It’s usually difficult for whites to be aware, much less understanding, of the difference being black makes in today’s world. Ballet shoes may be a small example, but it is revealing of how easy it is for the society to ignore the needs of non-whites. Ballet is an art form based on tradition. The tradition favors white ballet dancers, and usually females. Slowly over time black dancers have made inroads both in the US and in the UK. Most of us now know of Misty Copeland and the Washington Ballet. Eric Underwood is another black dancer, an American who dances with the UK’s Royal Ballet. Because ballet shoes Continue reading “Ballet Shoes for Black Dancers”
Category: Civil Rights
From Cell to Cell
From our perspective on the outside, an inmate’s change of cell may not be a big deal, but the Marshall Project carried a first person article of a prisoner’s experience. And it’s anything but. Without warning or explanation, Arthur Longworth was told he was being moved to another cell at 6:30 am one morning. He’d been in this cell for 5 years and in his long incarceration this wasn’t the first time he was moved. He describes it as a piece of him being torn away. His cell was his world, his home, and without notice he and his few possessions, were told to move, in this case to a part of the prison that Continue reading “From Cell to Cell”
Non-Whites Needed
The head of CBS Entertainment division, Glenn Geller, recently announced that the network was interested in expanding diversity in its programming including non-white characters who would be shows’ main characters. During an interview after his announcement, Geller gave an example: The character of Nancy Drew in the planned reboot of the Nancy Drew series won’t be white. There was no word as to what color she would be, just that the idea of diversity will be applied to the young detective. The idea of applying diversity to new shows, particularly those which are retooled from past series, is increasingly talked about. In the series Elementary, Continue reading “Non-Whites Needed”
Money Misapplied
Perhaps you read or remember the series of articles the NYT ran about the conditions of nail salons, places where manicurists were exploited and underpaid. The series elicited a response from Albany where Ron Kim, a New York State assemblyman was instrumental in passing legislation protecting nail salons workers from wage fraud. Now he’s done an about face and is no longer standing behind the statute he helped passed saying that it needs amending. What happened in the middle is a fascinating story of American politics at its best—or should I say at its worst. The salon owners began Continue reading “Money Misapplied”