Tag: demographic change

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When No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

In Philadelphia, restaurateur Joe Groh experienced a 10 percent drop in business in June and another 15 percent drop in July when he changed the name of his restaurant to Joe’s Steakhouse + Soda Shop. Joe was also attacked on social media. His restaurant has been vandalized. Some old time customers have furiously vowed never to return.

Why did the name change piss people off so badly? Because it made a statement about racism. Used to be that Joe’s Steakhouse + Soda Shop was called Chink’s Steaks.

“Chink” was the nickname of the founder and former owner, Sam Sherman, … Read more “When No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”

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What Does Pork Have to do with the U.S. Immigration “Problem?”

Years ago, I moved to Eastern Tennessee to work at the Highlander Research and Education Center. Highlander was founded as the Highlander Folk School, but reincorporated under its current name after its charter was revoked by the State of Tennessee in 1962 in an effort to dislodge the school from its pivotal position in the African American Civil Rights Movement.

Highlander is famous for hosting students like Rosa Parks, Dr. King, John Lewis, and Ella Baker. But I’ve always felt that its greatest accomplishment was organizing the Citizenship Schools. Under the leadership of Septima Clark, Bernice Robinson, and Esau … Read more “What Does Pork Have to do with the U.S. Immigration “Problem?””

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Guns and God: The Right Wing, Marriage, and What Lies Ahead

I’m anxious to move beyond marriage equality, both politically and in this blog. As Black Girl Dangerous recently pointed out, many injustices are being perpetrated while our attentions are riveted to the marriage debate. And, while marriage is a very important concern, this blog exists to draw our attention to the aspects of injustice that lurk beyond, beneath, and on the edges of the more obvious offenses to justice that tend to dominate the news cycle.

And, as my readers no doubt know, while the traditional nuclear family continues to be promoted as the ideal, the reality is that most … Read more “Guns and God: The Right Wing, Marriage, and What Lies Ahead”

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Red, Blue, Slave, Free

The maps above (originally from PolitiComments.com) were cut and pasted into this post from the new Changelab report, Left or Right of the Colorline? Asian Americans and the Racial Justice Movement. The first one describes the Red-Blue electoral breakdown in 2004, and the second indicates in tan and red those territories that were once open to slavery. The chilling correspondence between these two maps used to feel like our unchangeable political destiny.

Forget the political parties. Both sides have had their day as the party of white supremacy. What we should remember is that whichever side racially sensitive whites … Read more “Red, Blue, Slave, Free”