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Arnold Garcia Lived His Diversity Principles

by richard05449

Arnold Garcia Lived His Diversity Principles:
Austin Editorial Page Editor Dies at 73
Miami Herald’s Salguero Heads for Fox Property
NPR Instantly Tracks Demographics of News Sources
Andre Braugher to Portray Dean Baquet
Teaser Released for Movie of Dana Canedy’s Book
Gloria Murry Ford Dies, Former CNN Correspondent
Roberts to Lead ESPN’s NBA Production
More Than 90 Media Outlets Close in Afghanistan
Nicaragua’s Last Print Paper Suspends Publication

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Updated Aug. 14

Arnold Garcia speaks with the Voces Oral History Project, dedicated to recording and weaving the stories of US Latinas and Latinos into national, state and local narratives. (Credit: YouTube)

Austin Editorial Page Editor Dies at 73

When Arnold Garcia Jr. retired from the Austin American-Statesman in 2013, he was believed to be one of only five Latino editorial page editors at mainstream newspapers in the country. (The others were Myriam Marquez, Miami Herald; John Diaz of the San Francisco Chronicle; Mariel Garza at the Los Angeles Daily News; and Brian Calle of the Orange County Register in California.)

And Garcia had stories.

“Back in the ’70s, I had just arrived at the newspaper when a gang of Texas prisoners took hostages in an escape attempt,” Garcia would tell Journal-isms. “The newspaper scrambled a team of reporters and I asked to be included. ‘Oh, no,’ they said, implying that his was a job for heavy hitters.

“Well, after the long ball hitters got to the prison unit, the leader of the gang said he would only talk to Spanish-speaking reporters. They didn’t have one of those. Back in Austin, I laughed about that missed opportunity for years. As you can tell, I still am.”

Garcia died Thursday at 73, Kelsey Bradshaw reported Thursday for the American-Statesman, succumbing to pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis he received in May.

Bradshaw described Garcia as “an old-school newspaper man and a trailblazer for Hispanic journalists.”

He was always conscious of his responsibilities — and his status — as a Latino journalist.

On his retirement, Journal-isms asked him about his plans. Garcia (pictured in his Army days) replied by email, “I haven’t really explored much in the way of possibilities because I didn’t want to risk word getting around that I was using my present position to leverage something else.

“As you well know, minorities have to be acutely sensitive to anything that resembles a conflict of interest, so I just avoided discussing anything with anyone. Now that the word is out, I’m being just as careful because I’m staying through the transition. I’ve enjoyed doing this, am grateful for the opportunity to tell a few stories that otherwise would not have been told.”

The year before, Garcia was asked by the National Conference of Editorial Writers (now part of the News Leaders Association) for his observations on diversity on op-ed pages.

“Why is diversity important on the op-ed pages?” Garcia messaged. “The same reason that is important on every other page of the newspaper. If a publication purports to be a mirror of the community it is covering, then its content should reflect accurately that community. It’s called thorough, comprehensive journalism. I can tell you that it would be very easy to fill those pages with the pretty narrow world views that people are eager to offer. It’s a little more work but a lot more reward to go looking for views that aren’t always reflected on op-ed pages.”

In 2014, Garcia advised this columnist, “We ought to be working on some kind of essay on how the mainstream media — don’t you love it? — is committing suicide by gabacho. All the lip service about diversity and still do a lousy job of recruiting and retaining minority journalists. Buyers market mentality. The shortage is especially acute at the assigning editor level.”

Bradshaw wrote in her obituary, “At one point in his career while covering the police, the cops nicknamed him ‘Wet,’ said Alberta Phillips (pictured), who worked at the Statesman from 1986 to 2018 and was an editorial writer with Garcia.

“Phillips said García told her that story when he was telling her she needed to harden herself against the racism she was experiencing inside and outside of the newsroom. She was called the n-word by readers and some sources would doubt she was the same person they spoke with [on] the phone after meeting her in person and realizing she was Black.

” ‘Arnold used to say, “Just come in my office and talk about it and, if you need to cry, you can cry here,” which I took advantage of,’ Phillips said.

” ‘He opened a lot of doors introducing me to people I needed to know and people I needed to be speaking with and he did that with many journalists of color because those doors weren’t open to us. That was something he tried very hard to do and did do for many of us,’ she said. . . .”

