#they were still in indiana at this point back when jim jones' church was about hey racism and segregation is bad | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sigmadecay · 4 years

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You said you can info dump about Jonestown massacre? I'm here to learn about Jonestown massacre.

OHOHOHO YES

okay so if I start from Jim Jones’ early life this is literally gonna take me hours to write and probably take you forever to read so I will try to cliffnote the context of....y’know, his life

He didn’t have super present or even very parental parents, his mother worked a lot & his father was a disabled WWI vet. A neighbor took him to church w her family on Sundays and that began his interest in religion. He went to different churches all the time to see what they were about but had a particular interest in the Pentecostal church, it was loud & interactive & joyful but they did get a bad rep for “speaking in tongues”

Jim married his wife Marceline when he was 17 or 18 and she was like 20-21. She was working as a nurse in a hospital that Jim did custodial work in while he was trying to get himself through school. I have a lot of thoughts about Marceline Jones and most of them are “she deserved better” but we will come back to Marceline later.

Fast forward fast forward and Jim & Marcy have a number of kids, their “rainbow family” which consists of one bio child and a number of adopted children I think?? Listen in my defense he ended up with nine (!!! NINE) kids and they’re hard to keep track of but I know Stephan was their biological son and they adopted Jim Jr. who was black and Lew & Suzanne who were Korean which was a bigass deal at the time. More kids cropped up over the course of things but y’know. When Jim founded the Peoples Temple he got the MLK Jr award for racial equality because his church was the first fully integrated church at least in Indiana which was fucking nuts at the time??? Lots of people liked him. It appeared that he was doing good things.

And then shit like faith healings started where he would stage religious healings from cancer and shit and his congregation began regarding him as a deity. Someone would be blessed and would spit out a “tumor” (a piece of chicken liver) or the woman in the wheelchair who got up and walked turned out to be Jim’s secretary. Completely bogus nonsense, but it was a good, integrated church and they all thought he was a good person.

So, (and I’m leaving out details here sorry) Jim starts teasing like an escape to a “promised land” type deal. And he goes to a bunch of places looking for one—he spends time in Brazil especially—until finally settling on Guyana. The Guyanese govt was excited to have Americans coming bc they were at war with Venezuela and it was...sort of like insurance, but yeah. They gave the Peoples Temple a couple hundred acres in the middle of basically the fucking rainforest. And it was touted as like this socialist utopia and shit. It’s work but there’s housing and you grow your own food, and it seemed nice! Especially for people who were so disillusioned with the government and racial inequality. So they move out to Guyana and start to build houses, and shit is pretty alright at first, but...The soil isn’t fertile and almost no food actually grows. The hours are long and the work is backbreaking, not to mention the HEAT, but it’s like, deal-with-able until Jim Jones gets there. At this point Jones is like completely totally paranoid and he’s losing his grip on reality. He’s been doing drugs for years and his sermons have gone from “the US government is bad because it’s capitalist and racist” to “the US government is literally plotting to kill us.”

Some people managed to get out, and formed a group called the “concerned relatives.” They were, you guessed it, concerned relatives of the members who’d been whisked off to the Guyanese wilderness. Lots of people wrote off their concerns because of how many people, namely politicians, liked Jim Jones for his work in racial equality, but the one guy who listened to them was Congressman Leo Ryan, who was by all accounts a Pretty Solid Dude. He didn’t think anything fishy was happening, necessarily, but his whole stance was “I hear you & your concerns, and we should check it out to put your mind at ease! :)”

By this point, life in the Temple is falling! the fuck! apart! Jim Jones has a PA system set to run 24/7 that either play a) recordings of past sermons or b) his announcements happening Right This Second. People work for like 16 hours a day, there are armed guards at the entrance and around the fields to keep people in, the housing is cramped and overcrowded and they do Not have enough food for the almost 1000 people there. They are also getting record low amounts of sleep because Jim Jones, Nutjob Extraordinaire, has gotten into the habit of blaring the air raid siren at god knows what our and calling all his followers into the pavilion for a White Night. Which is, if you can even fucking believe it, a PRACTICE MASS SUICIDE BY KOOL AID.

