Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Names have been changed to protect myself from these very silly and possibly litigious white people. I received a racist email in 2011, when I had just started the English PhD program at Rutgers University. This email has come to define so much of who I am, in ways both good and bad. I think…
One of the pleasures of getting older and making a living the way you want to is that your social circle becomes rarified and the people who enter have been vetted. When I was in my twenties, shady-ass characters routinely found their way into my life and my apartment. With some regularity, friends revealed themselves…
Guys, it’s time to clear the air. There are some rumors going around in the comments sections of Complex dot com that I am literally out to get all white people (see: here, here, here, and here). But I promise that’s not true! I have white friends, I promise! There is a white dude coworker…
From Whitesboro’s Facebook page. Facebook/Village of Whitesboro Above is the town seal, which dates back to the 19th century, of Whitesboro, New York. It depicts a white man throwing an American Indian man to the ground and looks like something that would be found in Parks and Recreation‘s satirically insensitive town of Pawnee. The image…
By Stacey Patton and David J. Leonard July 6 Follow DrStaceyPatton Follow drdavidjleonard About the authors Stacey Patton is a senior enterprise reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Education, an adjunct professor of American history at American University, and the author of “That Mean Old Yesterday.” David J. Leonard is Associate Professor and chair in…
Yes, take down the Confederate flag from its place on the grounds of the state capitol in South Carolina. It doesn’t deserve the state’s sanction. Take down the statues of Jefferson Davis, and please take his name off Route One in Virginia. But leave Robert E. Lee alone. He opposed secession, and in his later…
Paula Deen hasn’t learned anything. You’d think after losing a TV show and endorsements, her hot-butter-loving ass would know what not to do when it comes to making fun of different races. For her #TransformationTuesday photo, Deen posted a photo of herself with her son Bobby dressed up as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo from I…
For women of color, she’s right. Instagram users can choose from over 20 filters, but as subjects, we don’t have a choice in how our images are processed once a filter is in place. In the name of enhancing or beautifying our photos, filters inevitably alter our appearances beyond recognition. In the name of enhancing…
Adam Kotsko, whom right-wing politicos are dubbing the “white guilt” college professor, has taken to his personal blog to clarify remarks that he says have been misrepresented online. If you go to Kotsko’s Twitter feed — where the controversy I’m about to talk about began — you’ll see that Kotsko has a message up stating…
Since the shooting of nine members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC earlier this month, a string of fires have burned at at least seven Southern churches, most of them predominantly black. Federal officials have launched investigations into the fires to determine if they are hate crimes. Authorities suspect that natural…