If I hear about Honorable Judge Sotomayor’s “wise Latina” comment one more time, I’m going to hurl. I think the most disgusting aspect of the racist and sexist attacks on Judge Sotomayor is that they’re being made without any real conviction except a commitment to being bigots. No one doubts that she will be confirmed – not even Republicans.
Which means that the relentless questioning of her ability to be ‘impartial’ is not a real concern and she is simply being berated for no other purpose than to harass her and, by extention, all Latin@s.
Check out this Presente Action ad working to mobilize Latin@s in Florida against GOP racism!
Sixty-five children from a largely Black summer camp in Philadelphia were turned away from a swimming club in the suburbs because of their race. The camp had a contract to use the Valley Club’s pool for the summer. Once the club realized the kids were Black, it canceled their membership.
Are you fucking kidding me?!? This is flat out outrageous, unacceptable and wrong. After reading this story for the first time i was shaking – so outraged I could hardly control myself. After watching the video below, I was still shaking, but I was crying, too:
It was the testimony of the children from Creative Steps Day Care that got me. You can see the hurt in their eyes and hear it in their voices. Several of the children say they heard one of the white club members complain to staff, asking, “Why are there so many Black kids here. I’m afraid they might try to do something to our children.”
This country’s historical legacy of racism and white supremacy is being bourn by America’s youth, making it abundantly clear that it is not merely a historical legacy, but a very real threat to our children and families – right here, right now.
I’ve been asking myself why this story in particular outraged me so much. It reminds me of an incident only a few weeks ago that still makes my skin crawl. A popular radio show on KRXQ Sacramento encouraged the parents of Transgender and gender variant children to verbally abuse them, calling Trans children “freaks and wierdos.” One of the show hosts said that if his son came home wearing high heels, he would beat him over the head with them.
Why are children seen as acceptable targets of hatred and bigotry? Thankfully in the case of KRXQ, there was immediate mobilization on such a large scale that 10 companies pulled their advertisement from the station, which ended up issuing an apology and hosting LGBT advocates on their show to champion LGBT equality.
The Valley Club incident requires the same passion, commitment and wide-spread mobilization. We’ve got to send the message that we will not tolerate bigotry directed towards children or discrimination against our diverse communities.
Take action with Color of Change by contacting the Valley Club itself and by calling on the Department of Justice to launch an investigation!
This is a how-to video from Jay Smooth on being an activist in our personal lives. Day to day conversations can be just as important as other forms of activism like protests, town-hall forums, and open mics. And just like other forms of activism, you gotta come prepared.
Check out Jay Smooth’s game plan:
Its interesting to note that this video remains the most cited and searched for on Jay Smooth’s hip hop video blog, Ill Doctrine, even after a year.
