black – Page 15

Black deaths matter: The centuries-old struggle to memorialize slaves and victims of racism

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

Black deaths matter: The centuries-old struggle to memorialize slaves and victims of racism

In an open lot just a block or so from where George Floyd was killed while being detained by officers, 100 plastic headstones were carefully placed. Created by artists Anna Barber and Connor Wright, the “Say Their Names Cemetery” sprung up in south Minneapolis in early June, as protests over police brutality prompted a more wide-ranging conversation over the legacy of slavery and racism in the United States. Each headstone documents a victim of police violence – their name, age, date and location of death. Accompanying the biographical information reads a simple epitaph: “Rest in Power” – a reworking of “rest in peace” that has gained popularity among Black Lives Matter activists and supporters to commemorate the dead. #SayTheirNames The cemetery forms part of a wider #SayTheirNames camp...

Black churches have lagged in moving online during the pandemic – reaching across generational lines could help

3Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Religion

Black churches have lagged in moving online during the pandemic – reaching across generational lines could help

From online campaigns for justice to popular TikTok challenges, Black young adults are at the forefront of social media trends. But when it comes to the Black Church, the same cannot be said – it has lagged behind in the rush to go digital. There is a reason for that. But as a scholar of online religious practices, I believe that ascribing the problem to a generational divide and declining church engagement among young people is overly simplistic. Such a view, I argue, fails to understand the complex dynamic between Black young adults and the Black Church. The digital gap The pandemic is one case in point. Early in March, before state and federal guidelines were handed down, Black churches were split over whether to remain open or close their doors to congregants during the pandemic. So...

Muslim Americans assert solidarity with Black Lives Matter, finding unity within a diverse faith group

1Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Muslim Americans assert solidarity with Black Lives Matter, finding unity within a diverse faith group

The killing of George Floyd took place at the doorstep of Muslim America. He was killed in front of Cup Foods, a store owned by an Arab American Muslim, whose teenage employee – also a Muslim – had earlier reported to police that Floyd tried to use a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. Muslim American businesses are common in lower-income areas, such as the part of Minneapolis where Floyd died after a police officer knelt on his neck. And as the writer Moustafa Bayoumi has noted, this puts stores in a precarious position – catering for the community while also duty-bound to report crime to the police, sometimes under the threat of being closed down if they don’t comply. As a Muslim scholar of Islam who has written about the role of Muslims in the making of the United States, I recog...

Will colleges embrace Black student activists In this era of protest over racism?

29Jun

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EDUCATION

Will colleges embrace Black student activists In this era of protest over racism?

In 2018, sociologist Ted Thornhill found that Black students who profess an interest in fighting racism were less likely to get a response from college admission officers than other Black students when inquiring about whether they would be a good fit for a particular college. In light of the nationwide anti-racism protests sparked by the May 25 killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, when a police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes, The Conversation reached out to Thornhill for his thoughts on whether Black activist students might be more welcome on campus now than before. The Q&A, edited for brevity, is below: Do you expect wider acceptance of Black activism on college campuses? Will some number of colleges and universities that did not embrace Black student ...

Being Black in the U.S. Makes People More Vulnerable to Chronic Stress and COVID-19 and Other Diseases

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

Being Black in the U.S. Makes People More Vulnerable to Chronic Stress and COVID-19 and Other Diseases

Racism is a chronic, uncontrollable, and unpredictable stress that can wreak havoc on the mind and body. The COVID-19 pandemic and the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery are two major catastrophes that shine a light on longstanding social inequities and injustices toward African Americans. Emerging research in the field of social genomics demonstrates how social stress, such as racism and discrimination, can shift the body’s biological resources toward a state that increases risk for disease. For example, our research group has found that racial discrimination may be affecting the way genes are expressed, leading to increased levels of dangerous stress hormones. These differences were found even when social determinant factors such as poverty and other forms of stress were accounte...

America’s Black female mayors face dual crises of COVID-19 and protests – but these women are used to uphill battles

24Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

America’s Black female mayors face dual crises of COVID-19 and protests – but these women are used to uphill battles

Mayors are elected to govern their cities, serve and protect citizens, maintain law and order and bring about economic prosperity. Those are tall orders today, as American cities are wracked by COVID-19 and anti-racism protests. One effect of these simultaneous crises has been to thrust Black female mayors onto the national stage. That’s because, for the first time in U.S. history, Black women lead several of the United States’ largest cities, including Chicago, Atlanta and San Francisco. Black women make up just 14% of women in the United States, and their mayoral history is a short one. But it’s a history of achievement worth exploring. My upcoming book, an edited volume called “Political Black Girl Magic: The Elections and Governance of Black Female Mayors” examines the background of ...

Land loss has plagued black America since emancipation – is it time to look again at ‘black commons’ and collective ownership?

19Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, SOCIAL JUSTICE

Land loss has plagued black America since emancipation – is it time to look again at ‘black commons’ and collective ownership?

Underlying the recent unrest sweeping U.S. cities over police brutality is a fundamental inequity in wealth, land and power that has circumscribed black lives since the end of slavery in the U.S. The “40 acres and a mule” promised to formerly enslaved Africans never came to pass. There was no redistribution of land, no reparations for the wealth extracted from stolen land by stolen labor. June 19 is celebrated by black Americans as Juneteenth, marking the date in 1865 that former slaves were informed of their freedom, albeit two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Coming this year at a time of protest over the continued police killing of black people, it provides an opportunity to look back at how black Americans were deprived of land ownership and the economic power that it bring...

Black religious leaders are up front and central in US protests – as they have been for the last 200 years

17Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Religion

Black religious leaders are up front and central in US protests – as they have been for the last 200 years

When the Rev. Al Sharpton implored white America to “get your knee off our necks” at the memorial of George Floyd, his words were carried by news outlets across the globe. Meanwhile in the U.S., the Rev. William J. Barber II has been an ever-present voice in the protests, prompting some to place him as the successor to past civil rights greats. That people of the cloth are at the forefront of the current protests over police brutality should not be a surprise. From the earliest times of the United States’ history, religious leaders have led the struggle for liberation and racial justice for black Americans. As an ordained minister and a historian, I see it as a common thread running through the history of the United States, from black resistance in the earliest periods of slavery in the ...

Black Americans, crucial workers in crises, emerge worse off – not better

17Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Black Americans, crucial workers in crises, emerge worse off – not better

On June 19, 1865 – 155 years ago – black Americans celebrating the day of Jubilee, later known as Juneteenth, may have expected a shot at real opportunity. Freedom from slavery should have been freedom to climb up the economic ladder, helped – or at least not hindered – by a nation newly rededicated to human equality. Black Americans had served in the war, too, making up more than 10% of the Union Army, a quarter of the Union Navy and untold numbers aiding the Union effort. In many national crises since then, black Americans have also been essential workers. But serving in crucial roles has not resulted in economic equality. Government responses to economic crises have historically set black Americans back relative to whites, stripping black wealth and setting new and stronger barriers ...

A short history of black women and police violence

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

A short history of black women and police violence

Just after midnight on March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor, an EMT in Louisville, Kentucky, was shot and killed by police officers who raided her home. The officers had entered her home without warning as part of a drug raid. The suspect they were seeking was not a resident of the home – and no drugs were ever found. But when they came through the door unexpectedly, and in plain clothes, police officers were met with gunfire from Taylor’s boyfriend, who was startled by the presence of intruders. In only a matter of minutes, Taylor was dead – shot eight times by police officers. Although the majority of black people killed by police in the United States are young men, black women and girls are also vulnerable to state-sanctioned violence. The #SayHerName campaign has worked to bring greater a...