We are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Pagan, Lucumi, Indigenous Traditional, Humanist, agnostic and atheist.
We are united in fighting hate — whatever form it takes.
We stand in solidarity with the families, friends and loved ones of those who died in Orlando, those who were wounded and with the entire LGBT community.
We will continue to battle for gun-control, and dedicate ourselves to electing officials who will advocate for sane gun policies.
We will not live in fear. We will face it, and move forward, with love — together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Across Portland’s Albina district, chic cafes advertise pour-over coffee and delicacies such as blueberry basil donuts. On Mississippi Street, hollowed-out school buses and roadside stands sell vegan barbecue and bacon jam empanadas. The street signs read “Historic Mississippi,” a nod to the area’s century-old roots, but it’s increasingly difficult to find spots that don’t evoke the decidedly ahistoric hipster vibe that now makes Portland famous.
One notable exception is the neighborhood’s pre-K–8 school, Boise-Eliot/Humboldt—known as Boise for short. Sandwiched between a block of newly renovated bungalows and a strip mall with a yoga studio and a combo bar and laundromat, the two-story red brick building hasn’t changed much in decades. Unlike the neighborhood’s new residents, a majority of its students are black and low-income. Many of their families have been priced out of the Albina area and relocated to outskirts of Portland, a move known as going “out to the numbers” because of those areas’ numbered streets. So the students take public transportation to attend Boise, a revered institution in Portland’s black community. Most newly arrived white families, meanwhile, transfer their children out of Boise into schools that they consider better—and which are definitely whiter.
When neighborhoods gentrify, schools often don’t follow—at least not nearly as quickly. It’s a phenomenon playing out across America as middle-class white families move into urban neighborhoods that real estate agents might have once called “undesirable.” Think Harlem in Manhattan, Oak Cliff in Dallas, the Bywater in New Orleans, the South Loop in Chicago, or the Mission District in San Francisco. They may be hip destinations with attractive amenities, but most of their public schools don’t get the same love from new arrivals. The problem is particularly acute in Portland, which is already the whitest big city in America and growing whiter.
Areas such as Albina may be hip destinations, but most of their public schools don’t get the same love from new arrivals.
The trend deprives schools like Boise of some of the benefits that neighborhood schools often enjoy: Even the most dedicated families increasingly live too far away to meaningfully participate in the school’s activities and community. It’s a challenge Boise’s principal, Kevin Bacon, who is black, grapples with every day. If the school succeeds in recruiting more white families to Boise, the wealthier students would likely mean higher test scores and more resources—but black families would further lose their foothold in Boise and the neighborhood at large. On the other hand, if Bacon proactively strives to maintain Boise’s focus on serving black students, the disconnect and distrust between the neighborhood and school may only deepen. Neither path may be ideal; finding some kind of balance might be impossible.
“It’s like overseeing a funeral,” Bacon says.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A lot of people are saying that white privilege is rampant within the criminal-justice system. Let me correct that. White privilege is the criminal-justice system. And the recent case involving a privileged college student convicted of sexual assault with a whiny father is just one of many of white men getting the benefit of the doubt after committing horrific crimes.
A 2014 study (pdf) by the American Civil Liberties Union found that, at the federal level, African Americans and Latinos receive sentences that are 20 times longer than whites.
A 2015 study (pdf) by the Sentencing Project found that judges are more likely to give individuals of color longer sentences than whites, even if they have less of a criminal record. It also found that juvenile probation officers, in many cases, view crimes committed by whites as momentary lapses of judgment, or the products of a poor environment. For African Americans, the cause of crime is viewed as being related to poor attitudes or personalities.
But this is not new. These disparities within the criminal-justice system have been around for years.
The recent case involving Brock Turner reminded me of two cases I covered several years ago as a police and courts reporter in upstate New York. Both involved high school seniors accused of doing terrible things just months before they graduated. But the treatment they received from the criminal-justice system was vastly different.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The series opener parachutes viewers into the world of two young men on the cusp of successful without spending much time explaining who they are and where they came from. Glover and the “Atlanta” team — including showrunner Paul Simms and director Hiro Murai, trust that the audience will come along for the ride. There’s no word yet on a premiere date, but it’s clear that FX brass are high on the show.
