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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: racial tension

racial tension stories: 20 news summaries
SOCIAL LUBRICANT DEPT.

 Prof. Gates, Cop Crowley 
 Have Another Round 

Pair at center of racial incident spotted at Cambridge bar

Oct 29, 09 9:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - The black college professor and the white cop at the center of a racial firestorm this summer, and who later famously had beers on the White House, were spotted last night having a round at a bar in Cambridge, Mass. Henry Louis Gates and Sgt. James Crowley chatted over suds... More »

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beer • Harvard • racial tension • Henry Louis Gates Jr • Cambridge, Mass. • James Crowley • beer summit

OPINION

 GOP 'Riding a Wave of Racism' 

Racially charged attacks on Obama show scourge of racism is still with us

Sep 19, 09 7:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Racism is alive and well in today's America and the Republican Party is feeding off it, Bob Herbert writes in the New York Times. Nobody should need Jimmy Carter—who wasn't above pandering to racists himself in his 1976 presidential campaign—to point out the racist undertones behind many of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Jimmy Carter • racism • Republican Party • racial tension • President Obama

OPINION

 Obama Backlash 
 Isn't About Race 

The real, centuries-old conflict is between urban elites and small towners

Sep 18, 09 1:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - It's a mistake to see the growing backlash against President Obama through the prism of race, David Brooks writes in the New York Times. The anti-Obama movement springs not from racism, but from the long American tradition of popular distrust of the urban elite, argues Brooks. He notes mostly white... More »

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protests • racism • populism • David Brooks • racial tension • Obama administration • President Obama • tea parties

(Newser) - A fight on a school bus in Illinois is generating lots of attention across the country. A videotape of the incident shows black teens beating a white classmate while some onlookers cheer, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Police are investigating but have backed off an initial statement that the attack... More »

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Matt Drudge • Illinois • racial tension • taped beating • videotaped beating • school bus

(Newser) - The mob-like scenes at recent town halls are "something new and ugly," writes Paul Krugman, who notes that 2005's protests against Social Security privatization never saw baying crowds and congressmen hanged in effigy. The New York Times columnist is unconvinced that the mobs are in the pay... More »

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health care • Barack Obama • Medicare • health care reform • Paul Krugman • town hall meeting • racial tension • AstroTurf • birther

(Newser) - So much for our post-racial society, writes Carol Rose in the Boston Globe. If we needed any evidence that "racism is alive and well," look no further than the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. The Harvard professor was charged with disorderly conduct not because police mistook him... More »

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police • Massachusetts • racial profiling • racial tension • racial discrimination • Henry Louis Gates Jr

(Newser) - Five black students accused of beating a white classmate in Louisiana pleaded no contest to misdemeanor civil battery today, ending a trial that triggered a huge civil rights demonstration, the Alexandria Town Talk reports. Critics said that the so-called "Jena Six," originally charged with attempted murder, were... More »

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Louisiana • trial • court • Jena Six • Jena • racial tension • beatings

(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor’s now-infamous “wise Latina woman” statement wasn’t an isolated incident, CQ Politics reports. The phrase crops up multiple times in speeches  delivered from 1994 to 2003 and released yesterday ahead of the Supreme Court nominee's Senate confirmation hearings. Some speeches contain the same line exactly; others... More »

MORE ABOUT:
race relations • US Supreme Court • racial tension • Sonia Sotomayor • reverse racism

Analysis

What They'll
Say to Fight Sotomayor

Critics call nominee racially insensitive, lacking intellect

May 27, 09 10:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor’s opponents are already polishing their script, Politico reports. They’ll call her radical, racist, and stupid—albeit via softer buzzwords. She’s a “judicial activist” fond of “identity politics,” with a questionable “intellect.” Here are the charges against her:
  • She
... More »

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conservative • confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • racial tension • judicial nominations • Sonia Sotomayor • Ricci v. DeStefano

Racial Tolerance Can Spread Quickly, Too, Studies Say

Studies show flip side of 'Bradley Effect' fears

Nov 7, 08 9:42 AM CST
(Newser) - In this election, some feared that racial biases could affect the outcome—but tolerance between groups can grow as quickly as distrust, new studies suggest. Researchers have used interviews and competitions to quickly forge close relationships between people of different ethnic backgrounds, and those newfound friendships can ease the subjects’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • race • Election 2008 • racial tension • President Obama

OPINION

 What Obama Means for My Son 

One father's journey through a racially-charged election

Nov 1, 08 11:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama looks poised to win the presidency, and that would mean a lot for Gary Younge’s infant son. Younge wasn’t always sure it would, the Brooklyn resident writes in the Guardian. "It wasn't that I didn't understand the symbolic importance of his bid. I just did... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • race relations • Election 2008 • racial tension

