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August 9, 2012

  • Job Growth Spurts in July but Not for Black Men

    Job Growth Spurts in July but Not for Black Men by Frederick H. Lowe The nation’s nonfarm businesses added 163,000 jobs in July, but black men didn’t catch a break. Except for white women, the jobless rate for African-American men shot up in July, compared with June’s numbers.

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  • Employment-Population Ratio Drops in July

    Employment-Population Ratio Drops in July by Frederick H. Lowe The employment population ratio for black men and black women 20 years old and older dropped in July compared with June, the University of California, Berkeley, Center for Labor Research and Education, reported on Friday.

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  • Juneteenth Foundation Names Board Members

    Juneteenth Foundation Names Board Members by Frederick H. Lowe The National Juneteenth Observance Foundation named two new board members at its recent annual board meeting and convention in Indianapolis.

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  • Drought is Expected to Grow Higher Food Prices

    Drought is Expected to Grow Higher Food Prices Although Americans spend less each week on food than they did in the late 1980s, this summer’s Midwest drought is expected to dramatically increase food prices.

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  • Coalition Sues Pennsylvania Over Voter Materials

    Coalition Sues Pennsylvania Over Voter Materials A coalition of organizations has sued top officials of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in federal court, charging that they have not provided voter-registration materials to welfare recipients in violation of the National Voter Registration Act.

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  • U.S. Rep. Fined $10,000 by Ethics Committee

    U.S. Rep. Fined $10,000 by Ethics Committee by Frederick H. Lowe The U.S. House Ethics Committee has fined U.S. Representative Laura Richardson $10,000 for forcing her congressional staff to work on her re-election campaign and then covering up or altering evidence to thwart an investigation. The committee levied the fine on Aug.

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  • Man Killed in a Cop Car

    Man Killed in a Cop Car Family outraged that police claim the man killed himself (TriceEdneyWire.com) - The FBI is investigating how a 21-year-old black man ended up shot and killed while handcuffed in a Jonesboro, Ark.

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  • Kofi Annan Resigns as Special Envoy to Syria

    Kofi Annan Resigns as Special Envoy to Syria by Frederick H. Lowe Kofi Annan, who announced last Thursday that he is stepping down at the end of August as United Nations Special Envoy to Syria, told reporters in Geneva, Switzerland, that the international community was unable to reach a unified plan to resolve the country’s ongoing civil war. “I have made it clear that one of the key ingredients, one of the key, essential attributes for a mediator to succeed in this sort of situation is the unity of the international community,” Annan said.

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  • Haitian Museum Awarded $148,000

    Haitian Museum Awarded $148,000 Congressman Frederica Wilson announced recently that a $148,769 grant had been awarded to the Haitian Heritage Museum, which is located on the outskirts of Miami where the largest number of Haitians live outside of Haiti. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent Washington, D.C.-based federal agency that supports museum and libraries, awarded the grant to the Haitian Heritage Museum.

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  • Black Museums Receive $1.4 Million

    Black Museums Receive $1.4 Million The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a Washington, D.C.-based independent agency that provides financial support to the nation’s museums, last month awarded $1.

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  • Activists Challenged to Motivate Voters

    Voters By Hazel Trice Edney (TriceEdneyWire.com) - With black unemployment rates still stuck in double digits while whites’ jobless rates remain consistently below the national average, economic frustration and suffering in the black community is making it difficult for grassroots organizers to motivate people to go to the polls Nov.

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  • DOJ Orders New Orleans Police Reforms

    DOJ Orders New Orleans Police Reforms (TriceEdneyWire.com) - Seven years after a series of high-profile murder cases involving the New Orleans Police Department rocked the nation, the U.S.

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  • Sikh Temple Shooter Was A White Supremacist

    Sikh Temple Shooter Was A White Supremacist Wade Michael Page, who Wisconsin police said murdered six people at a Sikh temple on Sunday before he was killed, was an active member of the white power music scene, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups. Page, a U.S.

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  • Mau Mau Fight Their Way to UK Court

    Mau Mau Fight Their Way to UK Court By Njeri Mbure (TriceEdneyWire.com) - Three elderly Kenyans are in court, seeking compensation and an apology for extreme torture by the British during its colonial rule of Kenya.

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  • Black Justice Coalition Hires Policy Director

    The National Black Justice Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights organization dedicated to empowering the black gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community, has named Michael J.

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  • Lightning Bolt Strikes Again

    Lightning Bolt Strikes Again Usain Bolt successfully defended his 100-meter title on Sunday in the 2012 London Olympic Games, setting an Olympic record of 9.63 seconds, the second-fastest time ever recorded.

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  • Stevie Wonder No Longer Blinded by Love

    Stevie Wonder No Longer Blinded by Love He files for divorce Singer Stevie Wonder is no longer singing to “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”  to his wife, Kai Millard Morris, because they are getting a divorce, according to the TMZ, the entertainment news website. According to divorce papers, Wonder, whose given name is Stevland Morris, cited irreconcilable differences.The couple has lived apart since October 2009.

