Articles Feature

An Embarrassed ‘Recovering Racist’

by richard01999

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

Short Takes

Support Journal-isms

Jeff Purvis cries during a ceremony for Price Joyce, a slave once owned by his great-great-great-grandfather, Alexander Joyce II, (Credit: Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar)
Jeff Purvis cries during a ceremony for Price Joyce, a slave once owned by his great-great-great-grandfather, Alexander Joyce II, (Photos by Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar)

Columnist 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.

Price Joyce's grave sits in a small, multi-family cemetery plot.
Price Joyce’s grave sits in a small, multi-family cemetery plot.

“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)

    ‘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. . . .”


Tom Jones and Paul Krueger of KNSD-TV, an NBC station in San Diego, which broke the original story of the surveillance of journalists at the border, report on the Intercept’s revelation. (video)

Border Official Admits Targeting Journalists

“When first confronted with evidence that it was collaborating with Mexican law enforcement in a sweeping intelligence-gathering operation targeting journalists, activists and attorneys along the U.S.-Mexico divide, Customs and Border Protection was silent,” Ryan Devereaux reported Friday for the Intercept.

“When still more evidence emerged, in the form of documents leaked by a Department of Homeland Security whistleblower, the agency dismissed the significance of the revelations as routine law enforcement work.

“Now, more than four months after the story broke, CBP is owning up to its operations — in a way — and raising new questions about its treatment of the press and immigrant rights advocates on the border.

“A summary of CBP’s review of its own operations, detailed in a letter from the head of the Office of Field Operations and obtained by The Intercept, now confirms several components of the motivations behind the controversial border crackdown, including Mexican law enforcement’s suspicion that journalists were facilitating illegal migrant crossings and violence against the authorities; collaboration between the U.S. and Mexico in response to those concerns; and CBP’s targeting of last year’s migrant caravans as a potential hotbed of human smuggling. . . .”

 

Halle Berry: ‘I Can’t Skip’ the Black Reporters

“For any Black folks who work in media, you know the struggle of getting access to celebrities — even other Black celebrities,” NewsOne reported Thursday. “In press rooms or red carpets there are usually only one or two Black reporters and they are pushed all the way in back. Thankfully, Oscar winner Halle Berry refused to ignore Black reporters and she is getting some rightful love for it.

“On the red carpet for ‘John Wick 3’ there were only two Black reporters, according to Emerald Marie from @Whereisthebuzz. She was trying to get the attention of Halle Berry for only a few seconds and was told by a publicist that she was just too busy. However, when the ageless 52-year-old saw the only two Black reporters, Marie says she said, ‘I can’t skip my brother and sister.’ Halle walked right past the publicist and [walked] over to do the interviews. . . .”

Commentator Jemele Hill tweeted, “Bravo to @halleberry for stopping to speak to 1 of 2 black reporters covering this event. Memo to black celebs: Question any publicist or rep that doesn’t include black journalists/media in the coverage plan.”

Hill added, “Can’t complain that our stories aren’t told or accurately covered if you’re forever giving interviews to mainstream outlets who don’t know about your career, or why you resonate with your community.” She followed with, “Besides, most of these outlets have little to no representation and if you’re constantly rewarding them with interviews — especially once you really blow up — then they have no incentive to hire black journalists. That’s it. Those are the tweets.”

Sarah Glover, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, also tweeted her appreciation.


(Credit: YouTube)

Video Vignettes from Asian American Journalists

As part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the group Asian Pacific American Legacy released a series of one-minute video vignettes of journalists and musicians talking about what motivates them to tell Asian American stories.

The vignettes, posted Friday on AsAmNews, feature Aman Kidwai, South Asian multimedia journalist; Andrew Kung and Emanuel Hahn, Chinese and Korean American photojournalists; Corky Lee, Chinese American photojournalist; Cat Sandoval, Filipina American journalist, and Stephanie Chou, Chinese American composer, saxophonist and singer.

“I know some Asian Americans who hate who they are,” said Sandoval. “I actually saw it growing up with my younger brother. He went up to my parents and said, ‘Why am I Asian?’ Why did you make me who I am? It crushed me. So I just wanted to make sure younger kids didn’t feel that way any more.”

 

Press Has Issues With Newest White House Hopeful

“Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City, wants to be president,” Alexandria Neason wrote Friday for Columbia Journalism Review. “Rumors of his candidacy circled the local press corps for months before coming to a head last week, when it was widely reported (and mocked).

“Yesterday morning, in a video posted to YouTube followed by a short appearance on Good Morning America, de Blasio announced his White House bid against the backdrop of the city he’d soon abandon for the sake of his campaign. Protesters outside the window of the GMA studio, in Times Square, heckled him, chanting ‘Liar! Liar! Liar!’

“De Blasio has, at best, a complicated relationship with the press. Over the past six years, he has fought openly with journalists, rejecting coverage he didn’t like, bashing the tabloids as ‘corporate media,’ reducing his number of press conferences, and sometimes refusing to take questions from certain outlets entirely. Reporters had much to say about his decision to run for president—and they did so without the usual modesty with which other candidates are treated. De Blasio’s candidacy received a New York welcome. . . .’

Errol Louis, City Hall watcher for NY1, messaged Journal-isms, “There has definitely been a press piling-on, but I think it’s mostly based on de Blasio ending the longstanding practice (dating back to the 1970s) of the mayor giving reporters a daily Q & A. De Blasio does a sitdown with Brian Lehrer on WNYC radio every Friday morning and a 20-minute segment with me every Monday evening.

“Beyond those appearances, it’s slim pickings for the City Hall press corps.

“By the way: polls frequently show that the mayor is less popular than his policies. To me, that means we should focus on the latter.”

In Topeka, Kan., artist Michael Toombs discusses the “Brown v. Board Mural Project: Legacy & Vision.” (Credit: YouTube)

Disappointment Greets Brown v. Board Anniversary

“Promise Unfulfilled” headlines a special section of GateHouse Kansas, part of a national media company that includes the Capital-Journal in Topeka, Kan. Topeka houses the school system challenged in the historic 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision outlawing school segregation.

The section marked the decision’s 65th anniversary, and its tone was matched around the country in other commemorations.

“The Brown v. Board of Education decision has been felt by every child and family in the U.S. since 1954,” the GateHouse essay continued.

“But its promise remains unfulfilled as systemic challenges persist and new dynamics emerge.

“An EdBuild report published earlier this year found nonwhite districts across the country get $23 billion less than white districts despite serving the same number of students. In Kansas, predominately nonwhite districts have 12 percent less funding on average than predominately white districts. Forty-six percent of the state’s students attend racially isolated school districts.

“While the education system has made a lot of progress over the years, a commitment to ensuring equality for all students has to remain at the forefront of the work of every educator and policymaker,” said Dale Dennis, deputy commissioner with the Kansas State Department of Education.

“GateHouse Kansas takes a look at districts across the state to find out how schools continue to confront the elusive goal of equity in an era of funding uncertainties and growing diversity. . . . ”

Plenty of Blame in Saga of Anchor’s Firing

“Last week, Loyola professor and WEAA radio host Dr. Kaye [Whitehead] was live on WJZ, talking about what’s next for Baltimore after Catherine Pugh’s resignation [as mayor], when anchor Mary Bubala asked the question,” Lisa Snowden-McCray wrote last weekend for Baltimore Beat.

Mary Bubala
Mary Bubala

“ ‘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

R.C.O. Benjamin
R.C.O. Benjamin
Scholarship fund establlshed
Lorraine Branham
  • 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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