“I feel like the absurdity of the world — the actual real life world, I mean — is more interesting. I mean, like, Donald Trump is running for President right now. Like, when I was 8, I saw him in a Pizza Hut commercial. Like, that’s f—ing weird,” Glover told the crowd Saturday during FX’s portion of the Television Critics Association tour.
“There’s a lot of funny things that are actually happening in the world. It’s easier now to, like, do that in television, which is cool. Like, in the world, it’s very elastic, but at the same time, I think it’s more interesting now to, like, look at, like, what’s actually happening,” he said. “The tone is everything. Television shows are like novels now. You’ve just got to invest in them. So, like, I feel like the tone of this is, like, an ever it’s going to take time for people to understand what’s going on, which I think is a good thing.”
Atlanta is the perfect setting because Glover knows it well and it is an urban melting pot. “It’s a very specific type of place,” he said. “It’s the most American place,” he said. Among its colorful lowlights is a supermarket known as the “murder Krogers” because of the high number of killings that occurred there. “Atlanta” is rushing to film some scenes there before the market is torn down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Euro 2016 kicks off, the French national team is once again facing questions over just which France it represents. Foreign Policy: Does French Soccer Have an Arab Problem?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last week, on the eve of this year’s European Cup championship, one of soccer’s most prolific scorers, Karim Benzema — a French citizen born to Algerian immigrants — galvanized France. Not with a spectacular goal for Les Bleus, the French national team hosting Euro 2016, but rather with an observation he made in a Spanish newspaper, affirming that there is, in fact, “a racist part of France.” The events leading up to his remark, and those that followed, have transformed Benzema from a man who kicks balls into a net for a living (to the tune of nearly 200,000 euros a week) into the protagonist of an intense political drama — one that, depending on one’s perspective, reveals something rotten in the soul of Benzema, in the state of France, or, perhaps, in both.
The facts of the affair are as unsavory as they are undisputed: A few weeks ago, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced that Benzema would not play for Les Bleus in the upcoming Euro Cup. The FFF’s president, Noël Le Graët, cited a legal case now pending against the player. Last fall, the French media revealed that Benzema had been party to the blackmailing of his teammate and erstwhile friend, Mathieu Valbuena. A handful of lowlifes had contacted Valbuena demanding 100,000 euros in order not to go public with an intimate video of Valbuena and his girlfriend. When Valbuena balked, one of the blackmailers, a friend of Benzema’s, asked the soccer star to tell Valbuena that this was an offer he couldn’t refuse. According to a recorded conversation he had with Valbuena, as well as his own admission, Benzema did precisely that. Not amused, the French courts charged Benzema as an accomplice to attempted blackmail. In short order, the FFF dropped Benzema from Les Bleus, and Valbuena dropped him as a friend. “I feel,” Valbuena confessed, “as if I’ve been played for a jackass.”
Many in France now think Benzema has done the same with them. In aninterview last week with the Spanish sports journal Marca, Benzema was asked about a remark made a few days earlier by French soccer great Eric Cantona, who — alluding to Benzema’s status — had suggested that Les Bleus’ coach, Didier Deschamps, was racist. (What Cantona left unsaid was the long history of animosity between himself and Deschamps.) Benzema aimed his words with the same skill as he aims his penalty kicks. “No, I don’t think so,” he replied, “but he [Deschamps] has bowed to pressure from a racist part of France.” His words transformed what had been a squalid story about soccer stars run amok into a furious debate over the role of racism in French society, politics, and sport.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PSSST…. BLACK TURNOUT IS UP THIS PRIMARY SEASON OVER 2008 (YEAH AN oBAMA’S NOT ON THE BALLOT)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 2008 and 2012, exit polls showed that African American turnout had reached its highest levels since 1968's civil-rights era election. There had been some expectation that the number was bound to drop off as soon as Obama was no longer on the ballot, but pollsters report that isn't necessarily happening.
