Ousted Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod speaks during a panel discussion at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in San Diego. (AP)
Shirley Sherrod Speaks Out On Race Relations, Says Obama ‘Needs A Little Lesson’
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Shirley Sherrod says she is going to sue blogger Andrew Breitbart, the conservative blogger who took her words out of context, leading to her forced resignation. Sherrod also says that President Obama needs a reality check when it comes to race in America. Obama has apologized to Sherrod on behalf of the administration and the USDA has offered her a new job. She hasn’t decided whether to accept and she has instead invited the president to visit her in Georgia, so she can enlighten him. Sherrod spoke yesterday at the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists in San Diego. We speak with Mary Curtis, who writes for PoliticsDaily.com.
Being A Mixed Race Kid In America
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You may remember artist Kip Fulbeck from his 2006 book “Part Asian, 100-percent Hapa.” Hapa is the Hawaiian term for a person of mixed Asian or Pacific Island descent. We speak with Fulbeck about his new book, “Mixed: Portraits of Multi-Racial Kids.” We also speak with President Obama’s half-sister, Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng, who wrote the foreward to the book.
- Slideshow: See photos of kids- from Claire, who’s Japanese/Italian/America- to Ben, a mix of Filipino, German, Irish, Native American and English
- Listen to our 2006 interview with Kip Fulbeck, about his book “Part Asian, 100-percent Hapa.”
Bears That Attacked Campsite Are Captured
A sign at the entrance of the Soda Butte Campground outside Cooke City, Mont. warns would-be visitors to stay out after a man was killed and two people injured when a bear rampaged through the campground. (AP)
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The last grizzly bear believed to have attacked a campground near Yellowstone National Park has been captured. A sow and her three cubs are thought to have ripped into three tents at the Soda Butte campground in the Gallatin National Forest on Wednesday, killing one man and injuring two other campers. We speak with John Heine, director of the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana.
Compromise Energy Bill Heads To Senate Without Cap On Greenhouse Gases
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The Senate is poised to take up a watered-down energy bill introduced by majority leader Harry Reid. There are no caps on carbon emissions, after pressure from Republicans and Democrats from coal-producing states. But the $75-million dollar cap on liability for offshore drilling was lifted, and if passed, will apply to BP retroactively. We speak with Darren Samuelsohn of Politico, about what’s in the bill, and what’s been left out.
Tenor T'au Pupu'a (www.taupupua.com)
Former NFL Player Takes On Tanglewood
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Tenor T’au Pupu’a came to the United States from Tonga as a child and was drafted out of college to play defensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns. An injury led him to explore his love of singing, which brought him first to Juilliard, and now the Tanglewood Music Center in western Massachusetts. This week-end, T’au Pupu’a makes his debut as Bacchus in Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos.”
Music From The Show
- The Wee Trio, “About a Girl”
- The Rolling Stones, “She’s So Cold”
- Ashley MacIsaac, “Sleepy Maggie”
- Kar Kar Madison, “Boubacar Traore”
- Talking Heads, “This Must Be the Place”
I’m responding to your segment…”What Are You Listening To This Summer?”. I can tell you that on my playlist that I’m listening too this Summer is Orianthi (“Believe” cd and her current record “Believe II”). It’s such a shame that radio is not giving her and her music a chance and in my opinion, her music deserves to be on the radio airwaves.
I had the opportunity to see Orianthi perform when she brought her show in Nashville recently. She was amazing and proved that she is more than Michael Jackson’s guitarist. It’s no wonder that she has performed with Steve Vai, Carlos Santana, and Carrie Underwood to name just a few. To me, her music is a breath of fresh air from the (in my opinion) manufactured pop music that I hear on the radio these days.
In general, if there is an artist that truly deserves to be on their playlist….it’s Orianthi.
Posted by Amy Dawson, on July 30th, 2010 at 10:44 amAbout the show ‘Mixed Race in America’ – an egg is good but an omelet is delicious. Persons of mixed race bring so much into the community. Genome and phenome are both enriched. Contributions to culture and society are immeasurable. Thank you so much for the show.
Posted by Bill - Mastic Beach, NY, on July 30th, 2010 at 1:51 pmYour piece on mixed race children was interesting. However, I was very disturbed by the repeated mention of “Jewish” in a race context. I thought that by now it was well established that “Jewish” is not a race but a religion. Jews come from all different backgrounds and the “looking Jewish” stereotype should no longer be part of serious discussions. I’m blond, have green eyes and grew up in Germany and I’m Jewish. As to race, I’m Caucasian and nothing else. It was Hitler and other antisemites who tried to convince the world that Jews were a different race. That was 70 years ago. Did their indoctrination work so well that we are still confused about it today?
Posted by Monika, on July 30th, 2010 at 2:16 pmRe: Mixed Race Children. As a proud father of “hapa” daughters, I believe that they represent the hope of the future. They carry the best of their chinese and irish, german, english, and swedish heritage. they carry the best of their ethnic and racial backgrounds. We celebrate Chinese new year as well as St. Patrick’s Day. They are great in Math, but also love to bake toll-house cookies.
Posted by Ron, on July 30th, 2010 at 3:01 pmThey are the proverbial “golden people” coined by Prof. Rapson (UH Manoa): As he described, in “Fairly Lucky You Live Hawaii”, the “paisly pink” (white) majority in the continental US does not exist in Hawaii, and has not for decades. And yet, Hawaii is not really a melting pot where there are no distinct racial groups and a loss of identity, rather everyone takes pride in their ethnic heritage, and celebrates the pluralism and diversity of our society. Thank you/Mahalo.
I just listened to your interview with John Heine re. the recent grizzly attack. I couldn’t believe there was not a word about the problems the bears are encountering finding food. Hello! This situation is well documented, in fact I heard about it on another NPR show, bark beetles have decimated the pine trees the grizzlies rely on for food. This has been attributed to continued drought and warming temperatures in the northern rockies. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to connect these events. The reasons behind events is why I listen to NPR, if I want to hear the sensationalist, anthrocentric approach to news I might as well turn on Fox news. Perish the thought. Please do better and not ignore the larger picture.
Posted by Holly Blackwood, on July 30th, 2010 at 4:06 pmI thought the segment on mixed race was excellent! As an older hapa it’s something that was never discussed when I was a kid in the 60’s. Thanks for airing it.
Re Monika’s comment about Jewish being a race, I didn’t hear anyone arguing that it was. The only context I heard it in was in relation to the census and they said it’s not something you can check on the census (along with many other unavailable options). They were speaking about the difference between race and ethnicity rather than religion and certainly Jewish is an ethnicity. I am one!
Posted by Dale, on July 31st, 2010 at 11:19 amThank you for your story and interview on mixed-race children. I met Kip Fulbeck a couple of years ago at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and had him sign his book for my kids. His lectures and books are amazing and so timely as we educate society about multicultural individuals and communities. My children are half-Korean, one-quarter English, and one-quarter German. They are growing up speaking German, English, and Korean. My husband and I were also fed up with checking “one box only”. Slowly but surely, things are beginning to change! Keep up the great work!
Posted by Saehee, on July 31st, 2010 at 4:17 pm