The Free Press is bringing back a Reviews section after some absence. We hope to review plenty of events around town. Check back frequently and if what\'s going on is any good.
Arts & Culture
There’s Always Work at the Post Office: African American Postal Workers and the Fight for Jobs, Justice and Equality
by Philip F. Rubio
University of North Carolina Press
Obtaining a job at the post office was considered to be a quite a coup for blacks, especially black men. A full-time postal employee could count on steady work, a good salary, paid vacations, health benefits, and for those who stayed thirty years, a guaranteed pension. I can still hear my late Aunt Clara proudly describing the boyfriend of one of her daughters: “Honey he got a good job; he work at the post office.” The only thing that topped dating a postal employee was dating a doctor or lawyer. As one of the largest employers of blacks in America, postal work was also crucial in lifting hundreds of thousands of African Americans into the middle class.
by Philip F. Rubio
University of North Carolina Press
Obtaining a job at the post office was considered to be a quite a coup for blacks, especially black men. A full-time postal employee could count on steady work, a good salary, paid vacations, health benefits, and for those who stayed thirty years, a guaranteed pension. I can still hear my late Aunt Clara proudly describing the boyfriend of one of her daughters: “Honey he got a good job; he work at the post office.” The only thing that topped dating a postal employee was dating a doctor or lawyer. As one of the largest employers of blacks in America, postal work was also crucial in lifting hundreds of thousands of African Americans into the middle class.
Conversations with Cronkite
Walter Cronkite and Don Carleton
Don Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin
It is hard to believe in 2012, when anybody with a cell phone camera or access to the web is a reporter, that there was a time when journalism was a well respected field, and that one journalist in particular was for decades referred to as “the most trusted man in America.” My American history students especially scoff at this; after all, they have been reared in the era of the twenty-four-hour news cycle–remember when people thought Ted Turner was crazy to think that anyone would be interested in news at all hours of the day and night?–and instant news, the delivery of which more often than not ignores facts, lacks context and has all the subtlety of an M-16 being used to kill a fly.
Walter Cronkite and Don Carleton
Don Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin
It is hard to believe in 2012, when anybody with a cell phone camera or access to the web is a reporter, that there was a time when journalism was a well respected field, and that one journalist in particular was for decades referred to as “the most trusted man in America.” My American history students especially scoff at this; after all, they have been reared in the era of the twenty-four-hour news cycle–remember when people thought Ted Turner was crazy to think that anyone would be interested in news at all hours of the day and night?–and instant news, the delivery of which more often than not ignores facts, lacks context and has all the subtlety of an M-16 being used to kill a fly.
The Grace of Silence: A Memoir, by Michele Norris, Pantheon Books: Michele Norris, an award winning journalist with National Public Radio (NPR), originally
set out to write a book about what she called “the hidden conversation” on race she was sure was taking place across the country in the post-racial age of Barack Obama.
As Norris put it, “The rise of a black man to the nation’s highest office has lowered the barrier for painful conversations among Americans of all colors, especially those who lived through the trials and tumult of forced segregation.” Along the way she stumbled over some shocking and somewhat painful family secrets which made her reassess what she thought she knew about her family, race relations and her own identity. In the process she places the story of her family and every other African American family smack in the middle of the American story.
As Norris put it, “The rise of a black man to the nation’s highest office has lowered the barrier for painful conversations among Americans of all colors, especially those who lived through the trials and tumult of forced segregation.” Along the way she stumbled over some shocking and somewhat painful family secrets which made her reassess what she thought she knew about her family, race relations and her own identity. In the process she places the story of her family and every other African American family smack in the middle of the American story.
The WVKO’s Second Annual Democratic Party Bash, with a record capacity crowd, was held February 25, 2012 at the Makoy Center, Hilliard Ohio. Radio and TV personality Ed. Schultz, talk show host Thom Hartmann and Jeff Santos were in attendance. Michael Alwood, station manager of WVKO was the event host.
Democrats, Jim Reese 12TH District candidate and Donna O’Connor candidate for Ohio House of Representative, were representative. Green Party candidate Robert Fitrakis and wife Suzanne were also present. We were also honored via satellite presentation from: Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Stephanie Miller, and Sherrod Brown. A full roster of acts provided the entertainment they included: The Alwood Sisters Band, Comedian Robert Holmes, Ellie Lee & Blues Fury Preview Set and Comedian Troy Hammond.
