racism

Confederate flag at old NC Capitol raises ire
AP Story by Michael Biesecker

RALEIGH, N.C. —

A Confederate battle flag hung inside the old North Carolina State Capitol to mark the sesquicentennial of the Civil War is raising concern with civil rights leaders.

The flag was raised inside the House chamber last week as part of an historical display intended to replicate how the antebellum building appeared in 1863...

North Carolina NAACP president Rev. William Barber was shocked Friday when he was shown a photo of the flag by The Associated Press.

"He is right that it has a historical context," Barber said. "But what is that history? The history of racism. The history of lynchings. The history of death. The history of slavery. If you say that shouldn't be offensive, then either you don't know the history, or you are denying the history..."

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9045927

PLEASE JOIN PROGRESS NORTH CAROLINA IN TELLING CONGRESS: DO NOT REWARD HATE SPEECH & INTOLERANCE. Please sign our petition rejecting a bill recently introduced by Congresswoman Renee Ellmers that seeks to name a federal building in Raleigh after Jesse Helms.

As anyone who lived in North Carolina before 2000 knows, for decades Jesse Helms embarassed our state by standing for antiquated, racist, outdated political views. He fought against equal rights, civil rights and women's rights while absolutely villifying gay Americans with his obsessive hompohobia. He opposed a federal holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. and once accused kids who got free lunches of double dipping in the welfare system and suggested their food stamps be cut to adjust. Click thru to learn more.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-gop-north-carolina-2012...

This L.A. Times story highlights Republican efforts to beat Obama in North Carolina. Specifically, the story focuses on the Lee County GOP and its strategy to woo Latino voters into voting for Romney. Lee GOP front man Charles Staley predictably blames the media for creating the impression that the GOP is anti-Latino (I suppose the Republican assault on Latino immigrants in recent years had nothing to do with that impression), and then gives us this little tidbit of revisionist history:

Right-wing extremists like to remind us that the Civil War ended more than 100 years ago, often claiming that black people have "had long enough" to shake off generations of slavery. It's time, they say, for blacks to compete on equal footing and to end any vestiges of affirmative action.

Now, thanks to the good work of The Center for American Progress, our response can be boiled down to a single damning fact:

On a per student basis, each white student receives about $334 more in district spending than each black student.

Hat tip to Progressive Pulse for digging up the story. More below the fold.

America's poor whites would rather vote for a greedy capitalist predator who believes in polygamy instead of voting for a black man who kept the country from falling over George Bush's economic cliff. From the Washington Post.

In an election year in which the economy ranks as Americans’ top concern, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney holds significant advantages over President Obama among white voters who are struggling financially and buffeted by job loss, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

I'm wondering why it took almost two weeks for this story to surface:

Brothers Christopher Lee Latta, 29, of Allensville Road, Roxboro, and Brandon Latta, 22, of Peed Road, Roxboro, were arrested Tuesday morning on one count each of felonious assault and ethnic intimidation in the March 31 attack on John Lumpkin...He suffered a swollen eye and injuries to his face. Most of the bones in his face were broken, as well as his nose, and he also suffered major damage to his sinus cavity.

What's (almost) more unsettling is the reaction by some of the commenters on the story:

This explains a lot.

There's no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy.

Sneaker Tillis is holding North Carolina hostage because he doesn't have the votes to override the governor's veto of the Racial Justice Act. Governor Perdue should learn the same lesson Barack Obama has learned from his many failed attempts to compromise with crazy. She should tell Thom Tillis to go f/ck himself.

Ron Paul is doing a lousy job of handling the spotlight into the racist writings of his old newsletters. By walking off the set of CNN he made a molehill into a mountain. Paul needs to understand that you can’t run for President and then try to control the media by telling them what they can and can’t ask questions about.

The more Paul looks angry at the media for asking questions about the racist rantings in his old newsletters, the more it looks like he has something to hide regarding the sorts of racists he appeals to.