race

Where are all the Black Teabaggers?

rsiasoco — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 19:05:33 +0000

A stupid question, but worth asking: Are there any members of the Teabag party who are also people of color? I've tried to find images of African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, or Native Americans to no avail. The right's extremely popular wingnuts don't seem to have a place at the table for non-whites. What's up with that?

Bob Cesca wrote a fantastic deconstruction of what I've sensed--but lacked the directness to state: the Teabag Party is racist. What's his evidence, you ask?

What's the 2010 census got to do with Sam Yoon?

rsiasoco — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:52:39 +0000

Driving home last night, I caught part of an episode of On Point with Tom Ashbrook. The topic was the 2010 U.S. Census. I've been interested in the forthcoming census (forms will be mailed next week): its dessimination, its implications, and, of course, the breakdown of our nation by race and ethnicity.

What beer should President Obama serve to Gates and Crowley?

anonymi — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:30:15 +0000

Sam Adams

35% (76 votes)

Harpoon

24% (52 votes)

Cambridge Brewing

20% (44 votes)

Another local microbrew

5% (11 votes)

Give it up, serve something from Chicago

15% (32 votes)

Total votes: 215

Reunion of Boston firefighter and historically saved baby

neilv — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:46:28 +0000

In 1968, firefighter William Carroll rescued a baby, Evangeline Harper, from a burning building:

A newspaper photograph captured their image - a white firefighter from South Boston with his lips pressed to the mouth of a black baby from the Roxbury public housing development - at a time when riots sparked by racial tensions were burning down American cities.

Over 40 years later, they are reunited.

Globe front-page piece today, "40 years' worth of thanks," by Maria Cramer. With sentimental video, "Joyful reunion," by Dina Rudick and Scott Helman.

Boston, race and professional athletes

adamg — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 21:07:09 +0000

ESPN has a discussion on the perennial issue.

Via Jay Fitzgerald.

Fashion in black and white

adamg — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 13:10:29 +0000

Harold M. Clemens discusses fashion role reversals:

... It's weird walking by white boys in unlaced tims, baggy jeans, fat hoodies, and oversized fitteds when I have on dress shoes, soft slacks, and silk dress shirts. I always glance at them curiously as I stroll by and they usually return the favor. It seems like they want to be just like us and we want to be just like them. Maybe it's a good thing- a sign of an impending thorough integration. The only wrench is they dress like us when it's cool, while we dress like them when it counts. ...

RACE-January19-February 3

Alaiyo — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 20:17:15 +0000

"RACE," a play based on the Studs Terkel book of the same name for is playing in Charlestown January 19 through February 3.

The Chicago Sun-Times says:
"Based on the national bestseller, RACE uncovers the true thoughts and emotions of ordinary Americans, both black and white, about this
country's most explosive issue. We see bus drivers, college students,civil rights workers, Klansmen, doctors, interracial couples and many
more struggling with their feelings on affirmative action, drugs,prejudice, and dashed hopes, revealing attitudes that few are willing

Racial stereotypes in a children's book?

adamg — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 13:49:58 +0000

One of little Tae's favorite board books is Good Night Boston. Her mother begins to wonder about the portrayal of kids in it:

... [T]he asian kids are raising their hands. so is the kid with glasses. and so is the kid in the wheel chair. but that's IT. the other kids of color aren't raising their hands. is this the beginning of the model minority stereotype? in a board book?

and, um, what about the eyes? ...

Can a black man find true love with a white woman?

adamg — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 15:06:53 +0000

Harold isn't sure:

... No matter what the idealists and romantics say, love is not blind, nor is it ethereal. Love is based on one's ideals, fantasies, insecurities, and other elements of personality. Surely racist stratification of women influences these entities from an early age, e.g. the minute oneâ€™s mom reads him Snow White, Rappunzel, or Cinderella, or he watches cartoons. Thus, one can sincerely love someone from another race, no doubt, but the initial attraction and subsequent adoration are probably informed by subconscious notions of whiteness' grandeur. Even if this is not the case, the question is still worth asking. Until we achieve genuine equality, which is likely a couple more centuries away, we should always wonder whether a black man's love and relationship with a non-black woman is completely untainted by his own socialization. ...

Race and ethnicity in Dorchester

adamg — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 03:38:58 +0000

The Girl, Jewish and white, gets to thinking about the topic when she overhears two women - one on the ground, one on a third-floor balcony - talking about the weekend Caribbean carnival in Franklin Park:

... The balcony woman explained that she had brought a couple of friends and the friends "had fun even though they're white." I was pulling grocery bags out of the car at that point, and I think I sensed a notable moment of uncomfortable silence, as both women must have acknowledged my presence. They went on with their conversation, and I went on with my task. ...

Racism in the Boston area

adamg — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 22:15:54 +0000

Derek takes a look at that Harvard study on racism in greater Boston and discusses his own experiences as a black man born and raised in Boston, says he is more worried about anti-gay violence than racism, but concludes there is still enough racism out there to warrant some soul-searching by whites:

... It's easy enough for us to rail against institutional racism, but what about attacking the pervasive nature of homegrown neighborhood racism? When do conscious members of the white community stand up and take action where they live? One tidbit that gets overlooked in the study is that it sampled people from around the region, not just in Boston. The suburbs have as much soul searching to do as any area of the city.

Peter, though, disputes the Harvard study, saying that minorities might be getting bad service not because they're minorities but because:

Service is terrible everywhere. Service personnel have no respect for anyone. Get used to it!