Category: United States

  • Sumter County, Fla., is Nation’s Oldest, Census Bureau Reports United States Census Bureau Washington, D.C. 2016-06-23 Release Number: CB16-107 Only County in Nation With Majority of Population Age 65 or Older JUNE 23, 2016 — The nation’s only county with a majority of the population age 65 or older remains Sumter, Fla., where 54.8 percent…

  • For Independence Day, a Look at Thomas Jefferson’s Egregious Hypocrisy The Scientific American 2016-07-01 John Horgan “While many of his contemporaries, including George Washington, freed their slaves during and after the revolution—inspired, perhaps, by the words of the Declaration–Jefferson did not,” historian Paul Finkelman writes. “Jefferson also “dodged opportunities to undermine slavery or promote racial…

  • ‘Free State of Jones’ leader Newt Knight in his own words The New Orleans Times-Picayune 2016-06-24 James Karst, Senior Editor A photograph of Newton Knight from the New Orleans Item on March 20, 1921. This interview with Newton Knight of Mississippi was originally published in the March 20, 1921, edition of the New Orleans Item.…

  • Your Blackness Isn’t Like Mine: Colorism And Oppression Olympics The Huffington Post 2016-06-28 Sil Lai Abrams Monday night, actor and activist Jesse Williams gave a powerful speech at the BET Awards upon receiving the Humanitarian Award, during which he spoke eloquently, passionately, and dare I say — even lovingly to the audience of millions. I…

  • An Undocumented, Unofficial Indian Indian Country Today Media Network 2014-09-06 Chris Bethmann I remember a friend saying to me once, “Chris, you’re not a real Indian. And if you are, you’re the whitest Indian I know.” At the time, I shrugged it off, thinking to myself that he just didn’t understand the complex world of…

  • Charles Blow blows his horn in the New York Times Renegade South: Histories of Unconventional Southerners 2016-06-27 Victoria Bynum, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History Texas State University, San Marcos In today’s New York Times, opinion editor Charles Blow delivers a harsh critique of the movie, Free State of Jones, arguing that its treatment of slavery…

  • White Savior, Rape and Romance? The New York Times 2016-06-27 Charles M. Blow The movie “Free State of Jones” certainly doesn’t lack in ambition — it sprawls so that it feels like several films stitched together — but I still found it woefully lacking. The story itself is quite interesting. It’s about Newton Knight, a…

  • Future Humans Will All Look Brazilian, Researcher Says Business Insider 2012-09-19 Natalie Wolchover It really happened: Six generations of inbreeding spanning the years 1800 to 1960 caused an isolated population of humans living in the hills of Kentucky to become blue-skinned. The startlingly blue people, all descendants of a French immigrant named Martin Fugate and…

  • Inside Facebook’s Totally Adorable, Kind of Racist Mixed Race Baby Community Broadly 2016-06-21 Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff Thousands of people have signed up to Instagram and Facebook communities to celebrate the beauty of multiracial children. But not everyone is convinced that they have the purest intentions at heart. In a world plagued by racism and prejudice, some…

  • How Jesse Williams Stole BET Awards With Speech on Racism The New York Times 2016-06-27 Katie Rogers Jesse Williams accepting the humanitarian award at the BET Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles. Credit Matt Sayles/Invision, via Associated Press The BET Awards Sunday featured tributes to Prince and Muhammad Ali, and a performance by Beyoncé and…