Gates-gate coda in the offing

Since this has been the main subject of my recent posts, I might as well relay the latest... by way of The Root, which links to the Post piece about Lucia Whalen, the 911 caller.

Reports of her actions - and supposed racist motives - are just wrong. Instead of catching a case of alarmism from the elderly woman who asked Whalen to call the police, she went and took a quick look at the situation before giving a an arguably careful report.

It's incredibly sad to know the situation devolved from her description of events to "disorderly conduct" and handcuffs.

Oh, well. It'll all be taken care of shortly...

Gates and Crowley will gather for a beer and chat with President Obama at a picnic table outside the Oval Office as the sun sets Thursday. The president has called the incident a "teachable moment," but the trio is no expected to discuss the details in their meeting.

Off the agenda: Gates's and Crowley's dueling accounts of the professor's arrest outside of his home on July 16, and the accusation that Crowley allegedly racially profiled Gates.

On the agenda: A tour of the White House with their extended families. Gates will be accompanied by his fiance, two daughters, father and brother. Crowley will travel with his three children and wife.

And, of course, both men will bring their lawyers.

(from same Post piece linked above)

All's well that ends well... or so I've heard.

More on Skip Gates

Nice piece by Yale Ph.D candidate Brandon M. Terry...

(h/t to Huffington Post)

Charges dropped against Skip Gates

I guess it was all just a misunderstanding...

(h/t to Huffington Post)

Skip Gates arrested in his own house

I heard this on Al Sharpton's radio show today. He was interviewing Professor Charles Ogletree. Of course, when I got home and did a quick search for this post, Ta-Nehisi Coates had already beat me to it...

Dr. King swats away 40-year prediction

We're ready now: BBC archive

Trudat

I told some friends this weekend I'd have to buy Ebony magazine for the first time in my adult life.

Why?

Why ask why?

The Truth

Was it Eddie Murphy who did a sketch about "President Jesse Jackson's Inauguration" - wherein he ducked and dodged throughout the speech to confound would-be snipers?

The truth ain't too far from fiction.

Downward Mobility

Depressing realities statistically confirmed. Thanks, Pew!

/lede/
Nearly half of African Americans born to middle-income parents in the late 1960s plunged into poverty or near-poverty as adults, according to a new study -- a perplexing finding that analysts say highlights the fragile nature of middle-class life for many African Americans.

/snip/
"That's a stunner," said Orlando Patterson, a Harvard University sociologist, when told about the Pew finding. "These kids were middle class, but apparently their parents did not have the cultural capital and connections to pass along to them."

Another reason so many middle-class blacks appear to be downwardly mobile is likely the huge wealth gap separating white and black families of similar incomes. For every $10 of wealth a white person has, blacks have $1, studies have found.

"We already knew that downward mobility was much more likely for blacks," said Mary Pattillo, a Northwestern University sociologist who studies the black middle class. "But this is an even bigger percentage drop than I have seen elsewhere. That's very steep."

Ta-Nehisi Coates does it again

Rev. Al Sharpton gets the business this time.

Remember Cosby?

Genarlow Wilson - Free at Last

Genarlow Wilson - freed from jail. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that his sentence violated the Fourth Amendment.

A time warp

I agree.

/snip/
To the candidate, the debate says more about America's state of mind than it does about him. "I think America is still caught in a little bit of a time warp: the narrative of black politics is still shaped by the '60s and black power," he tells NEWSWEEK. "That is not, I think, how most black voters are thinking. I don't think that's how most white voters are thinking. I think that people are thinking about how to find a job, how to fill up the gas tank, how to send their kids to college. I find that when I talk about those issues, both blacks and whites respond well." (Barack Obama, Newsweek July 16, 2007 issue)

I got a letter from the government...

Americablog/AP - Military: number of black recruits dropping like a stone

Chuck D/Public Enemy - Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos

I got a letter from the government
The other day
I opened and read it
It said they were suckers
They wanted me for their army or whatever
Picture me given' a damn - I said never

'nough said.

Black Mathematics

Pig guts + Hot Sauce = Soul Food

Kool-Aid + Pickles = Proof that Black people are on some other shit!

We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors, for real!

via MLK, Jr.

Just heard on the iPod Shuffle... an excerpt from a speech by MLK, Jr. where he quoted William Jennings Bryan

"The truth, crushed to the earth, will rise again."

I, too, shall rise. From being self-crushed.