Union and community organizations represented were: IAFF Local 67, Upper Arlington Progressive Action, Maureen Reedy-Candidate for Ohio House District 24, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 189, and IBEW Local 683.
Democrats, Jim Reese 12TH District candidate and Donna O’Connor candidate for Ohio House of Representative, were representative. Green Party candidate Robert Fitrakis and wife Suzanne were also present. We were also honored via satellite presentation from: Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Stephanie Miller, and Sherrod Brown. A full roster of acts provided the entertainment they included: The Alwood Sisters Band, Comedian Robert Holmes, Ellie Lee & Blues Fury Preview Set and Comedian Troy Hammond.
Union and community organizations represented were: IAFF Local 67, Upper Arlington Progressive Action, Maureen Reedy-Candidate for Ohio House District 24, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 189, and IBEW Local 683.
Kinda thing
That without a doubt
You file away
And you don’t think about
Cuz if you’re not tuning it out
You might feel a pain
Then oceans, mountains
And walls that divide
Would soon be breached
By the opposite side
And distances formerly wide
Within reach to attain
But they had it coming!
That’s what they always say!
What kinda shit
Had to be on the plate
That a man coulda ate
To fill him
With that kind of hate
Wait NO!
I don‘t wanna know
Kinda thing
Of which you’re not proud
You put on your shroud
And you don’t talk loud
You do as the prophet avowed
Or your savior allowed
But papers and pens
That seek to inflame
Speak to your spirit
And call you by name
Drawing you into the game
And the will of the crowd
They had it coming!
That’s what they always say!
What kinda shit
Had to leap off the page
That a man could engage
To pump him
With that kind of rage
Wait NO!
I don’t wanna know
No, I don't wanna know.
contact: Bifani
That without a doubt
You file away
And you don’t think about
Cuz if you’re not tuning it out
You might feel a pain
Then oceans, mountains
And walls that divide
Would soon be breached
By the opposite side
And distances formerly wide
Within reach to attain
But they had it coming!
That’s what they always say!
What kinda shit
Had to be on the plate
That a man coulda ate
To fill him
With that kind of hate
Wait NO!
I don‘t wanna know
Kinda thing
Of which you’re not proud
You put on your shroud
And you don’t talk loud
You do as the prophet avowed
Or your savior allowed
But papers and pens
That seek to inflame
Speak to your spirit
And call you by name
Drawing you into the game
And the will of the crowd
They had it coming!
That’s what they always say!
What kinda shit
Had to leap off the page
That a man could engage
To pump him
With that kind of rage
Wait NO!
I don’t wanna know
No, I don't wanna know.
contact: Bifani
BANGKOK, Thailand -- People who intuitively perceive 2,500-year-old Chinese and Greek concepts, while knowingly nod to California's detached hippie philosophy and quote droll lines from The Big Lebowski movie, are joining a revelatory religion which illuminated its American founder in northern Thailand.
The Church of the Latter-Day Dude also invites "mellow, unflashy chicks who hang around in their bathrobes and take baths with candles and whale sounds," said the religion's Dudely Lama, Oliver Benjamin.
"Everyone feels oppressed by society's pressures. Everyone wishes they had more freedom. Everyone wishes they could be more carefree, to worry less about money and status," Oliver said.
His church is heavily influenced by the Tao of Lao Tzu (6th century BC), Epicurus (341-270 BC), and the The Big Lebowski movie, written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, which stars Jeff Bridges as a surreal, hilarious, ironic, marijuana-smoking, satirical, forty-something character nicknamed the Dude. (Dude)
The Church of the Latter-Day Dude also invites "mellow, unflashy chicks who hang around in their bathrobes and take baths with candles and whale sounds," said the religion's Dudely Lama, Oliver Benjamin.
"Everyone feels oppressed by society's pressures. Everyone wishes they had more freedom. Everyone wishes they could be more carefree, to worry less about money and status," Oliver said.
His church is heavily influenced by the Tao of Lao Tzu (6th century BC), Epicurus (341-270 BC), and the The Big Lebowski movie, written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, which stars Jeff Bridges as a surreal, hilarious, ironic, marijuana-smoking, satirical, forty-something character nicknamed the Dude. (Dude)
"The Palestinian Arab In/Outsiders" is an apparently comprehensive text book on the newspapers and journals published in Palestine, and more specifically after the nakba, within the Israeli green line. It provides extensive references to the many papers and journals, daily, weeklies, successful and not so successful, that have played a role in Palestine/Israel.
