An Embarrassed ‘Recovering Racist’
Columnist Tells of Man’s Obsession With a Wrong
‘Why Every Black Woman . . . Should Be Concerned’
Border Official Admits Targeting Journalists
Halle Berry: ‘I Can’t Skip’ the Black Reporters
Video Vignettes from Asian American Journalists
Press Has Issues With Newest White House Hopeful
Disappointment Greets Brown v. Board Anniversary
Plenty of Blame in Saga of Anchor’s Firing
Support Journal-ismsColumnist Tells of Man’s Obsession With a Wrong
“This is the story of two boys: one oppressed and one obsessed,” Suzette Hackney, director of opinion and community engagement for the Indianapolis Star, tweeted on Friday. “It is the story of a search for the truth and, ultimately, for redemption. My latest column means a great deal to me. Please give it a read.”
Indeed, Hackney’s tale of the obsession of an Indiana descendant of slaveholders has all the human interest elements that good columnists wish for. The protagonist wanted to give an enslaved boy the dignity in death that he was denied in life.
“Someone wrote me an email and told me about the new headstone and that I might want to poke around,” Hackney explained to Journal-isms. ” I poked.”
A photo caption summarizes, “Jeff Purvis stands in front of his family’s gravesite in southern Marion county on Wednesday, May 1, 2019. The land where the gravesite sits was settled by Purvis’ great-great-great-grandfather, Alexander Joyce, in the late 1830s. When he settled, Joyce brought a slave, Price Joyce, with him from Patrick County, Virginia. The grave of Price was unmarked until Purvis placed a stone where he believes Price’s body lays. ‘I didn’t enslave this man,’ said Purvis, wiping away tears. ‘But I do have it in my power to apologize. And my God, I’m sorry. Too little, too late.’
Hackney says in the column, “Jeff Purvis considers himself a recovering racist. He subscribes to the theory that just as an alcoholic is never cured, a racist is never absent of bigotry. But he also believes one has the capacity to acknowledge and control their weaknesses.
“Purvis is embarrassed about his past. He was embarrassed to talk to me, an African-American woman, about his family’s transgressions. He apologized to me more than was necessary.
“Purvis has used the N-word, not out of malice, but because it was part of his cultural lexicon. His upbringing in rural Indiana was segregated; for the most part, the only black people he saw were on TV. He grew up convinced African Americans were inferior to white folks because that’s what he was told.
“But mostly Purvis believes that because the blood of racists flows through him, he too is racist. His ancestors have passed. But he said he feels the weight of the stories, stories of bigotry, that he’s heard them tell over the years.
“Some he shared with me.
“I haven’t met many people who cop to being racist, recovering or otherwise. I’m certainly not here to convince Purvis to the contrary. But when we discussed it, I told him that we all have the ability to work to be more virtuous than the previous generation.
“And I believe that’s what he’s done — in large part because of a slave named Price — a boy owned by Purvis’ great, great, great grandfather, Alexander Joyce II. . . .”
- Howard University News Service: Meeting David Wilson: Two Men Of The Same Name, On Opposite Sides Of Freedom (2008)
- Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze: Meeting David Wilson: Two Davids Talk Race Divide And Common Slave Past (2008)
- Rachel Sklar, HuffPost: Finally! MSNBC’s Three-Hour Conversation About Race in America (On “Meeting David Wilson,” 2008)
‘The state of Alabama ought to be ashamed of herself.’ — These Alabama state senators spoke up against the abortion ban pic.twitter.com/HQjQlKtrex
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 17, 2019
‘Why Every Black Woman . . . Should Be Concerned’
“This week women all over the country woke up to the news that Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey . . . had signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the country, effectively making it a felony to perform an abortion in nearly all cases,” Blue Telusma wrote Thursday for theGrio.com. She wrote under the headline, “Why every Black woman in America should be concerned about Alabama’s abortion ban.”
“Women’s rights activists and lawmakers quickly spoke up against this extreme turn of events, while different religious sects debated whether the decision was valid for spiritual reasons,” Telusma continued.