Bradshaw continued, “He made sure the Statesman’s coverage of the city reflected the diversity of the community. He was integral to the creation of the Statesman’s now defunct Spanish-language paper, Ahora Sí.

“Beyond the paper’s editorial pages, García mentored reporters and editors in the newsroom and was always an honest critic when it came to mistakes in coverage. He was critical in hopes of pushing the paper to be better.”

Bradshaw quoted Rich Oppel (pictured), editor of the American-Statesman between 1995 and 2008, and Mack Martinez, a former attorney in the domestic violence office of the county attorney’s office for Travis County.

“In my early years as editor, I used him as a sounding board and found him the most authentic voice for the culture of Austin,” Oppel said. “He’d listen carefully to an idea I had and he’d say, ‘You might want to think that through,’ and that meant, don’t do it.”

“Oppel said García was gentle in his advice and became a go-to person for people of color in the newsroom and in the community.

” ‘Arnold fought as hard for African Americans as he did for Hispanics as he did for working-class people. He understood that kind of discrimination and lack of access to services cut across racial lines. He didn’t wear blinders that focused on just Hispanic issues. His reporting was never just about that,’ Martinez said.”

Bradshaw also wrote, “One of García’s biggest accomplishments was his campaign for the community to recognize Heman Sweatt, a Black civil rights activist who challenged Jim Crow-era laws, including the “separate but equal” doctrine, in the Sweatt v. Painter lawsuit.

Inscription on the Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse.

“Before he was a U.S. Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall tried the lawsuit in what is now called the Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse in downtown Austin.

“(García) was pretty incredulous and somewhat outraged that there was no sign or marker — no nothing — that that history happened right here in Austin, Travis County,” Phillips said. . . .”

Another story: As an Army veteran, Garcia was interviewed in 2011 by the University of Texas at Austin — Voces Oral History Center.

His interviewer, Jonathan Woo, wrote, “The West Texas native sat by himself in the barracks on base in Illesheim, West Germany, when a fellow soldier named Horton — who never hid his disdain toward Garcia — asked him to read a letter he received from his girlfriend. Horton, an illiterate, was eager to know the contents of the letter and the barracks were empty on pay day.

“Though Garcia admitted wanting to make up a story, knowing that Horton would have had little choice but to believe him, he read the letter without deceit.

” ‘I realized that I could’ve told him anything, and evil thoughts crossed my mind,’ Garcia said. ‘Since then, I have thought that never again in my life will I ever be as powerful as I was at that moment. I was the center of his universe.’

Garcia gave Woo this advice for younger Latinos: “Don’t swallow insults, take advantage of opportunities, get an education, and vote.

“The more education you get, the fewer insults you have to swallow,” he said, and added: “Don’t be Horton.”

Miami Herald’s Salguero Heads for Fox Property

Armando Salguero (pictured), the right-wing sportswriter who announced this week he was leaving the Miami Herald after longstanding complaints from Black journalists, is joining Outkick, a right-wing sports sports/news website purchased in May by Fox Corp.

“According to Outkick, Salguero’s first day will be August 23 and feature written content as well as podcast appearances,” Michael Quirk reported Friday for Barrett Sports Media. “Salguero has been a staple in South Florida, including writing 100 Things Dolphin Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.”

Outkick was founded by Clay Travis, a conservative radio host and Fox News contributor who made news this week when he rallied parents against the requirement of masks at a raucous, four-hour school board meeting in Williamson County, Tenn. Travis has also denounced “critical race theory” on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show.

“Travis does not have a medical background, but the radio host has spent the last 16 months minimizing Covid-19, preaching that the need to be cautionary is overblown,” Brandon Contes reported Wednesday for Mediaite. “Ultimately, board members went against Travis, voting to require masks for students, staff, and visitors inside buildings and buses at the elementary school level.”

Without naming his new employer, Salguero tweeted this week that “exciting things are on the horizon” and later messaged Journal-isms, “My decision is based on a great opportunity I’ve been offered to expand my career to covering the entire NFL as a Senior NFL Writer rather than one team.”

NPR Instantly Tracks Demographics of News Sources

“Journalists across NPR are now tracking the demographics of their sources in real time thanks to a new piece of software that launched last month,” Angela Fu reported Thursday for the Poynter Institute.

