- Lies About Race: Dorothy Roberts and Fatal Invention
- There’s a reason we’ll never come to a consensus on the most accurate racial classifications for Barack Obama or Tiger Woods. There’s a reason questions about ethnicity on the census and college applications feel impossible to an increasing number of Americans. There’s a reason you can be black in the United States, colored in South Africa and something else entirely in Brazil.
- According to Dorothy Roberts, author of Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-Create Race in the Twenty-First Century, it’s because, despite centuries of efforts to treat race as if it’s a biological category, it is no more than social construction — created to oppress people — that changes with place, time and perspective.
- The Root talked to Roberts about the profit that’s behind the re-emergence of myths about race, the impact for African Americans and health, and how we can continue to talk about it, minus the long-standing lies.
- Black Greek Celebrities: Photos
- Plenty of black celebs have pledged, but did you know that these famous faces wear Greek letters?
- Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. Phone-Hacking Scandal
- Since news broke that reporters at Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloid News of the World routinely paid police sources for information and hacked into people’s cellphones, the media have covered the story nonstop. That is, except for Fox News.
- The Pew Research Center’s Project For Excellence in Journalism just surveyed reportage of the story in two time frames: July 6-8 and July 11-15. In that period, according to Pew, CNN devoted almost 170 minutes to the story, and MSNBC about 145. Fox? About 30 minutes. …
- Redistricting worries California black leaders
- …in Los Angeles, a more ominous story is unfolding about the future of African American political power because of shifting demographic trends in Southern California. Ten years ago, Los Angeles County was 9.8 percent African American and 44.6 percent Latino. In 2010, it was 8.7 percent black and 47.7 percent Latino.
- In addition, the state’s black population is dispersing from the largest cities to the suburbs, diluting its strength.
- “Because (blacks) are less segregated now, it makes it harder to draw districts around them to preserve their voting power,”
- …Swanson, the lone African American from Northern California in the Legislature, said the future of black political power depends on how well African Americans can form coalitions with other groups.
- Javier Bardem Calls for Global Actors’ Rights
- …is asking for actors to have the same rights as writers and musicians. He wants actors to have the right to earn money from the use of their performance beyond a film’s original release. He also said that he wants movie tickets to be cheaper so that even would-be pirates might go to see a film at the theater once in a while. Bardem believes that the price of movie tickets is too high, which leads to greater piracy, which inevitably hurts nine out of 10 actors who aren’t well-paid.
- Michigan Welfare Cuts Will Be Cruel to Kids
- …Gov. Rick Snyder signed a bill giving families welfare subsidies for only 48 months, beginning Oct. 1.
- The measure is retroactive. That means if residents are at the end of their two years by that date, they will fall off the rolls and will need to find employment. Detroit Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley argues that while benefits should be limited, children will suffer the most at a time when state unemployment just catapulted to 10.5 percent.
- Legendary Weapons: The Root Recommends
- The 1990s rap heavyweights the Wu-Tang Clan are back with a new album, Legendary Weapons. The latest release includes collaborations with longtime Wu-Tang associates like Trife Da God and Bronze Nazareth. Executive-produced by Wu-Tang’s RZA, Legendary Weapons keeps beat sampling to a minimum, enlisting the in-studio band the Revelations to back the album’s 14 tracks. With their newest album, the Wu-Tang Clan stays true to the sound that landed them among hip-hop’s most influential groups.
- Award the Best: Nominations for The Root 100
- Who’s doing good works in your field of work or study, or in your community?
- Who’s a trailblazer? An innovator? A tastemaker? Who sets the tone for positive change?
- Give them a shout-out! The Root is accepting nominations for The Root 100 of 2011. Submit your nominations by using The Root 100 2011 Nomination Form. …
- Bunny rabbits compete in show jumping course: Dressage set to take world by storm | Mail Online
- …European rabbit enthusiasts have harnessed their bunnies’ natural talents to create a new spectator sport… rabbit showjumping.
- [Pics and video - do not miss. Bunny dressage is a real thing in the world. -L]
[My bookmarks live at delicious.com/camryl. In case it needs to be said: I don't agree with every word of everything I link to. Also, signal boosts are awesome! --L.]
The Of interest (Tue, Jul 26th, 12pm) by Lee Salazar, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Terms and conditions beyond the scope of this license may be available at leesalazar.com.