Talk about foreshadowing.

So anyway, Leo Ryan rolls up to the compound, relatives and an NBC camera crew in tow, and is like “hey what’s up! :)” Jim Jones has been COACHING PEOPLE to tell him how much they love it. It’s fucked up. But okay

So they put on this dinner and a show type deal for the congressman and all the visitors, and Marceline (remember Marceline?) gives them a whole tour and shows them her pride and joy, the school she’d built and helps teaches at, and the medical center, and the daycare, like Marceline ADORES children this cannot be overstated. There are about 300 children in Jonestown and she loves them with her whole heart. ANYWAY

And everyone is having a funky good time, except Jim Jones, whose sanity is coming unraveled like an old sweater and his 950-ish overworked undercompensated cult members

But as Leo Ryan is leaving, someone slips a note to one of the reporters, BEGGING him to get them out of there. And then someone else comes forward. And then another. There are like....maybe 10 people total that come forward? Jim Jones loses his mind, naturally, but Leo Ryan is still like “hey, 10 out of 950 isn’t bad at all! They just miss their families :)” and they get going.

Unfortunately, because the number of people traveling back to the US from Guyana is greater than before, and they came on a small plane, they’re all posted up at the Port Kaituma airstrip waiting for a second aircraft. And this is when shit gets fucking real.

Jim Jones secretly sends his Red Men (read: “guards” with shotguns) to the airstrip to kill everyone because they’re going to give their secrets to the CIA or whatever. So they fucking roll up in this trailer and...open fire. Leo Ryan is killed, an NBC cameraman is killed, some of the defectors and concerned relatives are killed, many of them are wounded.

The Red Men return to the compound and report back to Jones. And then he gets on the PA and tells everyone that the USA’s destruction of them is imminent. He lies and tells them that the pilot will be shot and the plane will go down, and the US government will come into the compound for retribution and kill their seniors and kidnap the children and rape the women. You can hear a recording of this on YouTube! It’s called the Jonestown death tape and it will absolutely ruin your day if you listen to it. Anyway.

People are panicking. It’s time for the real White Night. Jones gets a vat of Flavor-Aid (off brand Kool-Aid) filled with cyanide and narcotics and says “drink :)” and...everyone is...understandably afraid. They’re tired and exhausted and terrified and have no idea what’s true or not. One woman, Christine, argues and pleads for another solution, like running off to the Soviet Union. The entire rest of the compound shouts her down.

So, finally, people drink. Those who won’t, and young children, are injected with it. The death is not painless. People suffer for a long time, and move to the back of the line, lie down, and die. At a reception house in Georgetown, one of Jones’ aides kills her three children and then herself with a steak knife.

A handful of people get out. Maybe five are able to hide, and three of Jones’ sons are away at a basketball game in Georgetown while this is all going down, so they live.

Jim Jones does not drink the poison. Jim Jones shoots himself in the head, and his private nurse does the same.

Marceline Jones screamed, sobbed and struggled until every single child had died, hoping at least one of them would be spared. And when none were, she dried her eyes, resigned herself to her fate, and drank the Kool-Aid.

The 900-something bodies, about a third of which were children, began rotting in the tropical sun almost immediately. Many of them were decomposed beyond recognition by the time the US troops got there. Those unidentified are buried in a mass gravesite in...California, I think? It was the largest loss of American life not due to a natural disaster up until 9/11. The place is still there, though now it’s overgrown, and it’s just...haunting. There’s a number of documentaries on it (recommend) and if you have a really masochistic streak, the Port Kaituma airstrip shooting and the Jonestown death tape audio are both on YouTube the last I checked.

Thank you for indulging me my special interest, and I’m happy to expand on anything here or give more details :3

#ask #anonymice #jonestown #also sorry for the delay. we had dinner guests #kenny.txt

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slut4supersoldiers · 6 years

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Unloved

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X OC Bi reader (fem)

Summary: The one where Billy Hargrove meets his match: both are fond of speed, sex, hiding their broken hearts with a cocky smile and drinking away their pain.