“Everyone basically showed up to this argument the way they usually show up, giving the speeches they usually give. But underneath the vocal minority passionately unpacking what had just taken place, I couldn’t help but notice a quieter — and much larger — group of women who appeared to dismiss this bit of legislation as just another horror story about life in the southern ‘Bible Belt.’
“And that overall sentiment of, ‘What does this have to do with me?’ concerns me. It would be incredibly naïve for anyone to think that . . . what happened in Alabama on Wednesday is just about Alabama. Because we’ve seen time and time again that what the GOP lacks in public support or celebrity endorsements, they more than make up for in cunning execution.
“This abortion ban was just a warning shot and below I’m about to explain three reasons why all women in this country, particularly Black women, need to be concerned about what’s on the horizon. . . .”
- Editorial, Kansas City Star: Missouri’s extreme abortion bill rivals Alabama in cruelty and doing harm to women
- Renée Graham, Boston Globe: ‘Pro-life’ laws are a death sentence for women
- Jason Hancock, Kansas City Star: Q&A: What would Missouri lawmakers’ abortion bill really do? That answer and more
- Roy S. Johnson, al.com: Alabama’s abortion bill may thwart state film industry as cameras finally begin to roll
- Roy S. Johnson, al.com: Presidential hopeful Booker: Alabama abortion bill ‘direct assault’ on women
- Missouri Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, St. Louis American: Abortion ban puts Missouri mothers at greater risk
- Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Seeing (and wearing) red in Alabama, the Handmaid’s State
- Pew Research Center: Views on abortion, 1995-2018 (Oct. 15, 2018)
- Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: Republican lawmakers in Alabama are partying like [it’s] 1859
- Jordan Smith, the Intercept: Millions of Women Already Live in a Post-Roe America: A Journey Through the Anti-Abortion South
- Dr. Michelle Williams, Boston Globe: Anti-abortion laws have dire public health consequences
- Nikki Battiste, CBS News: Homeland Security flying migrants out of Texas to locations throughout U.S.
- Wayne Bennett, Field Negro: Give me your most educated and wealthiest of the masses yearning to be free.
- Congressional Hispanic Caucus: Response to President Trump’s ‘Immigration Plan
- Elvia Díaz, Arizona Republic: What chance does Trump’s immigration plan have? Oh, that’s right: None
- Jens Manuel Krogstad and Ana Gonzalez-Barrera, Pew Research Center: Key facts about U.S. immigration policies and proposed changes
- Marc Lacey, New York Times: As Immigrants Are Packed Into Encampments, Border Patrol Struggles With Overcrowding
- Norman Merchant, Associated Press: 4th death of migrant child since December raises new alarms
- EJ Montini, Arizona Republic: Trump’s immigration plan would have kept out Trump’s family (And mine, and probably yours)
- Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Immigration for the ‘best people’? For Trump family, that’s relative
- Deborah Simmons, Washington Times: Are you a U.S. citizen?
- Fabiola Santiago, Miami Herald: Trump shoving ‘patriotic assimilation’ down people’s throats sounds so much like… Cuba.
- Caitlin Yoshiko Kandil, NBC Asian America: Asian American enclaves survived racist laws. Can they survive redevelopment?
