Joy Reid interviews Eduardo Lopez, co-director of “Harvest of Empire,” Thursday on MSNBC’s “The Reid Report.” (video)
Director Links “Border Children” Influx to U.S. Policy
The current influx of children from Central America arriving illegally in U.S. border states “is a consequence of our country’s history of intervention in Latin America,” Eduardo Lopez, a co-director of the 2012 documentary, “Harvest of Empire.“
Lopez appeared Thursday with Joy Reid on MSNBC’s “The Reid Report.” “Harvest of Empire” is an adaptation of the book by the same name by Juan Gonzalez, columnist for the New York Daily News, which examined the history of U.S.-Latin American relations through the prism of immigration.
When Reid pointed out that President Ronald Reagan favored citizenship for immigrants who had entered the country illegally, Lopez said “the level of bigotry has increased tremendously since Reagan.”
Most child immigrants are arriving from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, where crime resulting from U.S. actions that destabilized those nations have caused the massive flight, Lopez said.
In a review of the film last year in the Washington Post, Stephanie Merry wrote:
“In Guatemala, for example, the American government orchestrated the 1954 overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz’s regime. The president planned to more evenly distribute the nation’s land, which would in turn hurt American companies that owned large swaths of the country. Whether from fear of communism or financial interests, the United States made the decision to intervene. And the result of that coup was a civil war that lasted more than three decades and included a genocide against the country’s Mayans. According to the film, less than two percent of political asylum requests were granted from Guatemala during that period.
This raises a very important moral question, and one that rarely enters the immigration debate: If America is responsible for destabilizing a country, what is our role when the country’s citizens suffer as a result?
“Unfortunately, the quandary gets only murkier when the film considers so many other countries with similar stories — torture in El Salvador, terrorists in Nicaragua, a cruel despot leading the Dominican Republic, starvation in Mexico — all with at least a few fingerprints of the U.S. government. And that’s before considering Cuba and the American support of Fulgencio Batista, whose horrifying reign led to a swing of the pendulum in the form of Fidel Castro.
“Could there be a correlation to the fact that these nations send the most immigrants to the United States of all the Latin American countries? . . .”
- Charles M. Blow, New York Times: The Crisis of Children at the Border
- Lewis Diuguid, Kansas City Star: Rhetoric against immigrants part of ugly U.S. history
- Emil Guillermo, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund: Instead of real immigration reform, we get a border crisis — made in the U.S.A.
- Earl Ofari Hutchinson, syndicated: GOP Hypocrisy Rides High on Border Crisis
- Steve Inskeep with Eric Olson and Alfredo Corchado, “Morning Edition,” NPR: Rumors Motivate Central American Kids To Set Out For U.S. Border
- Ruben Navarrette Jr., Washington Post Writers Group: The growing border crisis
- Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Anti-refugee protesters need a history lesson
- Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: New border politics: Blame Obama First
- Eugene Robinson, Washington Post: An overriding need for immigration reform now
- Michael Paul Williams, Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch: Turning our backs on immigrants is un-American
Conservatives Fill Void in Dwindling Statehouse Coverage
“It’s no secret that, with the decline in newspapers and other traditional ‘legacy’ media, the number of statehouse reporters — those assigned to cover news in legislatures, governor’s offices and state agencies — has drastically declined,” Chris Kromm reported Thursday for Facing South, a publication of the Institute for Southern Studies.
“A new report from Pew Research breaks down the numbers: Since 2003, the number of full-time reporters covering state politics for daily newspapers has declined 35 percent. Of the 1,592 statehouse reporters, under half (741) are sent to cover state politics full-time. . . .”
Kromm also wrote, “Ideological groups have also stepped up to fill the void in state politics coverage. But Pew found these are dominated by conservative-leaning organizations; ‘about half’ of the ideological websites with statehouse reporters (14 out of 33) are owned by the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity, which run the Watchdog.org sites. . . .”
Fellowship Gives Columnist an Idea on Curbing Gun Violence
Tammerlin Drummond, a columnist for the Oakland Tribune, returned from a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University with an idea for curbing gun violence, the topic of her studies.
“Before I left, I wrote about my frustration and exhaustion after five years of reporting on Oakland’s never-ending street shooting epidemic,” Drummond wrote on June 30. “I was sick of counting bodies. I wanted to be part of the search for solutions. That meant trying to gain a deeper understanding of what was driving the shooting in poor, mostly African-American neighborhoods and trying to find programs and strategies that had been effective in reducing shootings in other cities. . . .”
On Sunday, Drummond wrote about a program she witnessed during her fellowship. “A Boston nonprofit called Citizens for Safety began targeting women as a way to reduce gun homicides in inner city neighborhoods.