“Dubbed Dex (after ‘Rolodex’), the tool is attached to NPR’s content management system. For each story, reporters, producers, correspondents and editors submit information about their sources’ race and ethnicity, gender identity, geographic location and age range. They can also indicate if a source declined to provide that information. Dex tracks all of this information so that journalists can later pull up reports to monitor their source diversity.

“The hope is that NPR, National Public Radio, will produce stories and shows that more accurately reflect its audience — the public. In other words, NPR wants to ‘look and sound like America.’

“Dex also acts as a source database for NPR journalists, allowing them to find experts for stories they cover. . . .”

A two-time Emmy winner, Andre Braugher is the star of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ opposite Andy Samberg. He broke out as Detective Frank Pembleton on the NBC series ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ from 1992 to 1998.

Andre Braugher to Portray Dean Baquet

“Andre Braugher has joined the cast of ‘She Said,’ the film retelling of the investigation into sexual assault and harassment perpetrated by Harvey Weinstein,” Matt Donnelly reported Wednesday for Variety.

“Braugher will play New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet (pictured), who oversaw groundbreaking reporting from journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. Their 2017 probe led to Hollywood mogul Weinstein’s disgrace and criminal prosecution, and sparked the #MeToo movement. The film is based on Kantor and Twohey’s subsequent bestseller ‘She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement.’

“In 2014, Baquet became the first Black executive editor of the New York Times. The reporters have spoken frequently about the dramatic moment that Baquet hit publish, posting the piece to the Times’ website, following weeks of pressure and obfuscation from Weinstein.”

How does Baquet feel about being portayed by Braugher? “Flattered, of course,” Baquet messaged Journal-isms.

Teaser Released for Movie of Dana Canedy’s Book


Sony Pictures has released the first teaser trailer for “A Journal for Jordan,” director Denzel Washington’s romantic drama starring Michael B. Jordan and newcomer Chanté Adams, adapted from the book by Dana Canedy (pictured below), formerly a senior New York Times editor, now executive vice president and publisher of Simon & Schuster.

Based on a true story, the film follows “Sgt. Charles Monroe King (Jordan), a soldier deployed to Iraq who begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. But the horrors of war take their toll,” Erik Pederson reported Wednesday for Deadline.

“Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy (Adams) revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and his enduring devotion to her and their child. . . .”

Gloria Murry Ford Dies, Former CNN Correspondent

Gloria Murry Ford (pictured, by George Dalton Tolbert IV), a former CNN correspondent and veteran media specialist, died Thursday in Wichita, Kan., after months of hernia surgeries at a hospital there. She was 68.

Her husband, longtime television journalist Sam Ford of WJLA-TV in Washington, announced on Facebook, “We met on an airplane, reporters on the way to a story, in 1980, and we were together for the next 41 years until 4:35 pm this afternoon when a doctor at Wesley Hospital in Wichita pronounced her deceased,” Ford wrote. ” We would have had our 40th wedding anniversary in November.”

Ford prepared a remembrance that reads, in part, “Gloria Murry Ford has been a member of the communications industry her entire adult life, from a roving news reporter with radio stations in her native Wichita (KFH and KFDI) to KARD-TV in Wichita to WJR-TV in Providence, Rhode Island.


“From Providence she moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1980 to work for CNN as their correspondent covering the South.  She was one of the most prolific reporters covering the Missing and Murdered Children story, breaking news, for example that microscopic evidence determined that the killer was Black. 


“Also, while at CNN, she met a CBS News reporter named Sam Ford as they were on an airplane traveling to a story in Tampa, Florida.  And since that day in 1980, they were together the 41 years  until 4:35 pm August 12, 2021 when she was declared deceased by a doctor at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, after complications from surgery. Gloria and Sam dated in Atlanta, were married in Wichita in 1981 and shortly after a honeymoon to Zimbabwe,  Africa, moved to Washington DC.  Sam continued to work for CBS as he and Gloria added two children to the Ford and Murry clans, Murry Ford in 1983 and Gina Ford in 1985.


“Gloria later returned to news reporting for the newly created Black Entertainment Television news division, covering a range of stories from the Democratic and Republican Conventions to hurricanes in the Caribbean.  . . .”

