Study finds campus residence halls have racialized labels

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EDI, higher-education

Image: Although living on campus is often promoted and viewed as an important aspect of college life and a positive way for college students to meaningfully engage with classmates of different races, nationalities, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds, a new paper says the reality at many institutions is quite the opposite.

Source: Study finds campus residence halls have racialized labels

ALA Releases “State of America’s Libraries 2021” Report

NOTE: Included in State of America’s Libraries Report 2021 is the list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2020. The complete list and additional resources can be accessed here. From the American Library Association: Today, the American Library Association (ALA) released its State of America’s Libraries Special Report: COVID-19 , a snapshot of the library communities’ resilience, determination, and innovation in unprecedented circumstances.

Source: ALA Releases “State of America’s Libraries 2021” Report

Distractions and Courtroom Re-enactments

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Black Lives Matter, Police killings, racism trials

Everyone is undoubtedly aware that the trial of Derek Chauvin, accused of killing George Floyd, has begun. If you were not aware, then try Google. Of course, for me, the testimony is not at all interesting. The prosecution is making an attempt to show Mr. Floyd as a flawed, but decent human being (like we all are), and just how relatively happy he was just moments before he was killed. Of course, they had to bring up his drug use (the defense certainly would have if the prosecution didn’t – and they still will). But this brief blog post is not so much about the details of the trial, but about my skepticism about the American Justice System and me already wondering about the outcome of trial, even though all the evidence and testimony has not yet been presented.

It has been reported that half of the jury is non-white because this will allegedly do what? Lead to a hung jury? But I’m jumping ahead to speculate about what may or may not happen.

There is one thing I have found to be particularly striking in the opening remarks of the defense. They claimed that the large crowds and video recording, etc. was distracting the police from doing their jobs, and, as a result they couldn’t pay attention to the man they were killing. AND, of course, Mr. Floyd was a substance abuser, which really caused his death. This information comes directly from the playbook of “let’s demonize the victim,” so we can say that he (or she, or they) deserved to die because presumably it was just a matter of time before they did something even more egregious. We’ve seen this tactic over and over again, haven’t we? I continue to pray that I never get stopped (again) or, heaven forbid, killed by the police. They will surely talk about that pen I took home from the office when I was an employee at a department store office when I was a teenager. Maybe I should send a box of pens to the department store now as restitution?

But you know what might actually be a good form of restitution? A good courtroom re-enactment. I’m not a court-tv fan, but I do watch a lot of legal dramas.😛 I haven’t seen a good re-enactment in a long time. I’d definitely watch this one. If, as the defense claims, Mr Floyd died not from the knee in his neck, but rather from the drugs in his system, I say, let’s have Chauvin lay on the floor in the courthouse with a similar level of distractions (we know the case is being recorded and live streamed) and have someone put their knee on his neck for 9+ minutes and see if he will still be alive. If he is, then maybe, just maybe I will believe that Chauvin didn’t kill Mr. Floyd. If the prosecution has not yet thought of this idea, you can have it – NO CHARGE!

Stop Asian Hate!

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anti-asian hate, anti-racism, racism, stop asian hate

I had intentionally not written about the incident of alleged Asian hatred in Atlanta this week because there are still questions about whether this was actually a hate crime. But I could stay silent no more. Alas, it doesn’t matter whether these particular incidents were hate crimes or not. Anti-Asian hate crimes in this country have risen, especially since the declaration of the current COVID-19 pandemic and some people (including the occupant of the White House prior to January 20, 2021) attributing the origin of the virus to people from Asian countries. Various news sources (such as this NBC News report) have reported a significant increase in anti-Asian hate crimes since the start of the pandemic. And we hear the same rhetoric from our leaders: “This type of hatred has no place in our society….” While absolutely true, this type of hatred is merely another expression of hatred that people from the non-majority culture experience routinely. This IS the country that many of us see and live in. These acts of hatred MUST STOP! The people who commit these acts MUST BE PROSECUTED! And we must remain vigilant. There are many ways to help our Asian American and Pacific Islander brothers and sisters. Learn about one such resource here. #stopasianhate

This is AmeriKKKa

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#BlackLivesMatter, Riots, Trump

Today, the world watches another event described as “unprecedented.” We watched as donald trump supporters “entered the [U.S.] Capitol building and engaged with riot police as Congress held a joint session to count the Electoral College votes.” There is so much to unpack in both the action and the way in which the action is described. I will, however, keep this post short; afterall, there is nothing really new here. Maybe I’ll just even add a few bullet points. No need to elaborate.

• Although some reporters are beginning to use the term “rioters” most continue to use the word “protesters.”
• How would this even be described if this were a Black Lives Matter protest? Would we have “entered the Capitol,” or “breached the Capitol” (as today’s event is being described?)
• Would the event go on for HOURS before there is a significant police presence if these were other than trump supporters?
• How many black and brown people would have already been killed by law enforcement by now?
• Where is the “leader” of these protesters? He comes out with some statement about how “he loves [them].”
• Why have there been no arrests? The terrorists have been acting for hours at the time of this writing.

This is indeed another sad day for America. We tout ourselves as the model of democracy and we would be so extremely critical of activities like this if they were happening in a “third world,” or “developing” country. I guess we can now be relegated to that status? I am just in shock!

#BlackLivesMatter