Words: 2k+Warnings: Alcohol, Abuse, Strong language, Slight angst.

A/N: I really like the Bad girl meets bad boy narrative so i gave it a try. The reader is Bi so please don’t read if you’re not comfortable with it. (although there’s nothing wrong with being bi). Also this will be a slow update.

MASTERLIST

REQUEST HERE

Hawkins was a small town in Indiana. With a handful of people living together, greeting each other every day (willingly or unwillingly) it was easier to keep a record of the faces filling up the spaces in the town. Therefore, when a new truck of movers drove into town word spread around like fire. A new family moving in next to the Jones’ house was the only buzz around town.

The Jones were the perfect picket fence family. Mr. Arthur Jones was a sales manager and worked out of town. Mrs. Carol Jones, his wife stayed at home and volunteered to help at the community centre and the church which the family religiously went to every Sunday. The Jones had twin daughters.

Deborah Jones was 7 minutes older. She was the good girl; the star of the family; the poster child for preppy. She studied at an all girl’s school out of town. The school only admitted girls who had the will to excel in the future (re: become good wives by obeying their husbands and looking after a hoard of children). The school was as obnoxious as it sounded and so was Deborah or Debbie as she preferred. The favourite child right from the get go, she was pampered and given the maximum attention.

This perfect family, however, had one ‘stain’ as they liked to privately address her. It was their other daughter, Evelyn.

Unlike her sister, Evelyn went to Hawkins High. Since she became old enough to separate good and bad, she realised she was the child her parents never wanted. She was the black sheep; the rogue wolf; the disappointment and her parents made sure to remind her of that every day. Today, being no exception.

Like every Sunday, the family woke up and got ready to go to church at 7 am and like always Evelyn got ready to go to bed after being out the whole night. Lucky for her she was dropped off by her friend Steve who carefully led her to the window of her room. Evelyn for once was thankful to her parents for giving her the room on the ground floor. She opened the half open window completely and got in as stealthily as her hungover self would allow her to. Much to her dismay her mother opened the door to her room at the same time as she shut the window.

“Evelyn Lily Jones” Evelyn could hear the disapproval dripping from her mom’s voice and she cursed herself for not locking the door the night before.

“Mother dear.” Evelyn turned around wincing at the sight of her mother. Even with the dark tinted sunglasses covering her eyes she could see her mother angrily marching to her.

Her mother angrily snatched the glasses causing Evelyn to wince as she tried to adjust to the sudden brightness.

“You’re hopeless. I know you never come to the church and frankly we don’t want to be seen with you, what with the way you act. But at least start being responsible.” Evelyn resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“I am sorry, your royal highness. I will clean up and wait here like a good girl while you go to the church and bask in the holiness. Sounds good?” Evelyn stifled her laugh as she could practically see the smoke coming out of her mom’s ears.

As Evelyn was about to turn around her mother grabbed her by the elbow digging her freshly manicured nails into her daughter’s skin and pulled her closer, “I am excusing your behaviour this time. But if you don’t behave tonight in front of our guests I will let your father deal with you. Sounds good?” Her mother gave her a menacing smile.

Evelyn nodded curtly as her mother pulled away. Smoothing her dress her mother gave Evelyn her usual sickening smile and walked out without a word.

As her mother shut the door Evelyn looked down at the skin around her elbow. The marks left by her mother’s fingers were already darkening, tainting her skin. Just another addition to the collection of unlimited bruises that littered her body.

Without any more thought Evelyn walked into the bathroom adjoining her room. Instead of taking a warm bath as she had initially planned Evelyn turned on the faucet and stood under the shower. The cold water cascading down made goose bumps rise on her naked body.

After a long shower Evelyn felt somewhat refreshed, the slight headache from the hangover was starting to fade away. Drying herself off, she walked towards her mirror and stared at her reflection. Unlike her sister’s naturally blonde hair, she had black hair that reached her shoulder. She still remembered the day she bought the dye and coloured her hair without telling her parents. She almost remembered how her father slapped her twice before grounding her for a week for doing that. After that she continued dyeing her just to piss off her parents.

