Feb

10

Truth and Reconciliation American Style

Filed Under Black/African American Issues, Crime/Hate Crimes, Race and Racism, U.S. History, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

In this video, former Klu Klux Klan member Owen Wilson discusses his apology to congressman John Lewis. The story is very powerful, and it’s a classic feel-good redemption story.

On the one hand, it is really nice to see someone come around and realize the error of their ways. On the other hand, it’s sad that we don’t have more people from Mr. Wilson’s generation (and other generations) coming forward to apologize for their roles in these historic events.

May

11

Analysis of a Local Public Disturbance

Filed Under Black/African American Issues, Class Classism and Economic Inequality, Crime/Hate Crimes, Demography, Environment and Conservation, Hip Hop, Politics, Race and Racism | 18 Comments

Note: This is a long piece and rambles over a lot of ground before I get to something resembling a point. I felt the pull of the current while writing it; I just wanted to get it out as soon as possible. I’m going to take a break from guest-posting here for a bit afterwards, since I have a lot of obligations coming up. I’m sure Sewere and Lyonside will soon have some interesting posts to fill the temporary guesting gap.

What makes a viral video?

Here are some qualities I’ve noticed.

1) They show a human or animal engaged in some unique or extreme activity
2) They exhibit noteworthy artistic skill or cleverness
3) They greatly reinforce prior beliefs
4) They greatly challenge prior beliefs
5) Newsworthy: they show something that connects with our sense of the local and the current, the here and now. We can relate the narrative of our lives to what happens in the video.

These videos also generate mountains of racially-based commentaries wherever they’re posted. Actually, it’s often more a spittle-flecked monologue than it is a dialogue.

I’ll talk about two other viral videos before I show the Soulja Girl one.

I remember a video from last year that showed a high school fight. Two young men take off their shirts and square off. It’s a white kid and a smaller, shorter Asian kid. The crowd is yelling their support of the white kid; they’re on his side. It begins. Whoever uploaded it has added a soundtrack: Rick Ross’ “Everday I’m Hustlin” booms over the fight. The Asian kid moves like greased lightning and after a few punches, the white kid is down. He gets up and walks off. The Asian kid drops him again; this time he can barely stagger away, blood and bits of teeth spraying from his mouth. The video ends.

This video was popular among Asian-Americans, for obvious reasons. A narrative built up around it. The white kid was the bully. The Asian kid was the hero. The narrative had dubious authenticity, but it felt right, it fit with the video and it fit with many of our experiences. I’ve certainly had the experience, multiple times at school, of being surrounded by a circle of hostile white kids screaming at me. I watched the video several times. It created a strong surge of mixed emotion. I couldn’t think straight while watching it. I loved it and hated it at the same time for making me romanticize the violence.

Another example is a popular video I saw last year that’s much less violent but seemed to arouse equally strong emotions. A young, pretty, blond white girl sits in front of the camera and talks about her infatuation with Arab men. Nothing is pornographic or poetic; her tone is quite flat and even bland. Arab men are handsome. They’re sexy. They’re romantic. They know how to treat women well. They’re fun to hang out with. She only goes out with Arab men now. Her current boyfriend is Arab. She’s learning Arabic. She’s converting to Islam. That’s it, really.

You can imagine how the typical anti-Arab commenter reacts to this. Her positive stereotyping sends them into a frenzy. What she believes is the exact opposite of what any white, presumably Christian woman is supposed to believe about Arab men. It’s a huge challenge to their own beliefs, and they have to deal with it by turning her into a non-representative freak, someone who’s not deserving of the title of woman, even.

If it was a more common fetish for example, a white man giving similarly bland reasons for liking Asian women — there is no way the video would have gotten the same attention and reaction.

I first saw the Soulja Girl video at the Creative Loafing blog. It’s a local Atlanta blog. There are other local sources for the video. It’s viral because it’s current, it involves something that almost all Atlantans are familiar with (the MARTA train), it shows an extreme of human behavior and it reinforces some prior beliefs for a lot of people. I have to warn viewers, the video is quite depressing and is going to arouse a lot of negative emotions. I’m going to talk much more about those reactions than about the video itself.

