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What Jeremy Lin�s NBA Rise Means for Race Relations

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 00:29:51 +0000

New York Knicks basketball player Jeremy Lin has only been in the headlines for a few weeks, but he's already at the center of various racial controversies. ESPN issued an apology after running a headline about Lin on its mobile sites Friday with the racial slur "chink." To boot, several questions have been raised about how to cover Lin's ethnic background. Is he Taiwanese American or Chinese American? Is the media only lavishing attention on Lin because he's Asian? Did the MSG Network cross the line by showing a sign of Lin's face superimposed on a fortune cookie with the caption: "The Knicks' good fortune?"

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BYU Students Know Shockingly Little About Black History Month

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:25:24 +0000

Should I be surprised that Brigham Young University students don't even know basic facts about Black History Month--such as the month it's celebrated or who the key figures in black history are? Some would argue that I shouldn't. After all, BYU is overwhelmingly white and Mormon in a state with the same demographics. But after watching a video of a man in blackface interviewing BYU students about black history, my jaws dropped.

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Arizona Politician Pitches Holiday for White Folks

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:56:29 +0000

It's not as if Arizona needs any more bad press. Just recently Gov. Jan Brewer faced criticism for waving her finger in President Barack Obama's face. Shortly before that the ...

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California Celebrates Korematsu Day Jan. 30

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:58:59 +0000

Fred Korematsu may not be a household name, but like Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez, he's one of the few people of color to have a holiday in his honor...

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Do Suicides of Asian Soldiers Signal Racism in Military?

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:40:37 +0000

When President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address on Tuesday, he suggested that race ceases to matter to those who serve in the armed forces. "When you put on that uniform, it doesn't matter if you're black or white; Asian or Latino; conservative or liberal; rich or poor; gay or straight," he said. "When you're marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails. When you're in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit, serving one nation, leaving no one behind."

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East Haven Mayor's Shocking Response to Police Scandal

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:29:26 +0000

Conspiracy. Excessive Force. Obstruction of justice. These are just some of the crimes federal investigators Tuesday charged members of the East Haven police force in Connecticut with. What's even more shocking about the charges is that they allegedly stem from a pattern of racial profiling and mistreatment of Hispanic immigrants by police. The New York Times reports:

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"Red Tails" Opens Second at Box Office

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:19 +0000

"We got a black president before we got a black action movie," says Aaron McGruder, co-writer of the Tuskegee Airmen blockbuster "Red Tails," which just opened in theaters.

Although African Americans have starred in an assortment of action films--from "Independence Day" to "Glory"--"Red Tails" stands out as the rare action film with an all-black cast. Whites have no major roles in the World War II movie about the U.S. military's first black aerial combat team.

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Getting to Know Martin Luther King Jr.

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:42:03 +0000

Almost 44 years after his 1968 assassination, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as more of a legend than a man. He's largely recognized for leading the charge to end Jim Crow in the United States, but his opposition to the Vietnam War, support of labor unions and view that poor people had rights are largely overlooked.

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Michelle Obama Was Right to Call Out Angry Black Woman Stereotyping

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:29:33 +0000

The Obamas, a controversial new book by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor, has led the first lady to speak out. In a CBS News interview with Gayle King on Wednesday, Michelle Obama responded to Kantor's claims of tension between her and White House staffers by remarking: "I guess it's just more interesting to imagine this conflicted situation here. That's been an image people have tried to paint of me since the day Barack announced, that I'm some kind of angry black woman."

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Lakers Now Have Five White-American Players: Most Since the 1970s

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:47:25 +0000

The players on the Los Angeles Lakers' roster are turning heads this season. That's because for the first time since the 1977-78 season, the championship team has a total of five white-American players, notes ESPN's J.A. Adande. That's right--white-American, not European.

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