Aug. 16 update: Cards may be sent to Murry-Ford family, 1451 N. Yale Blvd., Wichita, KS 67208. The funeral is to be Saturday, Aug. 21, at 1 p.m. CDT at St. James Baptist Church in Wichita. The family is planning to stream the service.

Roberts to Lead ESPN’s NBA Production

“David Roberts (pictured) will lead ESPN’s NBA production, including event and studio, adding to his expansive collection of content responsibilities,” the network announced Monday.

“As part of his NBA role, Roberts will oversee production for all regular-season and NBA Playoffs games, punctuated by the NBA Finals; the NBA Draft, NBA Countdown and The Jump. He will continue to lead production for First Take, the 6 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter, Get Up, PTI, Around The Horn, ESPN Audio content and ESPN digital shows, among other properties. . . .”

More Than 90 Media Outlets Close in Afghanistan

“As the Taliban advance across Afghanistan, over 90 media outlets have closed down and concern for the safety of the country’s journalists has increased,” Roshan Noorzai reported Thursday for the Voice of America.

“Afghan officials said Wednesday that most of the outlets were in provinces that the Taliban have reached.

“In southern Helmand alone, 12 radio and four TV stations closed because of intense fighting in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, officials and journalists said.

” ‘People cannot go out of their houses,’ said Sifatullah Zahidi, founder of Sukoon Radio in Helmand. ‘As a safety measure, we ceased broadcasting two days before the fighting expanded to the area of the city where our station is located.’ “

Noorzai also wrote, “The risks for journalists were further brought home Monday, when Toofan Omari (pictured), a radio manager who also worked as a prosecutor, was killed in Kabul. Omari is the fourth journalist to be killed in Afghanistan in the past three months.

“No group has yet claimed responsibility, but Afghan officials blamed the Taliban. . . .”

Operators of La Prensa contemplate the historic Nicaraguan newspaper pressured by the government of Daniel Ortega. (Credit: Donaldo Hernández/Voice of America)

Nicaragua’s Last Print Paper Suspends Publication

“Nicaragua’s storied La Prensa newspaper said Thursday it will suspend its print edition after the government once again withheld newsprint paper at customs,” the Associated Press reported.

“La Prensa has long been critical of President Daniel Ortega, who also recently arrested dozens of opposition figures. La Prensa said it will continue an online edition.

“ ‘Once again the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship has withheld our paper. Until they release the raw material, we cannot continue with the print edition,’ the newspaper said in an editorial, referring to Ortega’s wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo. The move also affects the sister paper Hoy.

“The move marks the third time the government has withheld the newspaper’s paper or ink. The paper had ceased printing for about 500 days in 2018 and 2019 amid widespread protests against the regime. . . .”

Miami Herald ‘Anti-Black’ Columnist Out

Aug. 12, 2021

Salguero Leaving for ‘New Opportunity’
Number of Whites Falls for First Time Since 1790
Ex-NFL Player Displaces Anthony Mason at CBS
Jews of Color Describe Bigotry Within the Faith

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In 2019, a Miami Dolphins fan asked Miami Herald columnist Armando Salguero if he would be all right with Colin Kaepernick, right, temporarily quarterbacking while the team tried to find a different permanent option via the draft. Salguero said he would “rather have Satan” at quarterback, the Miami New Times reported. “In case you are not aware, I have no love for Kap,” he continued. “Don’t agree with him. Don’t respect him. If that bothers you, so be it. I will not be silenced.” (Credit: Fox and Friends)

Salguero Leaving for ‘New Opportunity’

Armando Salguero, a Cuban-American sports columnist whose right-of-center opinions have been perceived as anti-Black, said Thursday he is leaving the Miami Herald after three decades.

“Personal news: After a combined 30 years at the Miami Herald,” Salguero tweeted. “I’ll be leaving next week for a new opportunity. I’m blessed to have served Herald readers for three decades, but exciting things are on the horizon. Stay tuned.”

Salguero later messaged Journal-isms, “My decision is based on a great opportunity I’ve been offered to expand my career to covering the entire NFL as a Senior NFL Writer rather than one team.”

Asked for comment, Monica Richardson (pictured), the Herald’s first Black executive editor, messaged Journal-isms, “Armando has chosen to leave for another opportunity and the Miami Herald wishes him well in his next chapter.”