Palin Supporters Berate Media at Ugly Rally

Black sound operator told to 'sit down, boy' amidst other taunts

Oct 7, 08 1:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sarah Palin’s supporters are taking her attacks on the mainstream media to heart. Reporters at a rally yesterday were greeted with jeers and taunts from the 3,000-strong crowd, Dana Milbank reports in the Washington Post. Palin’s supporters banged thunder sticks and shouted abuse at reporters, and... More »

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media • racial slurs • Election 2008 • racial tension • Sarah Palin

California to End Last Outpost
of Segregation: Prisons

Many expect surge in violence with change

Jun 15, 08 5:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - California will fully integrate its prison system next month, making it one of the last states to do so, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The state will end the practice of separating new arrivals to the nation's largest prison system based on race. Both guards and inmates are bracing for... More »

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California • prison system • segregation • integration • racial tension • California Department of Corrections • segregated prisons • Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown • University of North Texas

 Secret Service
 Is Racist,
 Suit Alleges 

Damning e-mails surface ahead of trial

May 29, 08 10:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - A culture of racism lurks behind the dark glasses of the Secret Service, claims a lawsuit filed by more than 100 current and former black agents who say they were denied promotions. The Service denies the charges, but the suit has brought troubling emails to light, ABC News reports. One... More »

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Secret Service • race relations • Ku Klux Klan • racism • lawsuit • racial tension

OPINION

 Why Brown Is Still
 Hung Up on Black 

Latinos, eying both whites and blacks warily, lean toward lighter hues

May 21, 08 4:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US Latino community is made up of 20 nationalities and 44 million people, but it is largely in agreement on one thing—suspicion of, and often condescension toward, blacks, Ernesto Quiñonez writes in Esquire. Quiñonez remembers growing up in East Harlem, recalling “pecking orders and historic... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • African Americans • Hispanic • Harlem • racial tension

Groom-Slaying Cops Face Disciplinary Hearings

Sharpton upset they haven't been fired

May 21, 08 10:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - The New York cops who were acquitted last month after firing more than 50 bullets at an unarmed man on his wedding day will face police department disciplinary action, Reuters reports. Seven officers are on the hot seat, including the three who were cleared of criminal charges last month, and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NYPD • New York City • Al Sharpton • police brutality • racial tension • Sean Bell

NYPD Arrests Sharpton,
Bell's Fiancée at Protests

Hundreds march against acquittal of officers in shooting

May 7, 08 6:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - New York City police arrested the Rev. Al Sharpton and the fiancée and mother of Sean Bell today during protests over the April 25 acquittal of three officers who shot Bell to death in a 50-bullet barrage. Hundreds blocked traffic at the Brooklyn Bridge and other city hot spots,... More »

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NYPD • New York City • Al Sharpton • civil rights • police brutality • racial tension • Sean Bell

Rev. Wright Slams 'Devious' Media Coverage 

Obama pastor defends sermons, says he was portrayed as 'a fanatic'

Apr 24, 08 7:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Rev. Jeremiah Wright says the media made him out as "some sort of fanatic" by repeating snippets from sermons out of context—part of a "devious" agenda to denigrate the campaign of Barack Obama, the Chicago Tribune reports. In an interview with Bill Moyers to air on... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Bill Moyers • Maureen Dowd • Jeremiah Wright • racial tension • Trinity United Church of Christ

 Ferraro Quits Clinton Post 

She resigns honorary post after race flap over Obama

Mar 12, 08 8:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - Geraldine Ferraro left her honorary post in the Clinton campaign today amid turmoil over her comment that if Barack Obama were white, "he would not be in this position." Ferraro stands by that assertion but says the Obama camp has twisted her remarks out of context. "I... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • race • Clinton 2008 • Obama 2008 • Geraldine Ferraro • Democratic campaign • Hillary Clinton supporters • racial tension

Malaysian PM Won't Quit After Election Rout

'Political tsunami' the result of govt's inability to quell racial strife

Mar 9, 08 12:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Yesterday's elections in Malaysia dealt a stunning blow to the coalition that has effectively ruled the country since 1957. Despite the worst-ever showing, the National Front clung to a bare majority in parliament, and the prime minister refused calls for his resignation, BBC reports. Outside observers fear unrest and financial... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Malaysia • Islamist • election • racial tension • Ahmad Badawi • National Front (Malaysia) • Islamism • Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

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