racism

UMass-Boston prof critical of South African leaders

By Talia Whyte

The Bay State Banner

Fourteen years after the end of apartheid, South Africa has emerged as one of the continent’s premier powers. But it is still a country in transition. Racial strife between the country’s white minority and the black majority is still a problem, and new challenges, such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic and widespread violent crime, are draining the country’s resources.

In fact, there are some critics who believe the new South Africa may actually be in worse shape than it was under the apartheid regime.

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‘Axe’ doc shows Katrina victims’ continued struggle

By Talia Whyte

The Bay State Banner

Local filmmakers Ed Pincus and Lucia Small felt the same way many others did in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: outraged by the lack of government response to victims of the horrific storm.

In late 2005, the pair embarked on a 60-day road trip from New England to New Orleans to see what was really happening to Katrina victims. Along the way, they met with evacuees who shared stories of pain, conflict and hope that transcended traditional divisions of race, class and gender.

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Niagara forum spotlights need for renewed activism

By Talia Whyte

The Bay State Banner

One hundred years ago, 800 concerned African Americans gathered in Faneuil Hall to discuss the political and social issues afflicting blacks at that time.

Topics discussed at the meeting — one of five organized by W.E.B. Du Bois as part of the burgeoning Niagara Movement — included the alarming rate of lynchings of African Americans in the South and the need for a progressive alternative to Booker T. Washington’s more passive, accommodationist viewpoint of African Americans in the post-Reconstruction era. The Niagara Movement became a springboard for many other civil rights efforts to come.

Read the full article here.