Here are some comments from the initial Creative Loafing post. There’s a good dialogue in that the stupid comments do not go unchallenged.

Reason #3,129 guns should be kept off MARTA

# Jill Chambers Says:
May 7th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
It’s just one more reason why MARTA needs to have their police actually riding on the trains. How sad that someone would so rudely disrespect the elderly woman and that all those other riders did not even try to come to her defense.

# Cricket Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 6:46 am
This is a perfect reason that people with concealed carry permits SHOULD be allowed on MARTA. If I had seen this, and it had escalated to actual physical violence, I would have no problem giving that ghetto wh*re two in the hat.

# Ken Edelstein Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Cricket, you make the point of gun control advocates everywhere.

# DaleC Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Cricket it DID escalate to physical violence when the guy finally stood up and stopped the aggressor. No weapons needed.
That poor old woman. I can’t believe it took that long for SOMEBODY to stand up to her being assaulted.
Notice how rapidly Soulja Girl’s attitude changed when she was confronted by someone who showed force in an appropriate manner.
Bullies fold when someone calls them on their crap. It’s a shame it took someone that long to stand up to her.
As an aside, don’t you just LOVE the beautiful world of Hard Core Hip Hop culture.

# Roxie Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Dude, Dale, did you just call “superman” Hard Core HipHop?
Please, appropriately hang your head in shame.
The woman in the video was not a life threatening individual. Although, she is severely testing sanity and patience, being horrendously disrespectful, aggressive, and antagonizing..It was NOT dealt with appropriately by the young man, as you can see, it only escalated the situation. There are better ways to deal with something like this that do not involve HITTING.
Of course, armchair quarterbacking is so easy. It took so long for ppl to respond b/c they couldn’t believe what was happening and certainly didn’t expect it to last as long as it did.

Hilarious.
# nast Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Seeing as how this incident was defused by a simple act of wig pulling, perhaps Gov. Perdue should sign a bill that protects individual rights to pull others’ wigs in restaurants, parks, churches and other public places.
“A wig-pulling society is a polite society.”

In the next update to the story, the spittle-flecked monologue begins.

MARTA statement regarding videotaped lunacy

# troy c Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Is she an Obama superdelegate?

# LMM66 Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Not one of those losers tried to help an elderly woman. Everyone there was dumb*** you-know-what. As people have mentioned here already, THIS is how stereotypes are formed. And whether folks like it or not, THIS is the norm for “them”.

# Weary One Says:
May 10th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
M.A.R.T.A.
Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta

# Roxie Says:
May 11th, 2008 at 1:02 am
Wow. I didn’t know so many racists liked CL.

MARTA actually stands for Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (although everyone knows the other five words). It’s a contentious intersection of race, politics and economics.

Compared to better-known train systems, such as New York City, the trains are very limited in the ground they cover. The crime rate is low and the trains and stations are extraordinarily clean. Everyday users of the MARTA trains are predominantly working-class/middle-class African-Americans. All other Atlantans take the trains periodically, usually to go the airport or to attend special events held downtown.

Central Atlanta is a diverse mix, with the largest bloc being native (Atlanta-born) African-American. White people who live inside Atlanta are comparatively progressive in their politics, especially because of the huge GLBT community. They’re not a choir of enlightened angels, by any means, but one thing is sure: if they were scared of seeing and talking to black people every day, they wouldn’t be living where they do.

The suburbs to the east are where many richer, non-Atlanta-born African-Americans have settled. And to the far north, the suburbs trace the arc of white flight. The iron claws of the northern suburbs have had a pretty bad effect on the development of public transportation in Atlanta. Their politics, plus the road-construction lobby’s dirty money, ensures that Atlanta’s traffic congestion and air quality get worse and worse every year. MARTA’s system is funded only by the two counties of metropolitan Atlanta, although people from the surrounding counties frequently use it for park-and-ride. The counties of the northern suburbs refuse to link their own systems to it, for fear of getting too many undesirable people in their neighborhoods. A well known fact: “MARTA is unique in that it is the largest United States transit agency not to receive state operational funding.”

