Colorlines Magazine articles from March 2003

Colorlines Magazine archives from March 2003

Note from the editor.(Editorial)
March 22, 2003... Two pieces in this issue attempt to rake the measure of two very different men whose work are both responses to the complexity and contradictions of America's racial dilemmas. One is a businessman and conservative crusader trying to get rid of...

Note from the publisher .(Editorial)
March 22, 2003... There are many ideas about how to strip race of its power. In these pages, we're reminded of three conservative and capitalist efforts to do so: by outlawing affirmative action, putting an end to collecting racial data, and screening Che...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
March 22, 2003... Dear Editor: I was disappointed to see that Mr. Ford ("Powerful Illusions, "by Glen Ford, Winter 2002/2003) did not really commit himself to efficient research prior to publishing the above article. The first step might have been to...

Death row's racism gets spotlight. (Racefile).
March 22, 2003... We've become accustomed to reading about human rights abuses in remote, backwater prisons, across oceans and continents. But Illinois Governor Ryan's monumental commutation of 167 death sentences on his final day in office drew world attention...

Crisis on the campus: Victor Goode explains what's at stake in the conflict over affirmative action. (Colorblind: Higher Education).
March 22, 2003... As a famous baseball player once said, "It's deja vu all over again." With the Supreme Court's decision to hear the two University of Michigan affirmative action cases (Grutter v. University of Michigan, the law school case, and Grantz v....

Conscious of color: he may be the conservative ideologue with the biggest chip on his shoulder about race. (Colorblind: Higher Education).(Ward Connerly)
March 22, 2003... But why? Jesse Douglas Allen-Taylor says it's worth taking another look at the identity politics of Ward Connerly. If these were still the times that we sat on our front porches on moonless nights telling spirit tales to the little ones,...

Learning under lockdown: prison college programs, decimated by a '94 crime bill, have begun a slow comeback. As more people of color attend classes behind bars, the politics of prison education are once again up for debate. (Colorblind: Higher Education).
March 22, 2003... Ten women are scattered, two to a table, facing the chalkboard, tentatively sharing feedback on last week's reading assignment: Nietzsche's conception of aristocratic morality and its mirror opposite the morality of the slave. The professor...

Don't dismiss hip-hop: Yvonne Bynoe responds to ColorLines' coverage of the debate between civil rights and hip-hop politics. (To the Point).
March 22, 2003... Black Americans have never been a monolith, politically or culturally. Since the days of slavery, black Americans of various socio-economic levels, religions, and political persuasions have existed in communities across this nation. During the...

Under homeland security; 2001-2003: a timeline of major events and policies affecting immigrants and civil liberties.
March 22, 2003... 9/20/01 Detention Without Charge Department of Justice issues interim regulation allowing detention without charge for 48 hours (or an additional "reasonable period of time") in the event of emergency. 9/21/01 Secret Proceedings ...

War's racial edge: communities of color don't want Bush's war. How will we turn the peace sentiment into a movement against militarism and racial oppression at home and abroad? (To the Point).
March 22, 2003... In the fall of 1990, as the U.S. amassed troops in the Persian Gulf, preparing for what was to become the Gulf War, a small community organization in Providence, Rhode Island began a discussion that led it to rake its first public position...

Confronting racial violence: Sikh Americans have been targeted for harassment and attack more than any group since 9/11. Jaideep Singh explains how race, religion, and distorted media representation have resulted in deadly consequences. (To the Point).
March 22, 2003... Religion has joined race as one of the most powerful and prominent channels through which to identify the "enemy" or "other" in America's national life. This disturbing tendency affects primarily non-Christian people of color. As a result, the...

Sacred space: federal agencies are giving a green light to development that threatens Native American religious freedom. (Report).
March 22, 2003... A fly that lives for two days gets more respect from the Bush Administration than the oldest-Native American sacred place or the living people who pray there. And the fly better watch out, because gold miners and tourists are more, highly...

Inside detention. (Report).
March 22, 2003... Outside cameras are rarely if ever allowed inside where most INS detainees are held. My entrance required lengthy, repeated, and often futile negotiation with the INS or county jails, and occasionally both bureaucratic layers at the same time....