After wearing comfortable clothes she got in bed and pulled the blanket over her head and decided to rest before that dreadful meeting with her parents’ guest.

At around 12 in the noon Evelyn was woken by the shrill ring of the phone. When she padded into the kitchen to receive the phone she realised her family had not returned yet and she was thankful for it. As soon as she picked up the phone Tina’s voice fell on her ear.

“Evie my parents have gone out and we are having a small get together. Now everyone would kill me if you don’t show up. So I am sending Artie to pick you up. No excuses.” Evelyn shook her head at her friend who was probably already tipsy. She knew she had promised her mother and if she failed to keep up with the promise the consequences would be dire. But Evelyn was not going to give up on free booze either. So without giving it another though she changed into something more presentable, hopped into her friend’s car who arrived only minutes later and was off to Tina’s house in no time.

The moment Evelyn arrived at Tina’s house she was greeted by a very drunk Carol who hugged her and refused to let go till her boyfriend pulled her off. She finally made her way to the mini bar after greeting a dozen of people. This is the life Evelyn thought. Booze, friends and more booze. She smiled as she downed the concoction which tasted oddly like cola and whisky. She wasn’t fond of the taste but she liked the warm feeling the alcohol left in her throat. To be honest she craved anything that made her feel something. So she drank some more.

Like Evelyn had predicted Tina’s “little get together” soon turned into a proper rager. This was the best way to spend the weekend and Evelyn wanted to make the most of it. But her happiness was short lived.

Before anybody could scurry out the cops barged in through Tina’s doors. The ones close to the back door ran away while some of them ran away before the three cops could catch them. Evelyn was a little tipsy but she could have easily ran through the back door still she halted when she saw Jim Hopper, the police chief pointing a finger at her as if ordering her to stay where she was. If there was one person she respected and listened to it was Jim Hopper. So she stopped. Within seconds Hopper walked over to her and ushered her to follow him out.

The moment Evelyn stepped out the cold air enveloped her. The sun had set and was now replaced by the moon that shone bright. When she sat in the car Evelyn looked at the watch on Hopper’s wrist, 7:15. Evelyn was hoping that she could miraculously skip the dinner but fate (and Jim hopper had other plans). To top it all the constant glances from hopper were beginning to annoy Evelyn so she just chose to look out the window.

“Why are you doing this Evelyn?” After a moment of silence passed between them Hopper finally spoke up.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Evelyn shrugged and put her feet up on the headboard.

“Hey! Feet off.” Hopper bellowed forcing Evelyn to get her feet off and cower closer to the passenger door. Hopper sighed at her reaction, “this is not healthy Evelyn. Nothing good will come out of this.”

“Has anything good ever happened to me anyway?” Evelyn smiled but the smile did not meet her eyes.

“Kid, you can get out of here. You’re a brilliant student. Just put in some more eff-

“And go where Jim? I don’t belong anywhere. I’ll always be a freak, a disappointment or whatever. My own family doesn’t accept me what makes you think anyone else will?” by the end of her rant erratic breathes left her mouth. This silenced the chief and he sped towards her house. As soon as they reached her house Evelyn sat up straighter and almost as if a switch went off Evelyn’s demeanour changed. She held a shit eating grin and looked over at the older man.

“Wow! That was an intense ride. Need to take the edge off. Got a cig?” Evelyn continued to smile at Hopper.

“No! Now I am gonna take you to your house and I don’t want to see you causing any more trouble.” The chief said as he opened the car door.

“Come on chief as if you didn’t do messed up things back in the days!” Evelyn sassed back.

Rolling his eyes Jim rang the bell. The lights on the porch went on and Evelyn’s dad opened the door.

“Ah! Chief and Evelyn?” Her dad’s expression went from happy to sour.

“Yes! She was helping the guys…uh… at the store to clean up the graffiti from the store wall. I saw her and dropped her off.” Hopper shook her dad’s hand who gave him a tight smile in return and walked in immediately after, completely disregarding her presence.