The comments to the video illustrate an intense fear and loathing of public transportation. This fear and loathing feeds from racism, then back into racism, in a vicious feedback loop. “If only I could never leave my car,” they pray. But parking is limited at their sporting events and their centers of bureaucracy. Every once in a while, they have to bravely step onto a MARTA train. And they’re not even allowed to carry their guns on board! They resent that.

Anyone who is passionate about Atlanta and knowledgeable about Atlanta and lives inside it, no matter what their race, knows about this dynamic. We’re all hostages to it.

Getting back to a more personal level, what do viewers feel about the woman?

I didn’t think that drugs were involved. It definitely wasn’t crack. People on crack aren’t that fluid and expressive and coordinated in their movements. I think a lot of people on the train had the same visceral reaction I did the fear and awe of the mad. If you don’t look at them, maybe they won’t notice you.

In fact, that’s what happened. I read it first at local videojournalist A.Man.I’s blog: Soulja Girl Turns Herself In. The fuller story was reported here and on local radio stations.

MARTA’s ‘Soulja Girl’ Getting the Help She Needs

She’s only 25 years old, but the dark bags under Nafiza Z.’s eyes tell the story of a young life blighted by psychosis, delusions, hallucinations and mania that are the hallmarks of her mental disorder.

Yesterday afternoon, Nafiza, was in the DeKalb County jail receiving the psychiatric treatment she desperately needed. But on April 7th, Nafiza was spiraling out of control on a MARTA train traveling through Atlanta’s east side.

The scenes captured on another passenger’s cell phone of Nafiza aka “Soulja Girl” terrorizing an elderly passenger – caused a sensation on the Internet and embarrassed MARTA officials who quickly issued a warrant for her arrest.

People with bipolar disorder aren’t usually that violent or aggressive even in their manic phase. They are usually more of a danger to themselves than they are to others.

Nafiza’s boyfriend Dee, with whom she has a baby son, said it more eloquently when he called into the Ryan Cameron Show on Friday, “If she wasn’t bipolar she would be the good a person on earth,” said Dee.


“That girl got a good heart. The city don’t help her, man! They just kick her back out on the streets. The city don’t help [black mentally ill] folks like that. Once you get in that [manic] stage you can’t help yourself. It mess with your mind, man. Once your mind gone it’s a wrap!”

I don’t know exactly what it’s like to be in the grip of clinical mania, adrenaline coursing through your body, other strange chemicals surging through your brain. But I know what it feels like to be a witness to something like that. Perhaps the awe and fear of the bystander is partly because of our empathy with mania… as if we’re seeing the dial turned up to 10 on an experience we’ve felt at level 3 or 4.

It reminds me of a bizarre experience I had when I was in college in Miami. I was at a donut shop late at night, studying with some friends. An older white man walked in and set down at the booth next to us. He started talking very loudly to the air in a sharp, agonized tone. It was a monologue about being a Vietnam vet and how he was betrayed and how it was all the fault of the gooks. That sentiment, those words, over and over again.

My friends were shrinking into their seats. They were all foreign students and terrified of getting into trouble and getting deported, especially the one from Iraq. I had the opposite reaction. My skin was on fire, there was a buzzing noise in my ears, my body started shivering and trembling as if someone had plugged me into an electric current, and everytime he said the word “gook” the current spiked. After a couple minutes of this, I couldn’t take it anymore. I got up and faced him and started yelling back.

There was chaos after that point. Another older white man came over, said he was also a Vietnam vet and then took my side of the loud, disjointed argument. The staff of the donut shop got involved. There were numerous threats of ass-kicking. The police came. They tried to talk him down but eventually arrested him after he got into his car, because he was obviously in no condition to drive.

My friends, who hadn’t moved during the whole time, told me I was crazy. Yes, my actions were pretty irrational, but I didn’t feel like I had a choice. I’d waded up to my knees in something that the mentally ill man was drowning in. I suppose I won, but my victory was pretty hollow.

This was the first narrative that I connected to the video I watched today. But after that man went out into the parking lot, I have no idea how his story began or ended.

