Uptown Notes

Africana has just launched the Racism Threat Index . The index assesses the current level of threat racism poses to African people. Hilarious and true. As soon as I am able to edit my code on this page the RTI will be in full effect!

The rise in college campus conservatism was covered in a NY Times Magazine article. It’s a long read, so here is my summary. College conservatives are becoming increasing popular because they stopped wearing khakis and blue blazers, they write satirical papers, and major conservative think tanks have coordinated student efforts to spread the messages of conservatism. The article centers on Bucknell and how there is a boom of conservatism, despite their conservative club being composed of 35 active members in a school of 3,350. The entering class last year boasted a remarkable 25 African American students, if they all attended a BSU meeting, would they get a Times Magazine article for typifying Black solidarity? But really the article does expose how conservatives are coordinated and impacting the college environment.

Want to know more about the coordinated attack of social justice and civil rights? Check out Lee Cokorino’s, “The Assault on Diversity: An Organized Challenge to Racial and Gender Justice.”

A Supreme Court decision for the U of M cases should be due in about three weeks. D-day is coming!

I recently heard of a BBC story that suggested a group of Ugandans were immune to contracting HIV. I have not heard much else about it, but if this is accurate it could mean a world of possibilities in development of a vaccine or something of the sort. If you hear anything else, hit me up.

Macy’s may get hit with a class action suit from Black shoppers for profiling in their NYC stores. A NY Times articles reports that a suit is being filed on behalf of a falsely detained alleged shoplifter. Macy’s security, according to the filed case, attempted to force her to sign a confession and handcuffed her to a bench for over an hour. I don’t know how far a class action suit will go, but I am sure that we know that racial profiling in department stores is the only thing more common than over-priced clothes.

Berkeley’s ban on students from Asian countries were SARS was reported was highlighted by Iris Chang in an NY Times Op-Ed piece on the 21st.The piece is pretty amazing as it briefly chronicles some of the issues of prejudice towards the APA community in the US. Give it a read.

Thousands protested outside of Jeb Bush’s on Thursday regarding Florida’s standardized test, the FCAT. The FCAT must now be pased in the tenth grade to recieve a high school diploma. I believe is similar to NY’s regent’s certified diploma. Many seniors will not graduate this year because they did not pass this newly established benchmark. Leaders of the protest are calling for Bush to grandfather current seniors through and examine the FCAT and its policies. Should standardized tests be eliminated, modified, or maintained?

Continuing with the surreal . .. or social, take your pick, I was recently forwarded an email about Rent-a-Negro. What do you think?

And if you thought it was just about higher education admissions, check this Sun Times article. Chicago city is in the process of examining Affirmative Action policies about contract awarding.

In the introduction to the opposites sketch, y’all remember “You can’t do that on television” a White South African went to police and says he was hostage for 12 years and was a Black family’s slave. I didn’t make it up, for real.

Clearly, you can’t just hush that fuss . The suit that Rosa Parks brought against Outkast for their song entitled, “Rosa Parks,” that was dismissed in 1999 has been re-opened. Apparently, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (heard of them before?) decided that Oukast’s use of the name Rosa Parks needed to be better justifiied. I am so glad we have come to the point that we think that the world is in such harmony that Civil Rights activists could really think their image was tarnished by a single from an album. Maybe Todd Boyd is right about “hip hop killed the Civil Rights Era.”

The Racial Privacy Initiative Ward Connerly’s latest dastardly scheme to “colorblind” the nation has not been supported by the UC Regents. This is particularly important because in the dismantling of Affrimative Action in California’s higher education system, the Regents backed the decision to eliminate the use of race as a factor. The associated press reports that the UC Regents voted 15-3 , with one abstenum not to support the RPI. Visit Ward’s site and carefully read his proposition and the language. Notice where it is permissible to use race. Okay, I can’t trust you all to read it, you can use racial classification in, “law enforcement descriptions; prisoner and undercover assignments.” Ah, don’t you just love the “freedom” from race, except in criminal matters?

It’s been a long time . . . I shouldna left you . . . hope you get that reference, if you don’t it’s all good. So back on the political front.

Anne Arundal County is experiencing racial and ethnic tension , still wondering when the “melting pot” is going to come into effect.

The Jayson Blair scandal seems to have touched a national nerve. As always, it is not enough to simply call into question the issue of journalistic integrity, but a whole slew of race related baiting is not picking up. In one of the most amusing, yet ignorant column’s yet, Jason Riley’s, quickly tries to smite Jayson Blair and Affirmative Action in the same breath.

The Crown Heights saga may finally draw to a close as Lemrick Nelson Jr. was convicted of violating Yankel Rosenbaum’s civil rights but was not found responsible for Rosenbaum’s death.

It is rumored that MCI Worldcom is thinking about dropping Danny Glover as their pitchman, following his comment’s against the Bush administration. So in the battle royale between “freedom of speech” and capitalism, which is more likely to win out?

The New York Times reports the Cambridge, MA school system is turning to socioeconomic diversity to improve achievement in public schools. With race conscious, yes- conscious not based, policies under attack, a number of approachs to achieving equality using racial proxies are underway. Boston had an intense history of busing and school integration. I wonder how long it will be before parents of the economically advantaged feel having their child bused to a disadvantaged school is invalid.

I recently received an email that updated the situation of Amina Lawal in Nigeria. You may recognize the name, Amina Lawal, from the email and petitions campaigns that were buzzing a couple months ago that were intended to stop her from being stoned to death. A recent statement by the Baobab group for Women’s rights issues clarifications and ways that you can still be involved in aiding this sistah. If you have no idea what I am talking about, please click the link above!

On the domestic front, the Chicago Tribune ran an article today on the cutting of minority programs at colleges. Make sure to find out what each school did. Cutting and revision of programs is very different. The results were likely sparked by pressure form the “Center for Equal Opportunity” and the “American Civil Rights Institute’s” letters. Don’t sleep.