“Evelyn behave.” Hopper glared at her before walking to his car and driving away.

Evelyn rolled her eyes at his behaviour, “well at least he saved my ass (with a terrible lie)”, she thought. She heaved a huge sigh and made a dash to her room only to be stopped by her mother.

“Evelyn honey come meet our guests.” Her mom’s sickeningly sweet voice fell on her ears. To others it might seem normal, motherly even. But only Evelyn knew it was the silence before the storm. So she walked into the dining room where four unfamiliar faces were sitting with her own family.

“This is my other daughter Evelyn, Evelyn these are the Hargroves.” Mrs. Jones grabbed her daughter’s hand and pushed her towards one of the empty chairs forcing her to sit down.

“Evelyn I am Susan, this is Neil my husband, that’s Maxine my daughter and Billy her step-brother.” Evelyn turned her head to Billy when she heard him scoff. She had to admit it he was good looking. He looked a little different than his family. Almost like an outsider.

Oblivious to his remark Susan continued, “Your mom talked a lot about you.” She smiled.

Evelyn raised her eyebrows and looked at Susan, “Well Susan let me assure you that I am nothing like my mom described me. I am a good person, contrary to what she must’ve said.” The moment she said this her mom hit the spoon in her hands on her daughter’s knuckles which were placed on her knee, under the table. Both her parents, shot daggers at her. As she managed to look away from their faces she saw Billy giving her a smug smile almost as if he was impressed.

“I am just joking.” she said biting her lip to keep herself from smiling.

Susan laughed nervously and so did Evelyn’s mother. Once again they started talking. Susan was busy sharing recipes with Mrs. Jones, while Neil and Mr. Jones excused themselves to walk to the bar. Debbie on the other hand was too busy making eyes at Billy, completely oblivious of how he was looking down her top instead of her face.

Evelyn’s eyes now fell on the little girl, Max. She was sitting quietly, looking down at her plate. She could see Max pushing the peas away from the rest of the food. But when Susan shook her head disapprovingly she groaned and stopped. Evelyn suddenly grabbed the napkin from her lap and gave it to the young girl. She looked up at the older girl questioningly. In response Evelyn nodded towards the peas and back to the napkin. Slowly Max pushed the peas into the napkin and handed it to Evelyn. Both the girls smirked at each other as Max placed the spoon back on the plate.

“Well if you will excuse me.” Evelyn looked at the six people at the table and got up. Disposing the peas in the trash can without anyone noticing she made her way to her room before anyone could object.

Once in her room she threw her jacket away and began unzipping her boots when a knock came on her door.

Rolling her eyes she got up to unlock the door. Evelyn was surprised when she saw that boy from the table. “Billy”, she reminded herself. She raised her eyebrows and crossed her hands in front of her chest.

“Your mom and Susan thought we should socialize considering the fact that we’ll be going to the same school and sadly I don’t have many friends here.” He pouted as he walked in ignoring Evelyn’s protests.

“Dude what the fuck?” She yelled at him as he began pulling the pictures she had pinned on a display board.

“Who’s that?” He shoved a Polaroid in her face. Evelyn had pinned it at the corner of the board almost as if she didn’t want to see it but still refused to throw it away for the sentimental value it held. She pulled the said Polaroid out of his hand and took a good look at the picture. It was perfect. Or that’s what she had said then. Evelyn finally tore her eyes away from the Polaroid and walked away from billy to put the picture on her vanity.

Turning to Billy she said, “That’s none of your business.” He raised his hands in defence, “Just trying to be friendly.” He smiled at her.

“Why don’t you go and be ‘friendly’ with my sister? I am sure she’d love that.” Evelyn crossed her arms and glared at the boy.

“Your sister? Nah! Not my type.” He smirked at Evelyn who rose her eyebrows at him.

Before she could argue with him any further, her mom called for the two of them as the Hargroves wanted to leave.

