Leid Stories – 06.18.15

Massacre in South Carolina: A ‘Hate Crime’ or Something Else?

Rachel Dolezal and the ‘Science’ of Racial Identity

A prayer meeting Wednesday night at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, the oldest AME church in the South, came to a violent end when a white gunman who was among the congregants opened fire, killing nine, including the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, pastor of the church and a member of the state Senate. Police are calling the attack a “hate crime.” But is it something else?

And now, the world of “science” chimes in on the Rachel Dolezal saga. An article published yesterday by Live Science features “experts” on ethnicity and racial identity debating whether Dolezal can “choose” an identity different from the one she was born with. Leid Stories discusses the false construct of race and identity in America as central to the science of domination and control.

The Mark Riley Show – 06.17.15

Trump runs for President (this time for real, he says ). As Gothamist says, one more on the clown bus. Why is he running? Jeb Bush is also running, but so what? This is about Donald!

New York rent regulations expire amid last minute talks. This is a disgrace of epic proportions. Legislators are paid to pass laws so things like this don’t happen. And what were they debating while the rent reg deadline came and went? Just ask ‘em.

Leid Stories – 06.17.15

In the Dominican Republic, Mass Deportations of Haitians Loom

Rachel Dolezal’s Racial Dilemma Is An Old American Story

Hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic face deportation if by the end of the day today they aren’t able to comply with complicated, widely criticized laws the government has set for their residency and citizenship in the country.

Veteran journalist Kim Ives, a prizewinning documentarian and editor of the news weekly Haïti Liberté, explains the history and impact of these race-based laws, which have rendered more than 500,000 Haitians in the Dominican Republic stateless.

The Rachel Dolezal saga continues to dominate the headlines, with new stories highlighting deep family dysfunction. But the story that started it all—her self-assigned racial identity as an African American woman—is in fact an old American story, says Leid Stories.

Leid Stories – 06.15.15

Hillary’s Off. And Running Against Obama?

Black Like Me: What Should Rachel Dolezal’s Story Mean to America?

A vapid yawner of a speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds yesterday, scripted to the nth degree by her political handlers, did little to sell Hillary Clinton’s self-proclaimed superlative experience and skills in international trade. Instead, the Democratic presidential candidate took aim at her former boss and “buddy,” criticizing President Barack Obama’s handling of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and related trade issues, but not saying where she stands on the TPP. (Note to Hillary: Obama’s not running.)

Leid Stories explains what’s behind Hillary’s attack on Obama and her murkiness about her position on the TPP and similar trade agreements.

The national brouhaha rages on about Rachel Dolezal—the Eastern Washington University professor and president of the NAACP’s local chapter in Spokane—over her claimed African American identity.

What should Dolezal’s story, and the furor it has caused, mean to America?