After I read a bit more of Nafiza Z.’s story, I feel almost guilty for writing this analysis. I still empathize with the bystanders and the poor elderly lady, but I also empathize with her terrible struggle. I hope these words will go to show how the hatred expressed toward her has more to do with a complicated web of politics, race and resentment than it does with her actual actions. Finally, I hope she can transcend the person shown in that video and become the person she wants to be.

Apr

25

Sean Bell Verdict: Officers Acquitted of All Charges

Filed Under Black/African American Issues, Crime/Hate Crimes | 16 Comments

A quote from NPR:

A New York judge has found three police officers not guilty in the death of an unarmed black man who was hit by a barrage of bullets and died hours before his wedding.

Justice Arthur Cooperman cleared two officers of manslaughter and other charges and a third of reckless endangerment in the death of Sean Bell, 23. Along with two friends, Bell was shot after a bachelor party at a Queens strip club on Nov. 25, 2006. Bullets struck Bell 50 times.

I’m not surprised.? I followed the case closely, and it seemed that the prosecution wasn’t trying hard at all, which isn’t surprising since the prosecution has to rely on the New York Police Department to help them with their cases.

The next round in this case will be civil trials, where the victims, or in Bell’s case his family, will be suing the city and/or officers for monetary damages.

Feb

14

No More Jury Duty: I Got a Preemptive Dismissal

Filed Under Black/African American Issues, Crime/Hate Crimes, Gender and Sexism, Politics, Race and Racism | 2 Comments

My jury duty in US District Court is over.? I got dismissed on a pre-emptory challenge, which basically means the lawyers for the state or for the defense were able to dismiss me without giving a reason.? ? Below is a little background on pre-emptory challenges; they are not without controversy, especially with regard to race and gender.? I found a nice description from this website.? Here is an excerpt:

During the selection of a jury, both parties to the proceeding may challenge prospective jurors for a lack of impartiality, known as a challenge for cause. A party may challenge an unlimited number of prospective jurors for cause. Parties also may exercise a limited number of peremptory challenges. These challenges permit a party to remove a prospective juror without giving a reason for the removal.

Peremptory challenges provide a more impartial and better qualified jury. Peremptory challenges allow an attorney to reject a potential juror for real or imagined partiality that would be difficult to demonstrate under the challenge for cause category. These challenges, however, have become more difficult to exercise because the U.S. Supreme Court has forbidden peremptory strikes based on race or gender.

Parties do not have a federal constitutional right to exercise peremptory challenges. Peremptory challenges are granted by statute or by case law. The number of challenges is usually determined by statute, but some jurisdictions allow the trial court to grant additional peremptory challenges. In federal court each side is entitled to three peremptory challenges. If more than two parties are involved in the proceeding, the court may either grant additional challenges or restrict the parties to the minimum number of challenges.

Peremptory challenges came under legal attack in the 1980s. Critics claimed that white prosecutors used their peremptory challenges to remove African Americans from the jury when the criminal defendant was also African American because the prosecutors thought that the potential jurors would be sympathetic to a member of their own race. This constituted racial discrimination and a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S. Ct. 1712, 90 L. Ed. 2d 69 (1986), prohibited prosecutors from excluding prospective jurors on the basis of race. Under the Batson test, a defendant may object to a prosecutor’s peremptory challenge. The prosecutor then must “come forward with a neutral explanation for challenging black jurors.” If the prosecutor cannot offer a neutral explanation, the court will not excuse the juror.

The Court extended this holding in criminal proceedings in two later cases. In Powers v. Ohio, 499 U.S. 400, 111 S. Ct. 1364, 113 L. Ed. 2d 411 (1991), the Court broadened the Batson rule by stating that a defendant need not be of the same race as the excluded juror in order to successfully challenge the juror’s exclusion. In Georgia v. McCollum, 505 U.S. 42, 112 S. Ct. 2348, 120 L. Ed. 2d 33 (1992), the Court held that the defense’s exercise of peremptory challenges to strike African American jurors on the basis of their race was equally forbidden. Previously, the court had ruled in Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., 500 U.S. 614, 111 S. Ct. 2077, 114 L. Ed. 2d 660 (1991), that in civil trials a private party could not exclude prospective jurors on account of their race by using peremptory challenges. This series of decisions makes any racial exclusion in jury selection constitutionally suspect.