As tempting as Evelyn thought it would be to stay in her room, the moment her father yelled for her, her feet carried her out of the room automatically. Neil, Susan and Max were already out of the door and as Billy followed behind her, Mrs. Jones who was holding Susan’s dainty fingers murmured, “Hope there was no funny business you two.” And both the women broke out laughing.

Evelyn could only roll her eyes and mutter, “as if.” Only to realise it was the last straw for her father. He grabbed his daughter’s elbow much like her mother had but harder.

“Don’t you wanna say goodbye to our guests Evelyn?” Her father gripped her elbow harder enough to leave a bruise. She suddenly tensed at his actions and blinking away the tears frantically, she muttered a goodbye. Completely oblivious to what was happening Susan, Neil and Max bid the ‘happy family’ goodbye but Billy lingered back for a while looking from Mr. Jones to Evelyn and finally giving the girl a curt nod he walked away.

#Billy Hargrove #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove x oc #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things imagine #stranger things fic #strange things fanfiction #billy hargrove x bi reader #dacre montgomery

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reneeacaseyfl · 5 years

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Trump Comes for Baltimore, Baltimore Claps Back: raceAhead

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump launched a now-familiar style of attack on Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings. Racist.

“Rep, Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous. His district is considered the Worst in the USA……” the president tweeted.

It continues: “Cumming District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.” And, “If racist Elijah Cummings would focus more of his energy on helping the good people of his district, and Baltimore itself, perhaps progress could be made in fixing the mess that he has helped to create over many years of incompetent leadership.” And more today: “If the Democrats are going to defend the Radical Left “Squad” and King Elijah’s Baltimore Fail, it will be a long road to 2020.”

CNN anchor and Baltimore native, Victor Blackwell, broke down Trump’s attacks on-air on Saturday’s “CNN Newsroom” program.

“Donald Trump has tweeted more than 43,000 times,” Blackwell said. “He’s insulted thousands of people, many different types of people. But when he tweets about infestation, it’s about black and brown people.” Pausing to collect himself, and with water in his eyes, he said, “You know who did [live there], Mr. President? I did. From the day I was brought home from the hospital to the day I left for college. And a lot of people I care about still do.”

It was a powerful reminder that “diversity” is personal in newsrooms and in public policy.

The Baltimore Sun editorial board also wasted little time responding to the president’s Twitter rant, part political analysis, part Maryland pride. It’s a clapback for the ages:

“[W]e would tell the most dishonest man to ever occupy the Oval Office, the mocker of war heroes, the gleeful grabber of women’s private parts, the serial bankrupter of businesses, the useful idiot of Vladimir Putin and the guy who insisted there are “good people” among murderous neo-Nazis that he’s still not fooling most Americans into believing he’s even slightly competent in his current post. Or that he possesses a scintilla of integrity. Better to have some vermin living in your neighborhood than to be one.”

There are many things at play here, mostly political. Cummings has earned the president’s ire by leading investigations into his administration as chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. The tweets, and Baltimore’s grim crime statistics, have become partisan talking points. Turns out, Jared Kushner, the presidential son-in-law, owns more than a dozen Baltimore-area apartment complexes in low-income zip codes that have been cited for code violations. Baltimoreans and their supporters are defending their city and killing it in the hashtag game.

My best (and perhaps only) contribution might be a little context. It all starts with Jim Crow.

To have a serious discussion about what’s happening in Baltimore, it’s smart to start with the apartheid-style residential segregation ordinances that the city’s mayor put into place from 1910 to 1913. I’m not being hyperbolic: I’m summing up a 1982 paper published by law professor Garrett Power in the Maryland Law Review. In it, Power explains how a generally progressive administration purposefully segregated a reasonably integrated city—“to promote the general welfare of the city by providing, so far as practicable, for the use of separate blocks by white and colored people for residences, churches and schools.”

That decision helped ensure low-income black residents were isolated in slum-like conditions with substandard services, which eventually became codified in every kind of public policy. It led to, among other things, decades of housing equity failures.