It recognizes difficulties of publishing efforts within a country that accepts the ideal of democracy, but that at the same time, controls to varying degrees the contents of the news. It also recognizes the important difference between works published 'for' the Arab population used to 'normalize' their actions and thoughts, and works published 'by' the Arab population which contained more emphasis on problems with the Palestinian people. The latter also contained an element of 'normalization', as the Arab papers increased their circulation by publishing more than political news but also sections on sports, fashion, and other entertainment items.
It recognizes difficulties of publishing efforts within a country that accepts the ideal of democracy, but that at the same time, controls to varying degrees the contents of the news. It also recognizes the important difference between works published 'for' the Arab population used to 'normalize' their actions and thoughts, and works published 'by' the Arab population which contained more emphasis on problems with the Palestinian people. The latter also contained an element of 'normalization', as the Arab papers increased their circulation by publishing more than political news but also sections on sports, fashion, and other entertainment items.
Whereas most traditional historical narratives say that Jim Crow was dismantled by the modern day civil rights movement, Michelle Alexander argues otherwise in The New Jim Crow. She posits that the denial of citizenship for African Americas was the plan of the Founding Fathers, and subsequent generations of Americans have found new ways to ensure the survival of that plan. The mass incarceration of black men is the current chosen method by which America continues this practice; indeed, Alexander says it has become the “new racial caste system.”
Never doubt that simple acts of generosity and solidarity can change lives---and the world.
George Whitman and his Shakespeare & Company bookstore have been uniquely powerful living proof of that. And his daughter has guaranteed it will continue.
Nestled into the Left Bank of the Seine, a stoned throw from the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral, George's bookstore has been a beacon of Bohemian/hippie/humanist/leftist writing and romance for decades.
Its roots stretch back to the great literary lights of the ex-pat 1920s and Beat 1950s. Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Joyce and Stein, Kerouac, Ginsberg, Corso....so much genius passed through the place its walls seemed to glow.
George Whitman, its owner since the 1940s, was known for letting budding young writers crash for weeks at a time. In the summer of 1967, I was one of them. Based on hippie urban legend, I sought the place out and asked if I could sleep on a couch upstairs.
Eyeing me suspiciously, George asked if I was a writer. I said I'd been a college editor, and had aspirations.
He said OK....I could have a week on the mattress.
George Whitman and his Shakespeare & Company bookstore have been uniquely powerful living proof of that. And his daughter has guaranteed it will continue.
Nestled into the Left Bank of the Seine, a stoned throw from the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral, George's bookstore has been a beacon of Bohemian/hippie/humanist/leftist writing and romance for decades.
Its roots stretch back to the great literary lights of the ex-pat 1920s and Beat 1950s. Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Joyce and Stein, Kerouac, Ginsberg, Corso....so much genius passed through the place its walls seemed to glow.
George Whitman, its owner since the 1940s, was known for letting budding young writers crash for weeks at a time. In the summer of 1967, I was one of them. Based on hippie urban legend, I sought the place out and asked if I could sleep on a couch upstairs.
Eyeing me suspiciously, George asked if I was a writer. I said I'd been a college editor, and had aspirations.
He said OK....I could have a week on the mattress.
The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress
William Jelani Cobb
Walker & Company, 2010
167 pp, Notes, Index
The title of William Cobb’s fourth book is related to several things. When Barack Obama was the junior senator from Illinois, he heard a sermon delivered by the infamous–and now strangely quiet–Reverend Jeremiah Wright, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, where Obama, his wife and daughters once worshiped, entitled The Audacity of Hope. Obama used the title of the sermon as the title of his second book. Reverend Wright, however, would have borrowed it from the apostle Paul’s letter to the Hebrews: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Cobb shows us that for once in a very long time white and black Americans voted their hopes and not their fears.
William Jelani Cobb
Walker & Company, 2010
167 pp, Notes, Index
The title of William Cobb’s fourth book is related to several things. When Barack Obama was the junior senator from Illinois, he heard a sermon delivered by the infamous–and now strangely quiet–Reverend Jeremiah Wright, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, where Obama, his wife and daughters once worshiped, entitled The Audacity of Hope. Obama used the title of the sermon as the title of his second book. Reverend Wright, however, would have borrowed it from the apostle Paul’s letter to the Hebrews: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Cobb shows us that for once in a very long time white and black Americans voted their hopes and not their fears.