Dying for resources: AIDS activists in New York City analyzed the racial impact of the epidemic--and won an unprecedented $5 million from the city from communities of color.
March 22, 2003... HIV/AIDS infections have been on the increase in New York City's communities of color since the start of the syndrome's crisis. But initially, most of the funding for prevention and for education programs to combat the disease was directed...

Cool commodities: how many Che T-shirts does it take to launch a revolution? (Culture).
March 22, 2003... Third-world heroes have a tendency to be made into icons, symbols, and mere cliches. After the liberation movements succeed, independence is won, and the former freedom fighters become the faces of the new corrupt governments, the leaders are...

Basketball, race, and love: John Edgar Wideman is one of the most challenging writers on race today. Maybe that's why more people aren't reading his books. (Culture).(Interview)
March 22, 2003... When reporters write about John Edgar Wideman, they usually start with the most sensational aspects of his life. That's why you find the same factoids in most profiles of the man and his books: He grew up in a ghetto in Pittsburgh. He became a...

Riffing on race: Cristina Veran talks to the guys behind ego trip magazine and the Big Book of Racism. (Culture).(Interview)
March 22, 2003... In their latest book, the multiracial, maniacally funny guys of the defunct hip-hop magazine ego trip turn their smart-ass, studiously well-informed attention to the subject of race. With the disclaimer that "we just hate everybody," the book...

Silence at Boalt Hall: The Dismantling of Affirmative Action. (Books).(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... By Andrea Guerrero You've got to give U.C. Press props for publishing and promoting this frank, up-close portrait of the rise and fall of race-conscious admissions on its home turf. U.C. Berkeley's prestigious Boalt Hall law school makes a...

Cody ChesnuTT. (Race Records).(Brief Article)
March 22, 2003... Headphone Masterpiece (ready, set, go!). Hyped nearly to death as the black savior of American rock, the flavorful ChesnuTT's sprawling, two-disc debut is as cute, poppy, and mysterious as his name. Though much of the material has a raw,...

Dead Prez. (Race Records).(Brief Article)
March 22, 2003... Turn off the Radio (full clip). Hip-hop's most incendiary duo return with a low-key, stopgap release to keep the peace until the proper follow-up to their debut, Let's Get Free. Combining new cuts and rarities with their unique covers of...

Common. (Race Records).(Brief Article)
March 22, 2003... Electric Circus (MCA). This week's contestant on the "Who Wants to Be Prince?" show is Brooklyn-by-way-of-Chicago boho Common. Remarkable in its reach and vision, the recharged Common comes ready with an hour of engaging, out-there...

Caetano Veloso. (Race Records).(Brief Article)
March 22, 2003... Live in Bahia (Nonesuch). Aging Brazilian singer, composer, and poet Veloso is most recognized for his delightful pop songs and his role in the late-1960s' short-lived Tropicalia movement, and he's still going strong. This two-disc set...

Various artists. (Race Records).(Brief Article)
March 22, 2003... 20 years of dischord (dischord). Thank goodness punk doesn't consider itself holier than "The Box Set." This three-disc retrospective of Washington, DC's historic Dischord label includes at least one song from every release they've ever...

Background. (Activist Web).(Brief Article)
March 22, 2003... For organizers on the go, the American Friends Service Committee--founded by the old-school peacenik Quakers--has assembled a succinct primer on the impact of a war in Iraq: http://www.afsc.org/iraq/guide/Default.shm. If you want to settle in...

Action. (Activist Web).(Brief Article)
March 22, 2003... * http://www.notinourname.net/ A clean interface with a clear message: no retaliation abroad in the name of justice at home. Not in Our Name (NION) got its name from the statement made by a September 11 victim's family against the bombing...

Organizing tools. (Activist Web).(Brief Article)
March 22, 2003... For organizing materials, http://www.postersagainstwar.org/ has set up a clearinghouse of free, downloadable, and printable anti-war fliers from various organizations. If you're looking for protest music to spice up your event,...

Profiled: Janet Robideau.(Interview)
March 22, 2003... HOMETOWN: Missoula, Montana TRACK RECORD: member of American Indian Movement, founder of Indian People's Action in 1997, director of Montana People's Action in 2001. Robideau's work helped push Montana's largest progressive organization,...