"I would say that if it were just an enthusiasm for Hillary, that it would have had some impact, but equally important will be the desire to stop Donald Trump," said William Frey, a demographer and fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Clinton won't be fighting for black voters all by herself. With President Barack Obama behind her and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, still very popular in the African American community, Republican pollster Dan Judy said he's warned down ballot candidates to expect equal African-American voter turnout for Clinton in 2016.
"Any Republican candidate who looks at their potential electorate and assumes that black turnout will be down from 2012, is making a mistake," Judy told TPM.
Clinton's primary performance in the South was another promising sign that Obama's faithful African-American supporters don't plan to stay home on election day.
Clinton won back many of the black voters in South Carolina who had voted against her eight years earlier, plus some. She won 86 percent of the African American vote, a greater share than President Obama. According to the Washington Post, she even mobilized an increase in African American turnout with 61 percent of blacks coming to the polls this year compared with 55 percent in 2008.
Democratic pollster Geoff Garin, a chief strategist for Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and a pollster for Priorities USA Action, the Super PAC supporting her, said the general election polls show even more promising signs for Clinton.
"I think a lot of African American voters see this in part as President Obama's last election and can recognize his legacy is very much at stake in 2016," Garin told TPM. "Usually at this stage in early, pre-election polls, the African American vote often lags anywhere up to 10 points of what it ends up being. In many states she is already performing at the kind of elevated level that President Obama received."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fter Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders met with President Obama at the White House on Thursday, Sanders explained that he would keep campaigning through the District of Columbia primary on June 14—the last contest on a very long schedule for both the Democratic and the Republican parties. “The major point that I will be making to the citizens of the District of Columbia is that I am strongly in favor of DC statehood. The state of Vermont which I represent has about the same number of residents that Washington, DC, has—except we have two United States senators and one congressman with full rights, while DC does not. That does not make any sense.”
This was not a new line from Sanders. He has been supporting DC statehood initiatives since he was a member of the House back in the 1990s and the senator from Vermont is currently a co-sponsor of the “New Columbia Admission Act,” a bill that would lay groundwork for making Washington, DC, the 51st state.
Sanders has a strong ally in this fight: Hillary Clinton. The former secretary of state wrote a detailed article for The Washington Informer last month, in which she argued that support for DC statehood is critical to “restoring faith in democracy.”
“A Cl
“[Enfranchisement] isn’t solely a matter of individual rights. In the case of our nation’s capital, we have an entire populace that is routinely denied a voice in its own democracy,” explained Clinton. “Washington, DC, is home to nearly 700,000 Americans—more than the entire population of several states. Washingtonians serve in the military, serve on juries and pay taxes just like everyone else. And yet they don’t even have a vote in Congress.”
“Hard as it is to believe, America is the only democracy on the planet that treats the residents of its capital this way,” continued Clinton, who argued that: Lacking representatives with voting power, the District of Columbia is often neglected when it comes to federal appropriations. Many of the District’s decisions are also at the mercy of right-wing ideologues in Congress, and as you can imagine, they don’t show very much of it. Everything from commonsense gun laws to providing women’s health care and efforts to cut down on drug abuse has been halted by Republicans, who claim the District is an exception to their long-held notion that communities ought to be able to govern themselves.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Voices and Soul
by
Justice Putnam
Black Kos Poetry Editor
Sometimes Family is a dynamic of scary acceptance and a resigned denial. It is a mystery of certainty in all of its granular histories. Family is hearth and a cold slap in the face. Family is a warm place to be when life heats up and a cauldron of fire when you are too cool.
Mother Earth bore us, yet we look to the Sun for guidance and all the while, Sister Moon smiles.
My master/father sent me up from South Carolina to Boston as a nine-year-old.
My mother's illiterate silence has been a death.
I wonder if she still labors in his fields.
His sister, dutiful but cold as snow,
gave me a little room in her house, below
the stairs with the Irish servants, who hated me
for the fatal flaw in my genealogy.
For the first time in my life I am at home
in this bevy of scholars, my first family.
Here, the wallpapers welcome me into every room,
and the mirrors see me, not my pedigree.
My sisters, Jerusha, Emilia, Elizabeth ... But Mama's unlettered silence is a death.
-- Marilyn Nelson
"Family"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WELCOME TO TUESDAY’S PORCH