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  • 2nd Woman Sentenced to Death by Stoning

    (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Rights groups are demanding a review of the sentence of stoning issued against a 23-year-old Sudanese woman, convicted of adultery. It is the second such case in recent months.

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  • The NorthStar’s Week in Black History

    The NorthStar’s Week in Black History August 9 through August 15 August 9 1994 ----- The general assembly of the United Nations proclaimed in December 1994 that August 9 was to be the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People.

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  • Congressional Black Caucus Loses a Member

    Congressional Black Caucus Loses a Member Conyers wins but Clarke loses in Michigan by Frederick H. Lowe U.S. Rep. John Conyers, Jr., on Tuesday won the Democratic primary in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District The Congressional Black Caucus, however, lost a member when U.S.

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  • Steve Harvey's TV Talk Show to Debut

    Steve Harvey's TV Talk Show to Debut Steve Harvey, host of the game show Family Feud, will host an hour-long nationally syndicated talk show originating from Chicago, beginning on Sept. 4, NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution announced on Monday.

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Gabrielle Douglas
Gabrielle Douglas

Victories and Stereotypes

By Julianne Malveaux

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - If you don’t follow Olympic gymnastics, you may not have heard about Gabrielle Douglas before this year.  But the amazing grace of this 16-year-old African-American propelled her to Olympic gold last week, and she is the first African-American to win an individual medal in gymnastics. 

Indeed, her performance toppled the Russians, who have portrayed themselves as unbeatable.  So unbeatable, as a matter of fact that the winner of the silver medal, Viktoria Komova, “sobbed uncontrollablly," according to a news report, because she so expected to win.

This calls for unqualified celebration.  Sneaking into some of the celebratory comments, though, were snarky and rude comments that many reserve to tarnish African-American accomplishment and victory.  As I channel surfed in the talk-radio space (why??), I found that these comments came in two categories, equally objectionable.

First, there were comments about Gabrielle’s hair.  As the young gymnast did her thing, there were many –- including some self-hating African-American women –- who commented that her hair wasn’t up to par -- shades of the comments about Michelle Obama.  I’m not sure what style would be appropriate for a gymnast, but let’s celebrate Gabrielle’s medal instead of railing about her hair.  Are we still stuck on the Spike Lee version of “straight or nappy” as a contrast?

Julianne Malveaux
Julianne Malveaux
When Don Imus insultingly uses the word “nappy," we black folks are up in arms, as we should be.  But when sisters excoriate an accomplished young woman, there are those who nod their hair in agreement.  When will we, black women, get over this hair thing?  And when will we stop playing into other people’s stereotypes. To be honest, hair was the last thing on my mind when I saw Gabrielle’s stunning performance.  Why was anyone thinking of hair?

In addition to thinking of hair, some commentators were thinking of fatherhood.  Where was her dad, too many asked? One radio talk-show host took a whole five minutes ruminating on absent dads.  But the truth is that while Gabrielle’s mom, Natalie Hawkins, and her dad, Timothy Douglas, are divorcing, Mr. Douglas, a soldier who has served both in Iraq and Afghanistan, is very much a part of her life.  He was present for the Olympic trials but had responsibilities that kept him from the rest of the games.  His presence or absence should not be the fodder for speculation.

I wouldn’t mind the commentary so much if the same folks spent any time speaking of the economic plight of African-American men. The most recent jobs report shows that while the unemployment rate ticked up from 8.2 percent in May to 8.3 percent in June, the rate for African-American men rose from 14.2 to 14.8 percent officially.  Unofficial rates would put African American male employment near the 25 percent mark.

Furthermore, alternative sets of data more effectively explore the plight of African-American men.  The employment-population ratio, which measures the percentage of men aged 10 to 65 who are working, shows that 57.7 percent of African American men in that age group have jobs, which means that more than 40 percent do not.  More than two of three African-American men, then, do not have work, yet this statistic is rarely discussed.  In contrast, the employment-population ratio for White men was 68.4 percent, a full 10 percentage points higher than the rate for black men.

Timothy Douglas is employed, and he is, indeed, defending our country.  Why is his presence or absence at the Olympic games subject to mean-spirited discussion, when it is clear that he supports his daughter?

It is easy to suggest that the Tea Party attacks on President Barack Obama have made it “open season” on black people among the commentariat.  And certainly, coverage of the President and his family has been rife with stereotypes.  Still, Tea Party attacks can’t explain the ways that some African-American women have talked about Gabrielle Douglas’ hair.  In the face of caustic comments about black people from outsiders, must we turn on ourselves?

The only thing I want to hear about Gabrielle Douglas is how amazing her victory was and how inspirational she will be for other young women.  All of America ought to celebrate this victory because Ms. Douglas brought the gold home, not for herself, but for our nation.  The stereotypes are simply unacceptable, whether African-Americans or whites are wallowing in them.


Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D. C.-based economist and author.

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