“‘Ladies Involved in Putting a Stop To Inner-City Killings,’ or ‘LIPSTICK,’ is a group of women, many of whom have lost loved ones to gun violence. They go out into the communities where street shootings are the worst and give workshops — at nail salons, community centers, battered women’s shelters, and churches. They break down how straw purchasing works. The idea is to educate women about the dangers of buying or hiding guns for men in their lives. They could go to prison and lose their children. They are contributing to the bloodshed. ‘Some of them don’t know that what they are doing is a crime,’ says Kim Odom, a pastor and LIPSTICK organizer. Her 13-year-old son Steven was shot and killed in 2007 a block from their home as he walked back from playing basketball. . . .”
- Laura Amico, the Guardian, Britain: What running Homicide Watch has taught me about crime in America (June 26)
- Don Lemon, BlackAmericaWeb.com: Don Lemon On Why Stop And Frisk Could Make A Comeback, Like It Or Not
- Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun-Times: Gun violence is hindering lifestyles: Mitchell
Va. Newspaper Supports Decision to Remove Confederate Flag
“The president of Washington and Lee University on Tuesday said in a mass email to faculty and students that the battle flags of the Confederacy will be removed from Lee Chapel and that the university will continue to study its historical involvement with slavery,” Luanne Rife reported for the Roanoke (Va.) Times.
The newspaper, which had not previously editorialized on the issue, according to Editorial Page Editor Dwayne Yancey, weighed in on Thursday. Journal-isms has found that at newspapers are faced with taking a position on tributes to the Confederacy, “Live and let live” appears to prevail.
The Times editorialized that a Lee Chapel devoid of the Confederate battle flags might be a good place to have the discussion sought by protesting black law students.
“On Tuesday, university president Kenneth Ruscio responded by saying the flags in the chapel will come down, the undergraduate faculty will vote on whether to cancel classes for King Day, and outside groups will no longer be allowed to “march” on campus (though they will be allowed to use the chapel for lectures.),” the editorial said.
“The matter of the university once owning slaves, he says, is being studied, with an eye toward ‘telling the university’s history accurately.’ Instead of the Confederate battle flags, which are reproductions, the university expects to display original flags of the era, on loan on a rotating basis from the American Civil War Museum in Richmond. Those will be in the chapel museum, not the chapel itself. And, the president made it clear that Lee’s accomplishments at what was then Washington College will continue to be honored, for the role he played in reinvigorating and reshaping the institution during his time as the school’s president.
“Let’s unpack these issues carefully, as one might handle explosives. ‘Telling the university’s history accurately’ seems an easy one. Who can be against accuracy? As for King Day, Ruscio said he was personally against cancelling classes, for fear that the holiday would become just another three-day weekend. That’s a valid concern, but surely there’s a way to recognize the holiday in other ways besides holding classes. There’s one obvious topic the campus might want to discuss on King Day, in particular: How much can or should one generation apologize for the ones who went before it?
“Likewise, the ban on groups ‘marching’ on campus seems not only reasonable, but an innately conservative expression of private property rights. If groups want to march on Lee-Jackson Day, or any other day, they can exercise their constitutional rights in the public streets of Lexington.
“Finally, that brings us to the matter of the flags. The Confederate flag, one of the most divisive symbols in the country. Just what that flag symbolizes has changed for some people, but not others. Does it represent the heritage of a South that simply likes to rock out to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr., or does it represent part of the country that once enthusiastically practiced slavery? Does it represent the heritage of a South that simply likes sweet tea and pork barbecue, or does it represent a part of the country that once used lynch mobs to keep fellow citizens ‘in their place’? If a symbol isn’t universally understood, how much of a symbol can it really be?
“A Lee Chapel devoid of Confederate battle flags might be a good place to have that discussion.”
NABJ Members to Vote on New Constitution
Members of the National Association of Black Journalists begin voting online Monday on proposed changes to the association’s constitution that adjust membership categories, allow the president to serve more than one term and create the new position of vice president-digital.
“The proposals are not perfect,” Herbert Lowe, who co-chaired a constitutional commission, wrote on the NABJDigitalBlog on Thursday. “They surely will not please everyone. But the commission kept at the forefront of its deliberations that for every member who votes no, two other members must vote yes for the changes to take effect. Hence my mandate as a co-chair: Only put forward that which would be supported by seven out of 10 members. The webinars and surveys helped with this immensely. . . .”
Star-Ledger to Move Out of Newark
“NJTV — wimping out’” Bob Braun, a journalist at the Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J., for 44 years, wrote on his website on Thursday.
“For the first time in nearly two centuries, Newark — the largest city in the eighth largest state in America — will not be home to a daily newspaper. After Sept. 8, The Star-Ledger will move its operations to Woodbridge and Edison, leaving the city newspaperless for the first time since the Daily Advertiser opened in the city in 1832. That’s a big story but government-controlled media in New Jersey won’t allow a discussion of it. NJTV News — your public broadcast station — chickened out.