- Akemi Tamanaha, AsAmNews: Documentary Exposes Fear and Lies Behind Japanese American Incarceration, Draws Parallels to Current Anti-Muslim Rhetoric
- Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, NBC News: An Asian Pacific American Heritage Month reading list: Nonfiction
- WGBH Boston: WGBH Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
- Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post: Bill de Blasio’s race to nowhere — maybe
- Joyce Ferriabough Bolling, Boston Herald: 1994 Crime Bill hurt communities of color, Joe — don’t defend it
- Jason Johnson, the Root: Sooooo Many White Guys
- Ronnie Ramos, Indianapolis Star: Why IndyStar is covering Buttigieg’s presidential bid
- Errin Haines Whack, Associated Press: Warren building unlikely connection with black female voters
- ArtsConnect, Topeka, Kan.: Brown v. Board Mural Project: Legacy & Vision
- Jesse Jackson, National Newspaper Publishers Association: Decades After Brown v. Board of Education, We Risk Going Backward
- Peniel Joseph, CNN: One of America’s proudest moments is being sabotaged
- Julianne Malveaux, National Newspaper Publishers Association: Commemorate Brown v. Board of Education by Supporting Teachers
- Laura Meckler and Robert Barnes, Washington Post: Trump judicial nominees decline to endorse Brown v. Board under Senate questioning
- Noliwe Rooks, Daily News, New York: Why, 65 years later, school segregation persists: New York City is a perfect case study
- Valerie Strauss, Washington Post: 65 years after Supreme Court’s historic Brown v. Board of Education ruling: ‘We are right back where we started’
- Valerie Strauss, Washington Post: The promise of historic Brown v. Board school desegregation ruling is ‘at grave risk,’ report says (May 10)
- Valerie Strauss, Washington Post: Why school integration works
- Shino Tanikawa and Leonie Haimson, Daily News, New York: Lower class size and school integration go hand in hand
- WIBW-TV, Topeka, Kan.: Brown v Board (special section)
“ ‘We’ve had three female African-American mayors in a row, they were all passionate public servants, two resigned, though,’ Bubala asked. ‘Is it a signal that a different kind of leadership is needed to move Baltimore forward?’ “Since two Black women in power had scandals, Bubala seemed to be asking, wouldn’t all of them? “Video of the question went viral. I saw it when Nicki Mayo, president of the Baltimore Association of Black Journalists, shared it on Twitter. “The question Bubala posed wasn’t only racist and sexist, it put Dr. Kaye in the awkward position of having to speak for every member of her race and sex. How can you even begin to answer that question? . . . “It’s not lost on me that most of the people reporting on, or guiding the reporting on Catherine Pugh’s story don’t look like her, and that matters. How can you understand the nuance of being a Black woman in power if you have never experienced and don’t seem interested in inviting Black women to speak on the subject in a meaningful way? That could have been what happened with Bubala and Whitehead, but it didn’t. . . . ” Snowden-McCray went on to call out both black and white media for their coverage and actions. “One of my complaints about some Black media is that, as much as I love and support it and recognize why it is needed, I often wish they’d be tougher on Black politicians,” Snowden-McCray wrote. She also wrote that the Baltimore Afro-American “critiqued the hawk-like ways reporters have covered Pugh. That critique has merit. Reporters — white reporters primarily — posted up at her home for days began to look cruel rather than dogged. The response to that though, with what is ostensibly a puff piece, is not the answer. It wasn’t something I would have done, but questions like Bubala’s let us know there’s a reason for this overcorrection: White, mainstream media has not been fair to us. . . .” Moreover, the Baltimore Association of Black Journalists had “demanded that Bubala apologize on-air and also address incorrect reporting from late April that claimed Pugh had left the state. Instead, WJZ fired Bubala. . . . “This incident needs to be more than an unfortunate viral moment to be brushed under the rug by firing. “ ‘We did not call for the firing of WJZ anchor Mary Bubala. We were very specific in asking for an on-air apology because that would have been an apology in the same manner in which the offense was dealt out,’ Mayo told me in a phone call on Tuesday. “It was a great example of news media once again not listening to Black journalists. . . .”
Short Takes
- In a “Column One” piece tied to the Kentucky Derby, Los Angeles Times reporter Kurtis Lee wrote May 2 about neglected black jockeys and horse trainers buried in Lexington, Ky. “The grounds at the horse park — gently sloping green fields divided by white rail fences — are impeccably maintained. But there’s no such honor, or beauty, at African Cemetery No. 2.” Also buried there are black journalists, preachers and soldiers, including members of the Buffalo Soldiers. Lee messaged Journal-isms that the buried journalists include R.C.O. Benjamin, who was fatally shot by a precinct worker in 1900 when he objected to African Americans being harassed while attempting to register to vote.