Fast forward to 1995. Thompson v. HUD was a groundbreaking fair housing lawsuit that claimed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) violated the Fair Housing Act of 1968 by concentrating African-American residents of public housing in the most impoverished and underserved neighborhoods of Baltimore. The suit was triggered by a plan to demolish a dangerous high-rise public housing development, which should have ben an opportunity to introduce affordable housing across the city. Instead, rampant white NIMBYism made sure that replacement units would be relegated to segregated neighborhoods. The suit was filed on behalf of 14,000 African American families living in public housing.

It was 10 years of legal grinding before the team behind the lawsuit earned a victory lap: In January 2005, a federal district court judge found that HUD “failed to achieve significant desegregation” and accused them of treating Baltimore City as “an island reservation for use as a container for all of the poor of a contiguous region.”

Not a long hop between 2005 and today, am I right?

The Thompson summary is an easy read and offers a helpful primer on how housing segregation created two separate and profoundly unequal Baltimores. And this analysis from the Poverty and Race Research Action Council helps put Thompson into a broader context of similar lawsuits around the country.

I recommend reading both before you gear up to fight your political opponents.

I’ll also leave the last policy word to Professor Power who warned 37 years ago that without real system change, Baltimore’s ugly past would persist. The history “cautions us to discount the righteous rhetoric of reform; it reminds us of the racist propensities of democratic rule; and it sets the stage for understanding the development of a covert conspiracy to enforce housing segregation, the vestiges of which persist in Baltimore yet today.”

On Point

Puerto Rico’s governor-in-waiting says thanks but no thanks Puerto Rico Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez is next in line for the governor job, but the controversial figure and close ally of the recently ousted Gov. Ricardo Rosselló has turned down the job, most recently, via Twitter. “I reiterate, I have no interest in occupying the position of Governor,” she said. “I hope that the Governor identifies and submits a candidate for the position of Secretary of State before August 2 and I have told him so.” The secretary of state is the preferred candidate for the position. USA Today

Barack Obama endorses an op-ed critical of the Trump Administration The opinion piece was published Friday night in the Washington Post, with the title: “We are African Americans, we are patriots, and we refuse to sit idly by.” The piece was co-signed by 149 African Americans who worked in the Obama administration, and serves as a rallying cry. “Witnessing racism surge in our country, both during and after Obama’s service and ours, has been a shattering reality, to say the least,” they write. “But it has also provided jet-fuel for our activism, especially in moments such as these.” The former president rarely comments on politics. “I’ve always been proud of what this team accomplished during my administration. But more than what we did, I’m proud of how they’re continuing to fight for an America that’s better,” he said, tweeting a link to the post. It’s an impressive list of names, by the way. Washington Post

A content creator is under fire for a cartoon character that turns black when she ‘loses her beauty’ Dina and the Prince Story is a cartoon uploaded by My Pingu Tv, a YouTube channel that animates, and occasionally ruins, popular children’s fairy tales. Such is the case of Dina, who is an angel, whatever, and who has caught the eye of the prince but has been warned not to talk to him. When she does anyway, blah blah blah, a curse is fulfilled: The lovely young white angel is magically transformed into a human with dark brown skin and kinky dark hair. “Dina turns and we see she is not as beautiful; her glow is gone, and her face is scarred,” yadda yadda. I suppose it could have been worse if ugly Dina was wearing a Baltimore t-shirt, but not by much. “Fans” were not having it. Come for the story, stay for the comments. Shadow and Act

On Background

Blue Note Records turns 80 Fans of John Coltrane, Art Blakey, and Herbie Hancock already know and love the Blue Note story, a label born in the waning days of the Depression and responsible for finding and amplifying the bebop trailblazers. Co-owners Albert Lion and Francis Wolff even gave an 18-year-old Sonny Rollins an early shot. But they didn’t stop there. Everyone will enjoy this history from Giovanni Russonello, complete with short clips from some of the great artists. My Blue Note fandom began and ended with ‘Trane, so I was delighted to learn that they never stopped producing cutting-edge talent, from Bobby McFerrin in the ‘80s, James Hurt in the ‘90s, and Ambrose Akinmusire more recently. And Norah Jones! Who knew. New York Times

