What if the "Militants" Were Not White?

T-Shirt Photo Alters Lives of High School Girls

"Several days after a photo of six smiling girls wearing T-shirts depicting the N-word brought national attention to a Phoenix high school, the ripple effect continues to alter the lives of the girls, fellow students and the community,"Kaila White reported Tuesday for the Arizona Republic | azcentral.com in Phoenix.

"At least one of the girls at Desert Vista High School may have lost the opportunity to play soccer for an Arizona university.

"Another has hired a public-relations firm to represent her, according to the Rev. Jarrett Maupin, a civil-rights activist who contacted all of the girls' families and coordinated one's appearance and public apology at a protest Monday. . . ."

• Elvia Díaz, La Voz | azcentral.com: Is the media hype justified over Desert Vista girls spelling out N-word?
  
  
• Editorial board, Arizona Republic | azcentral.com: Lessons from Desert Vista's ugly act
  
  
• Laurie Roberts, Arizona Republic | azcentral.com: Protests? Death threats? How much punishment is enough for Desert Vista girls?

Asian American Men Report Race-Related Obstacles

"In late fall of 2015, I ran a survey of 354 Asian men living in the United States on their experiences at work, in dating, and in day to day life,"Jason Shen wrote Friday for medium.com.

"As an Asian man born in China but raised in the US, I feel there's been a dearth of understanding of the Asian male’s experience. It's not often discussed, either between our own community, and with society at large, and we all suffer because of it.

"The survey is by no means comprehensive or exhaustive, but I hope it can shed light on some of the experiences of the nine million Asian men living in the United States and perhaps spark some important conversations.

"Executive Summary

"Most Asian American men feel they are treated worse than white people but better than non-Asian minorities.

"While proud of their Asian heritage, not all Asian American men think it's important to uphold 'traditional' Asian values in their lives, though older men (35+) are more likely to say yes to this statement.

"Nearly all Asian men have been made uncomfortable by some kind of racial stereotype, the most common ones being 'good at math', 'small penis', and 'good with computers.'

"Many Asian American men feel that there are still race-related obstacles holding back themselves and their ethnic peers at the workplace though they report very little overt harassment at work.

"Most Asian men have been asked 'Where are you from' where the asker is looking to determine country of origin more than six times.

"Most Asian men report dating and having dating preference within their own subethnicity (East, Southeast, South) though dating white people is very common.

"Nearly half of Asian men have heard someone say 'I don’t date Asian men' in their presence. . . ."

• "First Draft," New York Times: Hispanics and Asian-Americans Face Barriers to Lower Offices, Report Finds

James Merriweather Dies at 64, Reporter in Ark., Del.

"Facebook bears sad news — the death of James Merriweather, a veteran newspaperman with whom I shared newsroom seats, laughs and not a few beers,"Max Brantley wrote Monday for the Arkansas Times.

"He was 64. I hope no one minds the perhaps irreverent photo chosen from many on Facebook to illustrate James. It captures his personality and his glow in the healthy days before a 17-year battle with congestive heart failure, including a transplant.

"He was a somewhat foreboding figure behind an upright Underwood when I entered the Arkansas Gazette newsroom in 1973. It turned out that what might appear to be a scowl melted readily and often into a big grin. He was the only black reporter on the staff, a lack in journalism not much improved in the 43 years since. By the time the Arkansas Gazette closed in 1991, he was chief of the important Capitol coverage and a columnist.

"James was born and reared in Clinton, a rare black family in those parts. He was bused to school in Conway every day. I treasure the photo he posted on Facebook of youth baseball days . . . . He moved easily in a world that often didn't include many people who shared his skin tone, but he never forgot for a second who he was. He was a football letterman at UCA [University of Central Arkansas] and, with schooling in journalism there, embarked on his newspaper career.

"When the Gazette folded and we converted the Arkansas Times to a weekly in 1992, he was the first person I called about joining us in our slightly quixotic plan to keep a liberal print news alternative alive against the now monopoly conservative daily newspaper. He couldn't afford to leave the Gannett Corp., last owners of the Gazette, and moved to that company's Wilmington, Del., paper, where he was state Capitol correspondent for the News Journal until retirement. . . ."

• Death notice