# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
MASKWACIS, Alberta - Pope Francis issued a historic apology Monday for the Catholic Church's cooperation with Canada's "catastrophic" policy of Indigenous residential schools, saying the forced assimilation of Native peoples into Christian society destroyed their cultures, severed families and marginalized generations in ways still being felt today.

"I am sorry," Francis said, to applause from school survivors and Indigenous community members gathered at a former residential school south of Edmonton, Alberta, the first event of Francis' weeklong "penitential pilgrimage" to Canada.

The morning after he arrived in the country, Francis traveled to the lands of four Cree nations to pray at a cemetery. Four chiefs then escorted the pontiff in his wheelchair to powwow ceremonial grounds where he delivered the long-sought apology and was given a feathered headdress.

"I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples," Francis said near the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School, now largely torn down.

His words went beyond his earlier apology for the "deplorable" acts of missionaries and instead took responsibility for the church's institutional cooperation with the "catastrophic" assimilation policy, which Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission said amounted to a "cultural genocide."

More than 150,000 native children in Canada were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools from the 19th century until the 1970s in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their homes and culture. The aim was to Christianize and assimilate them into mainstream society, which previous Canadian governments considered superior.

The Canadian government has admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant at the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages. That legacy of that abuse and isolation from family has been cited by Indigenous leaders as a root cause of the epidemic rates of alcohol and drug addiction now on Canadian reservations.

The discoveries of hundreds of potential burial sites at former schools in the past year drew international attention to the legacy of the schools in Canada and their counterparts in the United States. The discoveries prompted Francis to comply with the truth commission's call for him to apologize on Canadian soil for the Catholic Church's role; Catholic religious orders operated 66 of the 139 schools in Canada.

Many in the crowd Monday wore traditional dress, including colorful ribbon skirts and vests with Native motifs. Others donned orange shirts, which have become a symbol of residential school survivors, recalling the story of one woman whose favorite orange shirt, a gift from her grandmother, was confiscated when she arrived at a school and replaced with a uniform.

Despite the solemnity of the event, the atmosphere seemed at times joyful: Chiefs processed into the site venue to a hypnotic drumbeat, elders danced and the crowd cheered and chanted war songs, victory songs and finally a healing song.

One of the hosts of the event, Chief Randy Ermineskin of the Ermineskin Cree Nation, said some had chosen to stay away - and that that was understandable. But he said it was nevertheless a historic, important day for his people.

"My late family members are not here with us anymore, my parents went to residential school, I went to residential school," he told The Associated Press as he waited for Francis to arrive. "I know they're with me, they're listening, they're watching."

Felisha Crier Hosein traveled from Florida to attend in the place of her mother, who helped create the museum for the nearby Samson Cree Nation and had planned to attend, but died in May.

"I came here to represent her and to be here for the elders and the community," said Hosein, who wore one of her mother's colorful ribbon skirts.

"Sorry is not going to make what happened go away," she said. "But it means a lot to the elders."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who last year voiced an apology for the "incredibly harmful government policy" in organizing the residential school system, was also attending along with the governor general and other officials.

As part of a lawsuit settlement involving the government, churches and approximately 90,000 survivors, Canada paid reparations that amounted to billions of dollars being transferred to Indigenous communities. Canada's Catholic Church says its dioceses and religious orders have provided more than $50 million in cash and in-kind contributions and hope to add $30 million more over the next five years.

While the pope acknowledged institutional blame, he also made clear that Catholic missionaries were merely cooperating with and implementing the government policy of assimilation, which he termed the "colonizing mentality of the powers."

"I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the Church and of religious communities cooperated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of residential schools," he said.

He said the policy marginalized generations, suppressed Indigenous languages, severed families, led to physical, verbal, psychological and spiritual abuse and "indelibly affected relationships between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren." He called for further investigation, a possible reference to Indigenous demands for further access to church records and personnel files of the priests and nuns to identify who was responsible for the abuses.

"Although Christian charity was not absent, and there were many outstanding instances of devotion and care for children, the overall effects of the policies linked to the residential schools were catastrophic," Francis said. " What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

The first pope from the Americas was determined to make this trip, even though torn knee ligaments forced him to cancel a visit to Africa earlier this month.

The six-day visit - which will also include other former school sites in Alberta, Quebec City and Iqaluit, Nunavut, in the far north - follows meetings Francis held in the spring at the Vatican with delegations from the First Nations, Metis and Inuit. Those meetings culminated with an April 1 apology for the "deplorable" abuses committed by some Catholic missionaries in residential schools and Francis' promise to deliver an apology in person on Canadian soil.

Francis recalled that during in April, one of the delegations gave him a set of beaded moccasins as a symbol of the children who never returned from the schools, and asked him to return them in Canada. Francis said in these months they had "kept alive my sense of sorrow, indignation and shame" but that in returning them he hoped they could also represent a path to walk together.