The Supreme Court has also forbidden peremptory challenges based on gender. In J. E. B. v. Alabama, 511 U.S. 127, 114 S. Ct. 1419, 128 L. Ed. 2d 89 (1994), the Court ruled that striking jurors on the basis of gender serves to perpetuate stereotypes that are prejudicial and based on historical discrimination. No overriding State Interest justified peremptory challenges on the basis of gender. Permitting gender-based strikes could also have undermined the Batson holding, because gender might be used as an excuse for racial discrimination.

In an extension of Batson, the Supreme Court of Connecticut ruled that the Equal Protection Clause barred the prosecutor from striking prospective jurors based on their religious affiliation. The court, in State v. Hodge, 726 A.2d 531 (Conn.1999), distinguished religious beliefs and religious affiliations. It held that litigants could strike prospective jurors whose religious beliefs would prevent them from performing their duties as jurors.

Feb

7

Portsmouth, Ohio School Shooting

Filed Under Crime/Hate Crimes | 17 Comments

I woke up this morning to hear that a teacher was shot at a Portsmouth, Ohio elementary school. My mother is a teacher at a Portsmouth, Ohio elementary school, so I jumped up. She actually works in West Portsmouth, but I didn’t trust the news to have the story right (and it’s not like the towns are that far apart).

I was able to find this news release:

PORTSMOUTH, OH — 13News is continuing to follow a school-related shooting near Notre Dame Elementary.

Police confirm a female teacher has been shot. The condition of the victim is not known at this time. We’re told the victim was taken to an area hospital and is now being taken by helicopter to a Columbus Hospital.

Police have locked down the elementary school and Notre Dame High School as they continue to search for a suspect. Police have also locked down nearby businesses and asked people who live in the neighborhood to stay inside their house.

Portsmouth police put the hospital on alert. Parents are asked to go to Southern Ohio Medical Center Life Center Room A for more information on the safety of their children.

Law enforcement are also investigating an incident on Argonne Road this morning. At this point, it’s not known if the two are related.

From my perspective, the good news is that it is not at my mother’s school; it is at the local Catholic school. The Cable TV news stations are saying the suspect is the shooting victim’s husband (which was my guess before I knew any information). The suspect is still on the loose.

Update: Apparently, they have found the suspect who is barricaded himself in house and is surrounded by police. Fortunately, none of the children were injured by this guy.

Jan

9

(Pt 1) 2007 The Year in Race, Ethnicity, and Racism: The Top 10 List of the Most Fashionable Racial Trends

Filed Under Black/African American Issues, Crime/Hate Crimes, Jena 6, Original Essays and Analysis, Pop Culture, Race and Racism, Racism Round-Up, Uncategorized, Xenophobia and Immigration | 15 Comments

In 2006, inspired by Racialicous, I put up a post of the top trends in race and racism for 2006. Given the popularity of that post, and the general enjoyment I get from discussing folks’ perceptions of trends, I figured I would make a list again this year. Here is the list in no particular order:

1. Return of the Noose and Lynching Metaphors–Nooses were everywhere this year. Some think the Jena 6 Case brought the noose as a hate symbol back to the forefront. In reality, it’s hard to know if there actually were more hate crimes this involving the brandishing of nooses, since there are not concrete statistics kept on this. Diversity Inc., which attempted to keep track of noose incidents across the US, notes 67 noose incidents across the US1. Whether or not the rates of noose related hate crimes were up, discussions of the noose and it’s connection to lynching were everywhere even CNN had a special called “The Noose An American Nightmare.

2. Rise of Black Bloggers as a Political Force– While I have noticed a big increase in the number of African American blogs since I started blogging in 2005, this was the first year black bloggers seemed to coalesce as a social force. Group blogs like the Afro Spear and What About Our Daughters helped focus debate on cases such as the Jena 6 and Dunbar Village. Now to be fair these were just two groups of bloggers, several more independent bloggers2 also helped shed light on stories that were generally ignored in the mainstream media. In some cases like Jena 6, blogs were created specifically for the issue at hand, and those blogs helped organize thousands of people to write, march, and speak out. Thanks to the organizing power of black bloggers thousands of protesters turned out in Jena, LA and this was just the most widely known social movement fueled by black blogs.