Shortly after Richardson assumed the top job on Jan. 1, Jawan Strader, president of the South Florida chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, messaged:

“As NABJ South Florida President, we support Monica Richardson in her efforts to address systemic racism within the Miami Herald. Back in September of last year, before Monica was hired as the first black editor to lead the Miami Herald, NABJ South Florida and NABJ demanded a meeting with the publisher of the Miami Herald.

“There were a number of racially insensitive remarks/tweets by the sportswriter Armando Salguero. The Miami Herald listened to our concerns to address systemic racism and diversity and inclusion.

“The recent hire of Monica Richardson is a fresh start to addressing issues involving racism or ignorance on race that may have otherwise been overlooked at the Miami Herald. I believe if she examines the past of the Herald she and her staff will better understand areas within the company that need improvement. I can’t tell you by examining the past if racism would be found, but I can tell you that systemically, it’s been a part of the Miami Herald’s DNA which is why it’s important to have Monica in her role as the executive editor. She’s hit the ground running and has our full support.”

NABJ demanded a meeting with the Herald publisher on Sept. 1, citing “An observed continued pattern of racially insensitive remarks/tweets by sportswriter Armando Salguero,” which NABJ called “disturbing and unacceptable.

“The latest involves a tweet where Salguero wrote: ‘Ryan Tannehill says the United States of America “was founded upon racist ideas…” I am so sick of the America bashing by people who have never lived and would never live anywhere else.’

“After Herald employees and many other journalists of color and Twitter users raised concern about the tweet, Mindy Marques, publisher and executive editor of the Miami Herald, wrote in a tweet: ‘The right to free expression and a free press are foundational to our democracy. @ArmandoSalguero is a @MiamiHerald sports columnist and unlike reporters, columnists have broad latitude to express their opinions. Those opinions do not reflect the views of the Miami Herald.’

“In response, NABJ President Dorothy Tucker commented: ‘I am concerned a columnist who feels it’s ok to insult the Black community may work in a newsroom where Black people are not valued and Black journalists are not respected. Unacceptable.’ . . .”

Whites are expected to account for more than half the growth in only five states, plus the District of Columbia. (Vector illustration)

Number of Whites Falls for First Time Since 1790


“For the first time in the history of the country’s census-taking, the number of White people in the United States is widely expected to show a decline when the first racial breakdowns from the 2020 Census are reported this week,” Tara Bahrampour and Ted Mellnik reported Tuesday for The Washington Post.

[Thursday update: The number of White people in the U.S. fell for first time since 1790, according to new data from the 2020 Census.]

“For five years now, the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual updates of the 2010 Census have estimated that the nation’s White population is shrinking, and all population growth has been from people of color.”

Diversity advocates often cite the nation’s changing demographics as reasons for the news media to seek out people of color as journalists and consumers.

The changes have also fueled the embrace of so-called “replacement theory” by right-wing media figures such as Newt Gingrich and Tucker Carlson. Speaking about Mexican immigrants coming to the United States during the pandemic, Gingrich said the “radical left” wants to “get rid of the rest of us” and would “love to drown traditional, classic Americans with as many people as they can who know nothing of American history, nothing of American tradition, nothing of the rule of law,” Wajahat Ali wrote Monday, updated Tuesday in the Daily Beast.

Bahrampour and Mellnik also wrote, “The new census data, planned for release on Aug. 12, will show definitively how the ethnic, racial and voting-age makeup of neighborhoods shifted over the past decade, based on the national house-to-house canvass last year. It is the data most state legislatures and local governments use to redraw political districts for the next 10 years.

“If the White decline is confirmed by the new data, that benchmark will have come about eight years earlier than previously projected, said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.

“ ‘Twenty years ago if you told people this was going to be the case, they wouldn’t have believed you,’ he said, adding that the opioid epidemic and lower-than-anticipated birthrates among millennials after the Great Recession accelerated the White population’s decline. ‘The country is changing dramatically.’

“The United States is also expected to have passed two other milestones on its way to becoming a majority-minority society in a few decades: For the first time, the portion of White people could dip below 60 percent and the under-18 population is likely to be majority non-White. . . .”

