Sunday, January 12

Journalism

Only Bridging Can Heal a World of Breaking
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Journalism

Only Bridging Can Heal a World of Breaking

Meaningful bridging—like real integration—must acknowledge, respect, and appreciate difference as a starting point. At a time of heightened polarization and intense inequality in the United States and around the world, social differences run the risk of being turned into fault lines, and exploited for divide-and-conquer politics. As political scientists Rose McDermott and Peter K. Hatemi recently observed, inflammatory us-versus-them rhetoric “instigates neural mechanisms from the evolutionary desire to be part of the group.” Diversity can be a great strength, but it is susceptible to manipulation when not accompanied by community leaders from all backgrounds willing and able to bridge across difference. The idea of “bridging” provides a path to healing the practices of “b...
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Black Trans Women Are Being Killed. Could Paying Them Help Stop This?
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Journalism

Black Trans Women Are Being Killed. Could Paying Them Help Stop This?

A little more financial security could make the difference between life and death for these women, who are often relegated to the margins of society. One of the more under reported trends in the LGBTQ community is the high rate at which trans people, especially Black trans women, are murdered. In 2018, 26 trans people were killed, most of them people of color. And at least 20 trans or gender nonconforming women of color have been murdered in the United States as of November 2019 alone. Those numbers do not account for unreported and misreported murders, or trans people who have unexpectedly died under suspicious circumstances, but whose deaths have not been determined to be homicide. While the number of individual deaths is low, Mic’s “Unerased: Counting Transgender Lives...
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The Fear of Fat: Our Last Acceptable Bias
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Journalism

The Fear of Fat: Our Last Acceptable Bias

A sexist, racist history of anti-fatness and a for-profit “health” industry has left the U.S. with a weight problem—but not in the way you might think. The U.S. has a problem with its weight—but not in the way you might think. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 70% of Americans are either overweight or obese, but there’s another side to the “obesity epidemic” that isn’t spoken about enough: fat bias. Americans who aren’t fat live in fear of becoming so. An estimated 45 million are on some kind of diet. According to a Gallup poll, 45% of Americans fret about weight, and in one study, almost half of girls ages 3 to 6 said they worried about being fat. This is not new. The 20th century opened with a rip-roaring debate about corsets. S...
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Journalism

Black folks get quizzed on the Civil Rights Act of 1866

Byron Allen’s racial discrimination case will be heard in the Supreme Court on November 12th. The media mogul who owns Entertainment Studios, The Weather Channel and theGrio, alleges that Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications are discriminating against him due to being a Black man. This factor is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which prohibits racial discrimination in contracting. Due to an amicus brief filed by Comcast, the case has gone from being about Allen’s racial discrimination allegations to challenging the entire Civil Rights Act of 1866. According to legal experts, Comcast’s interpretation of the law would require plaintiffs to prove discrimination was the sole reason they were denied business or contracts. Allen has explained this case is bigger than his perso...
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Buffalo Wild Wings asks group to move seats because customer ‘didn’t want black people sitting near them’
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Journalism

Buffalo Wild Wings asks group to move seats because customer ‘didn’t want black people sitting near them’

A Buffalo Wild Wings near Chicago says it has fired multiple employees after a family claimed they were asked to move tables over another customer's "racist" remarks. Mary Vahl and her family were celebrating a child's birthday at the restaurant chain last week when the alleged incident occurred. Just as their group — the majority of whom were African American — was about to be seated, a staff member asked them if they could move to a new section, due to the request of some "regular customers." "A couple of minutes went by and the host went up to my husband and asked 'what race are you guys?'" Vahl wrote in a now-viral Facebook post describing the encounter. Mary's husband, Justin Vahl, told the Washington Post that he asked the host why their race mattered. The employee responded by sa...
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In Praise of Whistleblowers
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Journalism

In Praise of Whistleblowers

While corporate media spread distraction and propaganda, whistleblowers step up to reveal abuses of power the public has a right to know. In their new book,  United States of Distraction: Media Manipulation in Post-Truth America (And What We Can Do About It ), Nolan Higdon and Mickey Huff sketch out our current media landscape, one cluttered with propaganda, confusion, and distraction. They argue that while corporate media do not serve the public’s right to know, whistleblowers should be regarded as defenders of democracy. Whistleblowers are the brave people who risk employment, reputation, friends, freedom, and sometimes their lives, to provide citizens with information that those in power attempt to keep secret. Historically, whistleblower protections date all the way back to ...
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Sick Inside: Death and Neglect in US Jails
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Journalism, VIDEO REELS

Sick Inside: Death and Neglect in US Jails

The $12bn industry of correctional healthcare and the surge in jail deaths in the US. Jail deaths have surged in almost two dozen US states over the last decade. There have been steady increases in mortality rates involving complications from existing medical conditions. Jailers often have few resources to treat medical or psychological conditions. So, counties are increasingly hiring for-profit healthcare contractors to fill the medical needs of their inmates. Contractors like Corizon and NaphCare say they offer premium healthcare but critics allege that these companies cut corners to turn a profit, and point to their records. "When you combine the profit motive with a literally captive market of unpopular people, it's a recipe for bad outcomes and, often, lethal outcomes," David...
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Journalism

Tips for Black entrepreneurs from media mogul Byron Allen

This week, media mogul, Byron Allen, broke the internet with a viral interview on The Breakfast Club. The CEO of Entertainment Studios dropped numerous gems for success and told his incredible story of building an empire from his kitchen table. That hard work has paid off, as this Tuesday, Allen was inducted into the 2019 Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. Allen doesn’t mince words: Black people may have been “blackballed” from the day they were born, but they can still succeed. He tells young entrepreneurs not to be afraid to speak out and dream big. “You cannot live in fear. You were born Blackballed. You know you’ve been positioned to fail and you have to recognize where you are.” These are five other gems from Allen’s interview that remind us to pursue our greatness and know our ...
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Journalism

Kanye West Says Black People Are ‘Brainwashed’ and Democrats Are ‘Making Us Abort Our Children’

Kanye West has claimed that black people have been "brainwashed" in America and that Democrats are "making us abort our children." The rapper spoke out about his polarizing political views—including his support of President Donald Trump—in an interview with radio DJ Big Boy on Friday in support of his new album Jesus is King. Just last week, West said that wearing a "MAGA" hat popularized by Trump was "God's practical joke on all liberals." West addressed black Americans who feel he has turned against them by taking a more conservative political stance, telling Big Boy he has turned his back on "the idea of victimization mentality" that he believes has "brainwashed" black people from individual thought. "We always pointing at the white people but yet we wanna spend all our money on fore...
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Journalism, VIDEO REELS

Final respects paid to Elijah Cummings at his funeral

The congressman and civil rights leader was remembered as a champion of truth and civil rights. Mourners bid a final farewell to the late US Representative Elijah Cummings in his hometown of Baltimore. Cummings was remembered as a champion of truth and civil rights at his funeral in Baltimore. He spent the final years of his life as a fierce critic of President Donald Trump - and played a leading role in impeachment efforts. Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane reports.
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