- Sarah Glover, two-term president of the National Association of Black Journalists, is to be honored at Philadelphia City Hall on Thursday by the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, of which she is former president. The city has issued a proclamation for the occasion.
- “Chicago is better today because Rahm Emanuel was mayor,” the Chicago Sun-Times declared in an editorial Friday. “Yes, the man had his faults,” the subhead read. “But he took on the big jobs, got things done — and took the heat. On that score, we’re confident historians will agree.” Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune offered advice to incoming mayor Lori Lightfoot. “This is a movement. It will take time. Her directive from voters was not to simply manage City Hall. It was to overhaul it,” the Tribune editorialized Friday.
- In Missouri, “A Lee’s Summit school board discussion of racial equity got so contentious the superintendent invited the board to buy him out and hire someone more to their liking,” the Kansas City Star said in an editorial Friday. “No wonder Superintendent Dennis Carpenter,” who is black, “was frustrated after the board president suggested that ‘driving while blond’ is an issue on par with driving while black. That got some guffaws, of course. But board president Julie Doane was being serious when she equated dealing with assumptions made about her because she is blond to the racism that people of color regularly come up against. . . .”
- “Award-winning Native journalist Jenni Monet is headed to trial this fall after arriving late to a court appearance here on charges of drunken driving and resisting arrest,” indianz.com reported from Santa Fe, N.M., on Tuesday. The story said Monet “vowed to mount a vigorous defense to the charges, ones that have threatened to derail her career as one of Indian Country’s most prominent journalists. ‘It is not lost on me the irony of how I am often writing and discussing the crisis for Native Americans overcoming chronic negativity in the news media — and yet, here, I have contributed to it,’ Monet said as she decried her ‘wrongful arrest and detainment’ in Santa Fe last month. . . .”
- A Lorraine Branham scholarship fund at Temple University has raised $25,000 in contributions since Branham, dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, died April 2 after a battle with cancer, according to her friends Roy Campbell and Arlene Notoro Morgan. “We are aiming for $50,000 to endow it,” said Morgan, assistant dean of Temple’s Klein College of Media and Communication. Campbell, a colleague when both were at the Philadelphia Inquirer, called the contributions a testament to Branham’s legacy.
- “Accomplished journalist Robin Washington has joined Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) as the new host of ‘Hear Me Out,’ which is produced in the KUWS studio,” Business North in Duluth, Minn., reported Thursday. “The former editor of the Duluth News Tribune and supervising editor of the Superior Telegram, Washington is an editorial board member of the Boston Globe and a contributing reporter to Boston’s WGBH. His work has also appeared on NPR, BET News and in dozens of newspapers nationwide. . . .”
- The Charlotte Observer has joined a collaborative reporting project led by ProPublica to track hate incidents across the country, Teo Armus reported Tuesday for the Observer. His story said to readers, “Have you been attacked for your identity — your race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation? Or have you witnessed a hate crime? Tell us about it.”
- “A crime reporter has been shot and killed in the beach resort of Playa del Carmen on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, authorities said on Thursday, the latest in a rising death toll of journalists under the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador,” Reuters reported. “The body of Francisco Romero, a police reporter for newspaper ‘Quintana Roo, Hoy’ and director of the local news website ‘Ocurrio Aqui’ was found outside a bar in Playa del Carmen in the state of Quintana Roo, local prosecutors said. . . .”
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Facebook users: “Like” “Richard Prince’s Journal-isms” on Facebook. Follow Richard Prince on Twitter @princeeditorRichard Prince’s Journal-isms originates from Washington. It began in print before most of us knew what the internet was, and it would like to be referred to as a “column.” Any views expressed in the column are those of the person or organization quoted and not those of any other entity. Send tips, comments and concerns to Richard Prince at journal-isms-owner@yahoogroups.comAbout Richard PrinceView previous columns (after Feb. 13, 2016).
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