Monthly Archives: July 2009
Daily Kos Poll shows the Birther movement is a southern thing
I have long argued that Southerners are distinctly more punitive than other Americans. In an experimental post called “The Religious Roots of Southern Punitiveness,” I noted that rates of incarceration in the cluster of states just to the east of … Continue reading
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Strom Thurmond’s Ghost
Strom Thurmond Trent Lott Lydia Chassaniol (This post is part of a series concerning a horrific crime that has divided a small Mississippi town. The entire series, arranged chronologically, can be found here.) We have been asking how a Mississippi State Senator can be a … Continue reading
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Three Cheers for Gates and Crowley
Now that all the relevant tapes and manuscripts have been released some folks are growing weary of the Gates-Crowley affair. When one side in a dispute says the issue has been overblown and it’s time to move on, you know … Continue reading
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Bibbs perjury trial postponed
James Bibbs’ perjury trial has been postponed. Jury selection was originally scheduled to begin on Tuesday, July 28th. (You can find background material for this post here.) The Jackson Clarion-Ledger may be ignoring state senator Lydia Chassaniol’s intimate ties to one America’s most racist … Continue reading
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Reginald Lyles: Obama wrong to backtack
I met Reginald Lyles in September, 1998 when I was Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Kansas City, Kansas, a mostly white church in an ethnically changing neighborhood. We had called Marcus Goodloe, a young Black man, as Associate … Continue reading
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Fear, race and pride
A New York Times piece picks up on a question Scott Henson introduced on his blog: what does the behavior of Sgt. Crowley of the Cambridge PD say about police culture? Not surprisingly, there is little consensus among police officers on … Continue reading
Filed under "civil rights", "Social Justice", Race, Racial reconciliation
Obama, race and the Gates affair
President Obama raised eyebrows across the nation by suggesting that the Cambridge Police Dempartment acted “stupidly” in arresting a Harvard professor after his identity and home ownership had clearly been established. In a recent ABC interview, Obama softened that comment a bit by calling Sgt. James Crowley, … Continue reading
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The Gates Affair: Race or cop culture?
In his Grits for Breakfast blog, Scott Henson suggests there is more to Gates’ reaction than the ghosts of racial history. Having read several accounts of the incident, I think its root cause may or may not have been racial but was much … Continue reading
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Strange Doings in Magnolia Country
(This post is part of a series concerning a horrific crime that has divided a small Mississippi town. The entire series, arranged chronologically, can be found here.) In my first post in this series I suggested that Mississippi State Senator Lydia Chassaniol was in trouble for … Continue reading
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Paris, Texas descends into farce
Riot police separated black separatists from white supremacists in Paris, Texas today. Not a pretty sight. Not pretty, but certainly popular. Nothing sells like white folks and black folks exchanging insults. The rally in Paris has attracted national and international … Continue reading
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