And Then They Said … 'Yo, Lemme Get That Statue Fried HARD.'

mn_mlksculptor

The California chapter of the NAACP is pissed off because the sculptor chosen to create the Statue of Martin Luther King at the King Memorial in D.C. isn’t black (the artist, Lei Yixin, is from China). You could argue over how valid their beef is, but the NAACP isn’t going to win this argument mainly because their perpetual indignation is aimed at the most questionable causes.

  • James Hannaham asks: If even most African-Americans believe the black poor are primarily responsible for their own plight, does that make it true? “The older generation assumes that the overt racism of yesteryear was harder to combat than today’s smiley-faced version; therefore, if a young person can’t make it, she must be from a single-parent family lack gumption, listen to rap music or suffer the influence of some other conservative bugaboo. But nowadays it takes a university study to prove that racism affects hiring practices, not just a sign outside reading ‘No coloreds need apply.'”
G.D.

G.D.

Gene "G.D." Demby is the founder and editor of PostBourgie. In his day job, he blogs and reports on race and ethnicity for NPR's Code Switch team.
G.D.