Event organizers said they would do everything possible to make sure survivors could attend the event, busing them in and offering mental health counselors to be on hand knowing that the event could be traumatic for some.

Francis acknowledged that the memories could trigger old wounds, and that even his mere presence there could be traumatic, but he said remembering was important to prevent indifference.

"It is necessary to remember how the policies of assimilation and enfranchisement, which also included the residential school system, were devastating for the people of these lands," he said.

Later Monday, Francis was scheduled to visit Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, a Catholic parish in Edmonton oriented toward Indigenous people and culture. The church, whose sanctuary was dedicated last week after being restored from a fire, incorporates Indigenous language and customs in liturgy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Pope Francis issues an historic apology for 'devastating' school abuses in Canada

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pope Francis issued a long-awaited apology and took responsibility for the church's cooperation in generations of abuse and cultural suppression at Catholic residential schools across Canada.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Meet Corinne Tan.

The Aspen, Colo., native loves skiing and training her rescue puppy. She's adjusting to life with her new blended family. She has dark hair with turquoise highlights. And she's an 18-inch tall doll.

Corinne is American Girl's latest "Girl of the Year," and the first ever of Chinese descent.

"While filled with outdoor adventure and fun, Corinne's message is, ultimately, about the power of love - between families, friends, and communities - and the strength and courage that comes from it," American Girl General Manager Jamie Cygielman said in a statement. "We created Corinne to be a positive role model our fans can look up to and learn from as we all work toward a world where everyone is treated fairly and with respect."

The Mattel-owned doll company introduced her at the start of the year, and also announced a partnership with student-led nonprofit AAPI Youth Rising in an effort "to help amplify young voices like Corinne's."

The nonprofit aims to raise awareness about the rise in xenophobia and anti-Asian racism in America, and calls for positive change through education. American Girl says it is donating $25,000 to the group's ONE/180 pledge, which asks schools and teachers nationwide to include at least one classroom lesson about Asian American and Pacific Islander history and culture each year.

According to American Girl, Corinne's story aims to teach kids about embracing family change, sharing their feelings, tackling problems one step at a time and standing up to racism.

Bringing Corinne and her family to life was a group effort.

A five-person advisory team of various academics and athletes weighed in on Corinne's development, offering feedback on the authenticity and accuracy of the doll's features and key accessories (which include knitwear, ski accessories and a plush puppy).

American Girl puts out books that feature stories about their dolls. In Corinne's books, she's proud to be Chinese American, but is too stunned to respond when a boy at the skating rink tells her she has "Kung flu." In another incident, Corinne and her sister hear a man make a racist joke outside their mom's restaurant - and watching her mom confront him gives Corinne "the words and courage she needs to stand up to her own racist bully."

"Although surefooted and brave on the mountain, Corinne must find her balance as she adjusts to her new blended family and the courage to speak up when faced with xenophobic comments," the company says. "Through Corinne's stories, young readers learn that home means being surrounded by the people they love and to be proud of who they are, while advocating for positive change."

Author Wendy Wan-Long Shang and illustrator Peijin Yang created two books featuring Corinne and her little sister Gwynn - the first-ever Girl of the Year companion doll, according to the company.

"What I really hope is that there is some part of Corinne's story that makes readers feel seen, whether it's because they are Asian American, or they love skiing, or because they're part of a blended family," said Shang, who wrote most of the series during the pandemic. "I think when readers feel seen, they realize that they matter and their experiences matter, and that they are meant to be the stars of their own stories!"

Girl of the Year dolls date back to 2001 and, unlike traditional American Girl dolls, are based on contemporary rather than historical characters.

The company has released other Asian American dolls in the past, as CNN notes. Those include Jess Akiko McConnell, a biracial Japanese American who was the 2006 Girl of the Year, and Ivy Ling, a Chinese American doll set in the 1970s who was discontinued from its historic line in 2014.

This story originally appeared on the Morning Edition live blog.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
American Girl's 1st Chinese American 'Girl of the Year' doll aims to fight AAPI hate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Meet Corinne Tan. The Aspen, Colo., native loves skiing and training her rescue puppy. She's adjusting to life with her new blended family. She has dark hair with turquoise highlights. And she's an 18-inch tall doll. Corinne is American Girl's latest "Girl of the Year," and the first ever of Chinese descent.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
President Joe Biden signed a law Monday that lays the foundation for a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture.

"Today, I'm honored to sign into law something that is long overdue - the National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture, here in Washington, D.C.," Biden said.

The law creates the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture Act, which will research and submit a plan that would establish a museum dedicated to the community in Washington, D.C.