“The implications for the city and the state are worth some comment, but, by and large, the escape of The Star-Ledger to the suburbs has gone unnoticed. That’s why it seemed such a good idea for NJTV News, or whatever the allegedly public television station is called now, scheduled a show next week on the implications of the move. . . .”
Braun worked at the newspaper from 1964 to 2008, specializing in education.
Short Takes
- “Dozens of bicyclists protested outside The Washington Post Thursday over a Courtland Milloy column that they say incited violence against them,” Tom Sherwood and Terence Mulcahy reported Friday for WRC-TV in Washington. “The protesters said Milloy mischaracterized them as bullies and terrorists. Many of them wanted an apology from Milloy, who was not at work during the protest, and some called for him to be fired. . . .” The Post ran a column on the controversy by Petula Dvorak and a Style section story by Sarah Kaplan. NPR’s Scott Simon weighed in on Monday.
- The Native American Journalists Association began its annual convention Thursday in Santa Clara, Calif., with 306 in attendance, Rebecca Landsberry, communications and membership manager, said. The student newspaper, Native Voice, is covering the event at http://nativevoice.naja.com/
- In Detroit, “Former WJBK-TV anchor Woody Willis a popular fixture of Detroit TV, has died,” Deadline Detroit reported on Thursday. “He was 73. Woody was a reporter and anchor here at Fox 2 during the 70s and 80s, Fox 2 reported. The station reported that he died after a brief illness. . . .”
- “To advance its position as a national and international leader in media research and practice,” the University of Oregon “has named Emmy-award winning journalist and former New York Times multimedia editor Andrew DeVigal the inaugural Chair of Journalism Innovation and Civic Engagement and the first professor of practice in the School of Journalism and Communication,” the university announced on Thursday. It also said, “Funding for the new chair position and the Center for Journalism Innovation and Civic Engagement was made possible through a $5 million gift from an anonymous donor, with $2 million given to endow the faculty chair and $3 million donated toward the $25 million dollar endowment goal for the center. DeVigal’s role as chair and professor of practice will begin in September. . . .”
- “Mark Trahant will return to the University of Alaska Anchorage as the Atwood Chair of Journalism, a prestigious position that invites nationally known journalists to teach courses and reach out to the Alaska public,” the university announced Thursday. “Trahant spent 2013–14 in residence at the university, where he taught several courses, including Multimedia Journalism. During the year, he worked on a book about austerity, a subject he also blogs about at marktrahant.org . . .” Trahant is also board chair of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.
- “NBC’s Tamron Hall is being featured in promos for the new reality show ‘Running Wild with Bear Grylls’ debuting later this month. Hall is the only woman on the six episode series which also features Zac Efron, Deion Sanders, Channing Tatum, Ben Stiller and Tom Arnold,” TvNewser reported on Wednesday.
- “The International Reporting Project is accepting applications for its new media reporting trip to Ghana on October 4-15. Apply by midnight Monday, July 28! ” the American Society of News Editors said on Thursday. “Journalists will focus on immunizations and child health in Ghana, particularly in light of the upcoming decisions to be made by the global community on replenishing the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) as it begins a new cycle from 2016 to 2020. This group trip is open only to applications from new media journalists, including media professionals, bloggers, influential social media practitioners and freelance contributors who are citizens of the following nations: France, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. . . .”
- “Israeli intelligence officials used gag orders in recent weeks to stifle reporting on the initial investigations into both the abduction and the killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, and the apparent revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager in East Jerusalem,” Robert Mackey reported Wednesday for the New York Times.
- “On the third anniversary of South Sudan’s independence, Reporters Without Borders has assessed the current state of freedom of information and its dashed aspirations in the world’s youngest state, which has been riven by civil war since mid-December 2013,” Reporters Without Borders said on Friday. “The anniversary, on 9 July, was a sad one. Despite all the obstacles, South Sudan had initially seemed to embody a new hope of stability and democracy in the region. But it soon relapsed into the divisive conflicts that had undermined this land and its peoples before independence. . . .”
- “The Chinese government, which already maintains tight restrictions on the country’s media, has issued new warnings to local journalists not to cooperate with foreign news agencies,” Kiki Zhao reported Thursday for the New York Times.
- Reporters Without Borders has appealed to Honduran authorities over “repeated acts of intimidation to which our Honduras correspondent, Dina Meza, has been subjected.” A letter said, “Forced to leave Honduras temporarily in 2013, Ms. Meza has often asked the authorities to provide her and her family with protective measures in order to guarantee their security, as they have been directly threatened. Ms. Meza has told us that she has encountered considerable difficulties in getting in contact with the police.. . . ”
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