3. Anti-Chinese Rhetoric–You’d think there was a vast Chinese conspiracy to poison American children and pets if you watched one media outlet after another report on product recalls. The problem with most of these stories is what they didn’t tell you. For example, most toys sold in the US are from China, so it should come as no surprise that most of they toys being recalled are from China. For a good comparison, checkout recalled food products, since most foods eaten in the US are grown in the US, you will see a list with many US based growers and companies. Does this mean we should not eat food made in the US? What reporters also didn’t tell us is that most toys were recalled for design problems not manufacturing problems, and guess what? The toys weren’t designed in China. Furthermore, only a tiny portion of Chinese made toys were actually recalled. The vast majority of Chinese made toys were safe! I think the popularity of Chinese toy phobia, is related to some of our general stereotypes of Chinese people in particular and Asians in general. It reminds me a little of the 1980s when similar comments were made about Japanese products. It seems that every time an Asian country starts to become a strong economic competitor these stories emerge. I’m not disputing that there are problems in China’s labor and safety standards, and I think the plethora of stories on rampant pollution in China are accurate, but the primary people harmed by these social problems are the Chinese people. Furthermore, the American news media’s rhetoric greatly exaggerated the extent and significance of these problems. I can help thinking that the smear campaign is also related to the upcoming Olympics being help in China, but that remains to be seen.

4. Xenophobia and Anti-Immigrant Sentiment– Immigrant haters were out in full force this year. In fact, the xenophobes have single-handedly attempted to turn the word illegal in a noun. Bigots like Lou Dobbs banged the anti-immigrant drum the loudest. They encouraged Americans to believe that illegal immigrants were destroying America. They opposed laws that would allow undocumented children, who were brought to the US by their parents, to get college financial aid; they separated breastfeeding mothers from their infants; they blamed undocumented immigrants for crime even though studies have shown immigrants have a lower rate of crime than native born folks; and some even suggested the US get rid of birthright citizenship. What is incredibly fascinating about most of the debate on immigration is that most Americans don’t have a clue about immigration trends and laws. Today’s immigrants are wealthier and more educated than ever, but this doesn’t seep into the debate.

5. Asian Male TV Characters– Late in 2006, Racialicious had a series of posts on the 5 (Part 1; Part 2) most fascinating Asian Male TV characters. There was a time not long ago when there weren’t even 5 recurring Asian male characters on network television. While there is still a long way to go, I think this was a relatively good year for Asian men on TV. I even noticed more commercials with Asian men in them, and as atlasien noted in a recent comment, several reality TV shows had Asian cast members prominently featured. Some may wonder why I said Asian men and not Asian women. Although I don’t have any numbers in front of me, the representation for men seem to increase much more rapidly.

In a few days, I’ll post the next 5 trends that I thought were most popular this year. Since it may spoil the discussion on the next post, please try to focus on these 5 trends, rather than speculating about the next 5 (because I know y’all will bring up some of those ) I also realize that this list is very US biased, so I’m curious to see what some of the readers outside of the US noticed in their countries this past year.

  1. Unfortunately, they do not specify a time frame for the 67 incidents. [back]
  2. Sorry I don’t have the space to promote everyone’s site here, but a quick scroll through the blogroll on the left will reveal some great blogs that are often overlooked. [back]

Jan

5

Father Disapproves of Marriage and Kills Daughter, Son-in-Law, and Grandchild

Filed Under Crime/Hate Crimes, Family Issues, Gender and Sexism, International Racism, Interracial Relationships, Sociology | 11 Comments

This is a really depressing story, and since it clear intersects with many of the topics we deal with on this site, I wanted to post it.

A 57-year-old Indian man has been charged with killing his pregnant daughter, son-in-law and grandson by setting afire their apartment in the US state of Illinois because he was upset over her marrying a man from a “lower caste”.

