National report on public housing has a local link
I first encountered this public housing issue over a decade ago while living in Rhode Island, first in prison, then as a member of DARE. When I began inquiring about the precise rules regarding criminal convictions being a barrier to entry, and a cause for eviction, I got only a few vague answers. I even [...]
‘Accidental Racism’ The Song, Not The Practice
The sensational buzz around country star Brad Paisley‘s song “Accidental Racist” is perfect fodder for a Twitter blurb- but is this the extent of racial analysis we can muster in America? If someone stops reading this article at the first sentence, I feel like this provides a more appropriate response than the shallow condemnations filling the [...]
NYPD Faces Scrutiny On Stop And Frisk Tactic
This article originally appeared in The Guardian, here. Bruce Reilly’s five-part series of articles on Floyd and stop-and-frisk appears this week on Unprison. The New York Police Department is on trial in Floyd v City of New York, and the public is watching. It is ironic that the policy of recording “stops, questions, and frisks” originated with the 1999 police [...]
Smithfield Street Named For Klansman Stays Same
In a piece of legislative legerdemain worthy of Houdini the Smithfield Town Council seems to have resolved the controversy surrounding the street named for a notorious Rhode Island Ku Klux Klan leader by changing the name of Domin Avenue to Domin Avenue. That’s not a typo. Former Smithfield resident and amateur historian Roger Schenk suggested [...]
Sanchez’s Wrongful Death Reminds Of Jennifer Rivera
It appears that the State Police and the Attorney General have decided to NOT bring criminal charges against the 24-year-old man, Benjamin Servideo, who rear-ended and killed a 9-month pregnant woman Sullynette Sanchez and her infant who was born immediately after the accident, Noah. Servideo claims that he became a distracted driver when his wallet [...]
‘Loving Story’ Marriage Equality Movie on Monday
As the struggle for marriage equality in Rhode Island continues, and as the state Coalition Against Racial Profiling prepares for the reintroduction next week of its anti-racial profiling bill, the story of Mildred and Richard Loving is more timely than ever. You can come watch the movie with the Rhode Island chapter of the ACLU [...]
Why Wasn’t ‘Django Unchained’ Set In RI?
Soon Black History Month (Feb) will be here, and if the past is truly prologue, we should expect the typical, mediocre and depoliticized historical trivia that gets passed off as “Black History.” However, I intend to combat this with historical commentary, that occasions a more relevant way in which to engage Africana history, philosophy, and [...]
Study: Young People of Color Have Political Power
In the days since the election, there has been a renewed attention on our country’s changing demographics, given the overwhelming Obama/Democratic successes among voters of color. The increased margin of support for Democrats among Latino voters was significant enough to cause some GOP leaders to choke on their pretzels, and now it appears that a [...]
Town to Address Road Named After KKK Leader
Tonight the Smithfield Town Council gets to take up, for a third time, the issue of Domin Ave., named for John Algernon Domin, Exalted Cyclops of the RI KKK in 1928. When Colonel Roger Schenck pointed the history of Domin Ave. to the Town Council in a letter, he suggested the name be changed, because, [...]
Gilding the Ghetto: George Romney Knew Better
Nationally, black and Hispanic/Latino public school students are now more segregated from whites than at any point in the last four decades. Most policymakers and activists on all sides accept the fact that our metropolitan areas are segregated by race as well as class, and work within its confines. In this age of greatly diminished expectations [...]
Pot Decriminalization in RI: Just a Starting Point
Rhode Island became the latest state to lessen the punishments for small amounts of marijuana, popularly known as “decriminalizing” it. Six years ago, there were many doubters and few reformers on board. Yet it appears America is fed up with many facets of drug policy. Organizations that have been seen as fringe radicals, such as [...]
More Local Action Toward Justice for Trayvon Martin
The perplexing “missteps” by the Sanford police in the handling of the Trayvon Martin killing are adding up at an alarming rate. We recall that a narcotics detective, and not a homicide detective, was first to assess the scene and engage Zimmerman, or that the lead investigator, Chris Serino, had called for the arrest of [...]
Providence Responds to the Murder of Trayvon Martin
Saturday night. Impromptu march. I got this report in: “there was a march in memory of treyvon martin of about 40+ people on friday which started on thayer street and made its way down to as220. it was pretty darn good for something that got thrown together in 2 hours. some chants for future marches [...]
Community Forum on Trayvon Martin Murder
Due to the egregious inaction by local, state and even federal authorities in Florida regarding the non-arrest of GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, the killer of TRAYVON MARTIN, and given the complex racial dynamics and their implications for Black males nationally, the Providence Africana Reading Collective (PARC) will host a community action forum. We will discuss/plan how we might [...]
Synchronicity at SXSW
If there is one word I can use to describe my experience so far down at South by Southwest, it would be synchronicity. On at least two occasions, I’ve mentioned people I wanted to see only to see them no more than 12 hours later, and I met a Rhode Islander working at a car [...]
Reza Rites and RI Future at SXSW in Austin, TX
Heard of South by Southwest, but can’t be in Austin yourself? Pop in daily to “Take 5 with Reza Rites” on RIFuture.org for photos and live updates about her adventures at the annual festival – or follow her on Twitter and Facebook @rezaclif. Besides blogging for RI Future, Reza will be recording interviews and footage [...]
Racial Profiling, Vehicle Checkpoints Bills Heard Today
Last week here on RI Future, I shared a short podcast about Racial Profiling in RI from the perspective of youth and community organizers working with Providence Youth Student Movement. Here is an extended series of excerpts from my conversation on Sonic Watermelons with Sangress Xiong and Yonara Alvarado, and Franny Choi. Xiong, Alvarado, and Choi [...]
Advocating to End Racial Profiling in RI
PROVIDENCE, RI – On Wednesday, March 7 at 4:30 PM, community members and advocates are expected to show up en masse to share their views on racial profiling in RI at a hearing at the State House before the House Committee on Judiciary. But folks have been speaking out on the topic for years, including [...]
High Stakes Testing: Not So Hot
Last week friend of the blog, Dan McGowan at GoLocal, asked: Everyone agree that “teaching to the test” is a bad idea, but it makes no sense to get rid of standardized tests that could determine whether a student is eligible to graduate… Why not continue to test, but also offer the right interventions that [...]
It’s Black History Month and the Sankofa Bird Speaks
History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is also a compass that people use to find themselves on the map of human geography. History tells a people where they’ve been and what they’ve been; where they are and what they are. History tells a people [...]
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