​
Ex-NFL Player Displaces Anthony Mason at CBS

“CBS This Morning” is shaking up its co-host lineup with the hiring of NFL analyst Nate Burleson,” the Los Angeles Times’ Stephen Battaglio wrote Wednesday, reporting on the latest example of athletes hired for jobs that formerly required news backgrounds.

“CBS News announced Wednesday that Burleson is joining the morning show’s table alongside current co-hosts Gayle King and Tony Dokoupil starting next month when the program moves to its new studio in New York’s Times Square.

“Burleson (pictured), a former NFL wide receiver, will replace CBS News veteran Anthony Mason, who becomes a culture correspondent reporting across the network’s programs and digital platforms. Mason, who joined the network in 1986, is known for his coverage of music and art, and will continue to appear on “CBS This Morning” in his new role.”

Howard Bryant (pictured), then of ESPN, told the Journal-isms Roundtable in April 2020, “When I look on TV, especially when it comes to Black journalism, I feel incredibly pessimistic and angry in a lot of different ways because you see . . . that there’s movement and opportunity for a lot of different demographics but not Black men. . . . you see Black males being on the air but they’re having ex-players; they’re not journalists. So what ends up happening is, you look at the slotting when you watch television, you see white woman host, Black male ex-player, Black male ex-player or white ex-coach, and then white reporter. . . .” That, in turn, affects the coverage.

Battaglio added, “Burleson will be the second retired NFL player to become a network morning show co-host. Former New York Giants star Michael Strahan has been a part of ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ since 2014. Strahan left the syndicated ‘Live with Kelly and Michael’ to join ‘GMA’ full time in 2016. . . .”

Battaglio also wrote, “While CBS has tended to stick to morning co-hosts with news backgrounds, Burleson will not be the first non-journalist in the role. Actress Mariette Hartley briefly served as a morning co-host for the network in 1987. Susan Molinari, a former member of Congress with no TV experience, got the job in 1997 and lasted nine months.

CBS declined to comment on Bryant’s observation, but Neeraj Khemlani, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations said in a news release, “Nate is an extremely gifted broadcaster, interviewer and storyteller, whose deep curiosity and enthusiasm are the perfect fit for mornings on CBS.

“His wide range of experience and interests – from news to sports, from music to poetry, and from fashion to cryptocurrency – provides a unique perspective that will deepen the show’s connection with our viewers. He excites audiences in every arena, and we’re fortunate to have Nate joining Gayle and Tony at the table in September.”

Danielle Natelson, left, Rebekkah Scharf (in a Jews in ALL Hues T-shirt) and Lindsey Newman lead a program for teen Jews of color at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco in 2018. (Credit: Rob Gloster/The Jewish News
of Northern California)

Jews of Color Describe Bigotry Within the Faith

“American Jews of color say their racial and ethnic identities shape their Jewishness in important, positive ways, but that they also face bigotry in settings where white Jews predominate, according to a study released Thursday, the largest-ever of this group,” Arno Rosenfeld wrote for the Forward.

“Respondents to the study describe other Jews presuming they are converts, asking intrusive questions about their backgrounds, and mistaking them for nannies and synagogue security guards. Called ‘Beyond the Count,’ the study captures the experiences of more than a thousand . . . Jews of color active in Jewish life and provides a trove of data that its sponsors hope will help Jewish leaders create more welcoming synagogues, schools and other Jewish spaces. . . .”

In a commentary, Robin Washington, a founder of the Alliance of Black Jews and the Forward’s editor-at-large, wrote for the Forward, “If that’s a dire picture, it’s not exactly news. Jews of color have been pointing out those failings for years, in numerous accounts in the Jewish media and beyond. There are countless examples of worshippers being asked if they’re Jewish, or assumed to be the help, or, in a favorite experience of my own at a suburban Twin Cities synagogue, being mistaken for Rod Carew (my batting average never quite matched his, I’m afraid).

“But it isn’t all j’accuse or woe is me. More than half ‘agreed they have felt a sense of belonging among white Jews,’ the report reads, ‘and 41% agree they have been able to find opportunities to express all sides of themselves in predominantly white Jewish spaces.” Three quarters of the respondents described working for justice and equality — Tikkun Olam — as the most important expression of Jewish identity.”

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Richard 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@groups.io

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