Today’s essay: On being, joy, and loitering Ross Gay is a writer, gardener, former college gridiron player, and an English professor at Indiana University Bloomington. But in this resplendent conversation with On Being host Krista Tippett, he’s also an expert in “adult joy.” Gay describes it as “[J]oy by which the labor that will make the life that I want, possible. It is not at all puzzling to me that joy is possible in the midst of difficulty.” Joy is always possible, a valuable framing for troubling times. The interview itself is a delight; Gay’s parents were a mixed-race couple in the wake of Loving vs. Virginia and he explains how his life experience has helped him understand joy. “I have really been thinking that joy is the moments—for me, the moments when my alienation from people—but not just people, from the whole thing—it goes away,” he says. Then he reads aloud his extraordinary essay, “Loitering.” Take a break, listen to the whole interview, and know joy. On being

How to cover immigration This resource, from Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy is designed for journalists, but it works for anyone who wants to publish anything from a memo to public remarks on the subject of immigration. The number one issue with immigration reporting is a lack of context. Is the event you are highlighting a single event or part of a broader history? “It’s really tempting, I think, at this moment for journalists to say the Trump administration is doing x, y, z. I think it’s really important for journalists to ask the question, ‘When did this program start?’ Or, ‘When did this issue start?’” says PRI’s Angilee Shah. Click through for more, including a public Google document with over 89 immigration data sources. Journalist’s Resource

Tamara El-Waylly helps produce raceAhead.

Quote

“wow man last year i was sleeping on my sisters floor, had no money, struggling to get plays on my music, suffering from daily headaches, now i’m gay.”

—Lil Nas X, via Twitter

Credit: Source link

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velmaemyers88 · 5 years

Text

Trump Comes for Baltimore, Baltimore Claps Back: raceAhead

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump launched a now-familiar style of attack on Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings. Racist.

CNN anchor and Baltimore native, Victor Blackwell, broke down Trump’s attacks on-air on Saturday’s “CNN Newsroom” program.

It was a powerful reminder that “diversity” is personal in newsrooms and in public policy.

The Baltimore Sun editorial board also wasted little time responding to the president’s Twitter rant, part political analysis, part Maryland pride. It’s a clapback for the ages:

My best (and perhaps only) contribution might be a little context. It all starts with Jim Crow.

Not a long hop between 2005 and today, am I right?

I recommend reading both before you gear up to fight your political opponents.

On Point

On Background

Tamara El-Waylly helps produce raceAhead.

Quote

“wow man last year i was sleeping on my sisters floor, had no money, struggling to get plays on my music, suffering from daily headaches, now i’m gay.”

—Lil Nas X, via Twitter

Credit: Source link

The post Trump Comes for Baltimore, Baltimore Claps Back: raceAhead appeared first on WeeklyReviewer.

0 notes

weeklyreviewer · 5 years

Text

Trump Comes for Baltimore, Baltimore Claps Back: raceAhead

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump launched a now-familiar style of attack on Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings. Racist.

CNN anchor and Baltimore native, Victor Blackwell, broke down Trump’s attacks on-air on Saturday’s “CNN Newsroom” program.

It was a powerful reminder that “diversity” is personal in newsrooms and in public policy.

The Baltimore Sun editorial board also wasted little time responding to the president’s Twitter rant, part political analysis, part Maryland pride. It’s a clapback for the ages:

My best (and perhaps only) contribution might be a little context. It all starts with Jim Crow.

Not a long hop between 2005 and today, am I right?

I recommend reading both before you gear up to fight your political opponents.

On Point

On Background

Tamara El-Waylly helps produce raceAhead.

Quote

“wow man last year i was sleeping on my sisters floor, had no money, struggling to get plays on my music, suffering from daily headaches, now i’m gay.”

—Lil Nas X, via Twitter

Credit: Source link

The post Trump Comes for Baltimore, Baltimore Claps Back: raceAhead appeared first on WeeklyReviewer.

0 notes