Subhash Chander faces three counts of first-degree murder, one count of homicide of an unborn child and one count of aggravated arson, and was denied bail by Judge Martin E McDonough.

Monika Rani, 22, Rajesh Kumar, 36, and their son, Vansh, 3 were killed in the weekend blaze. Rani was about five months pregnant, authorities said.

Chander told police that he was upset with his daughter and son-in-law because they married without his consent and he considered Kumar to be from a “lower caste”, First Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Milan was quoted as saying by media here.

But Chander’s sister Kamla Devi said it was not true. She said the family accepted the marriage and that the caste system was not a factor to the family at all.

She claimed it was something that “people have brought up in the US since the family has immigrated from India”.

On the night of the fire, Chander went to a gas station to buy gas for his son, but decided to give it to his daughter instead. After arriving at her door, he said, Kumar told him that it was late and asked him to leave.

He told police that Kumar started to push him and some of the gas from the container in his hand spilled onto the carpet just inside the door. Chander told police that he became “upset and angry” and pulled a lighter from his pocket and set the carpet on fire.

Chander said that he did not call police or the fire department to report the fire, nor did he call his daughter to make sure she and her family were safe.

A few media outlets have used this as an opportunity to discuss domestic violence in Chicago’s South Asian communities:

This was the third Chicago-area case in one year involving an Indian family, domestic violence and fire. NBC 5 asked counselors who serve the Indian community about that on Wednesday.

The Hamdard Center in Addison provides domestic violence counseling to more than 270 Indian and Pakistani families every year. Chairman Dr. Mohammad Hamid said the threat to family honor is a common thread in these cases, but said there is no evidence domestic violence is more common in the Indian community than other cultures.

The difference, counselors said, is that Indian families often refuse to get help before anger turns to rage.”They want to keep this a private matter and solve it at home,” said Hamid.

Relatives of Chander have insisted he did not set the fire.Counselors said if the allegations are true, this is an extreme and isolated case they hope will call attention to the problem of domestic violence in every community.

I have seen a few studies on domestic violence in South Asian families here in the US, and while it is very difficult to determine if the rates of domestic violence are higher in this group, the studies do indicate that there are numerous barriers that South Asian immigrants face in getting help in domestic violence situations. Some of those barriers are related to cultural norms, but many of the barriers are also related to lack of availability and culturally sensitive domestic violence counselors and shelters (which is true for many immigrants and native born people of color).

For those who are interested in supporting the Hamdard Center here is the link.

Nov

29

Arrest Made in Suburban New York Cross Burning

Filed Under Black/African American Issues, Crime/Hate Crimes, Race and Racism, Sociology | 14 Comments

Just before Thanksgiving a Black family in suburban New York city found a cross burning in their yard. The police have arrested 21 year old Christopher Hudak for this crime.

Police have charged a 21-year-old Cortlandt man with burning a cross on a black family’s lawn the night before Thanksgiving, and prosecutors said he threatened to slit a potential witness’ throat.

Christopher Hudak of 27 Ridge Road is the older brother of one of the girls involved in a fight at Hendrick Hudson High School with Timothy Artope, 15, the oldest son of the family victimized by the cross burning.

Hudak, charged with first-degree aggravated harassment, a felony, was arraigned this afternoon in Peekskill City Court. His lawyer denied the allegation, but entered no formal plea.

City Judge William Maher set bail at $10,000 and issued nine orders of protection, seven for members of the Artope family and two for people in whom Hudak confided about the cross burning. Prosecutors say Hudak threatened to slit the throat of one of those individuals if they told anyone about the crime.

Wesley Artope, Timothy’s father, welcomed the news that an arrest had been made so quickly.

“I’m relieved that someone is being held accountable, and I’m relieved that my family can relax as far as feeling that they were under any danger.”

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said at a news conference this morning that Hudak was charged under a section of the law established in June 2006 that makes cross burning a hate crime.

Police charged Hudak late last night after searching his home. An alibi he had given police earlier in the week broke down, police said, prompting them to obtain a search warrant that turned up computer records that led to his arrest.

You can read the entire story here.