- As the Pensylvania primary approaches, Hillary Clinton appears with Maya Angelou at Wake Forest University to sway Black women towards her candidacy; the North Carolina primary follows hard on the heels of Pennsylvania. The Charlotte Observer quotes a professor at UNC who says “”For some African American women, I think Clinton’s role really brings up some longstanding challenges in terms of alliance-building.”
- The Washington Post points out that at that meeting she went out of her way to praise Obama, saying “”Because of what we are doing, I honestly believe we have broken one of those invisible barriers … never again will any little boy or girl in America not believe that he or she — black, white, brown, whatever — cannot grow up to be president.”
- AlterNet asks: what if the severe restrictions on felons’ voting rights were reviewed? The piece examines the history of the restrictions and their links to Jim Crow legislation, and points out that “entire communities lose their political capital when their citizens cannot vote. Denying the vote to one person has a ripple effect, dramatically decreasing the political power of urban and minority communities.
- If you’re Black and support Clinton, you get booed, according to the Dallas Morning News. Not only are elected African-Americans who support Clinton getting threatening messages, but, as one says, “people take it for granted that all black voters support Mr. Obama, which bothers her more than the pressure from other African-Americans.”
- And Tavis Smiley has left the Tom Joyner radio show, in part, according to Joyner and the Associated Press, because of the reaction to his support of Clinton over Obama.
- A column in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune takes on Robert Johnson, the founder of BET and a prominent Clinton supporter, saying “it’s time someone took out the brass knuckles and used them on Johnson, a first-class hypocrite who is stumping for the Clinton Clan as if the nomination were a street fight and he were little more than a thuggish mercenary.”
- The Wall Street Journal investigates Obama’s career in local Chicago politics. Rather than inexperienced, the WSJ says that “a look at his years in Chicago, based on interviews with friends, advisers, rivals and political strategists, reveals a shrewd combatant from one of the nation’s toughest political arenas.”
- The Pope is visiting America, and several columnists point out that the Catholic Church is more diverse than ever before. The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle notes that he addressed that in his celebratory mass; Linda Chavez points out that Hispanic outreach is important for the Catholics, but that recent immigrants from Africa are also driving the number of Catholics up.
- A Palm Beach couple who spent decades building up a collection of African-American art and cultural artefacts have permitted their local museum to exhibit them. The Palm Beach Post tells their story and goes into some of the background of the items on display.
- The University of Southern California is to receive a $25 million gift from an alumnus in recognition for its commitment to diversity. The donation is the largest ever by an African-American to a university, says the San Jose Mercury-News.
0 Responses to “The Grapevine: Links to news that matters to you”
Leave a Reply