something about bears, so it's kind of a no-brainer. 2
Jeff Sessions Personally Helped Integrate Holiday Inns @3:21 PM
Meet Jeff Sessions, the new ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. What do you need to know about the folksy Alabamian, elected to a third term last year with 63% of the vote? Well, he's got some funny opinions about black people. No worries, though: When previously questioned about his racial attitudes, he "said he was not a racist, pointing out that his children went to integrated schools and that he had shared a hotel room with a black attorney several times." 12
Flags of our fathers @1:57 PM
Thought for the day: "People like to debate about the salience of white racism in our daily lives. I think the fact that there are entrenched interest in this country, and in one of our major parties, that continues to honor a treason founded on white racism really says a lot." 1