"This is a story about heroes who shaped our nation for the better," Vice President Kamala Harris said during the press conference. "From the South Asian Americans who transformed farming up and down the pacific coast to the Japanese Americans who defended our freedom during WWII to the Chinese American garment workers who marched through the streets of New York City 40 years ago to win better pay and benefits for all workers."

She said the museum would also include some of the darkest moments of American history, including the Chinese Exclusion Act, the internment of Japanese Americans, the murder of Vincent Chin, discrimination against South Asian Americans after 9/11 and the increased violence against Asian Americans during the pandemic.

Biden acknowledged the one-year anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings and the 80th anniversary of the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.

He told the story of his friend, Daniel Inouye, a late senator from Hawaii and war veteran. Inouye, who was Japanese American, had to fight to enlist in the military, Biden said. He served in the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team during WWII.

"It's clear that the battle for the soul of America continues. That's why a museum like this is going to matter so much. Museums of this magnitude and consequence are going to inspire and educate," he said. "More than anything else, it's going to help people see themselves in the story of America, a story that makes us better Americans."

The commission will be made up of eight people with backgrounds in museum planning or Asian Pacific American history and culture. They would help develop plans to fundraise and acquire general information before submitting a plan to Congress to move forward with the museum.

The legislation, which was co-sponsored by 120 Democrats and Republicans, passed the House unanimously in April, allowing for the museum's establishment.

Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., the House legislation's sponsor, thanked the president for signing the bill.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Biden signs Asian American Pacific Islander museum commission into law

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
President Joe Biden signed a law Monday that lays the foundation for a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. "Today, I'm honored to sign into law something that is long overdue - the National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture, here in Washington, D.C.," Biden said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teen Reads for Asian American/ Pacific Islander Heritage Month

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by supporting Asian authors and learning more about their #OwnVoices experiences, cultures, and histories with any of these great reads!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#OwnVoices: Hey You!: An Empowering Celebration of Growing Up Black

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Hey you...Welcome to the world...I hope that you know you are loved...always." - Dapo Adeola, Hey You!: An Empowering Celebration of Growing Up Black

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Dinner Table Talks create the opportunity for families to have important conversations centered around books. These discussions will build our capacity for talking about race and define our roles in fighting against both every day and systemic racism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dinner Table Talks: Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dinner Table Talks create the opportunity for families to have important conversations centered around books. These discussions will build our capacity for talking about race and define our roles in fighting against both every day and systemic racism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Table of Contents

Cinco de Mayo History

The Battle of Puebla

How Long Did the Battle of Puebla Last?

Cinco de Mayo in Mexico

Why Do We Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the United States?

Confusion With Mexican Independence Day

Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, is a holiday that celebrates the date of the Mexican army's May 5, 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. The day, which falls on Friday, May 5 in 2023, is also known as Battle of Puebla Day. While it is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States, Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations.

Cinco de Mayo History

Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day, a popular misconception. Instead, it commemorates a single battle. In 1861, Benito Juárez-a lawyer and member of the Indigenous Zapotec tribe-was elected president of Mexico. At the time, the country was in financial ruin after years of internal strife, and the new president was forced to default on debt payments to European governments.

In response, France, Britain and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz, Mexico, demanding repayment. Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew their forces.

France, however, ruled by Napoleon III, decided to use the opportunity to carve an empire out of Mexican territory. Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a large force of troops and driving President Juárez and his government into retreat.

The Battle of Puebla

Certain that success would come swiftly, 6,000 French troops under General Charles Latrille de Lorencez set out to attack Puebla de Los Angeles, a small town in east-central Mexico. From his new headquarters in the north, Juárez rounded up a ragtag force of 2,000 loyal men-many of them either Indigenous Mexicans or of mixed ancestry-and sent them to Puebla.

The vastly outnumbered and poorly supplied Mexicans, led by Texas-born General Ignacio Zaragoza, fortified the town and prepared for the French assault. On May 5, 1862, Lorencez gathered his army-supported by heavy artillery-before the city of Puebla and led an assault.

How Long Did the Battle of Puebla Last?

The battle lasted from daybreak to early evening, and when the French finally retreated they had lost nearly 500 soldiers. Fewer than 100 Mexicans had been killed in the clash.

Although not a major strategic win in the overall war against the French, Zaragoza's success at the Battle of Puebla on May 5 represented a great symbolic victory for the Mexican government and bolstered the resistance movement. In 1867-thanks in part to military support and political pressure from the United States, which was finally in a position to aid its besieged neighbor after the end of the Civil War -France finally withdrew.

The same year, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who had been installed as emperor of Mexico in 1864 by Napoleon, was captured and executed by Juárez's forces. Puebla de Los Angeles was renamed for General Zaragoza, who died of typhoid fever months after his historic triumph there.

Cinco de Mayo in Mexico

Within Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is primarily observed in the state of Puebla, where Zaragoza's unlikely victory occurred, although other parts of the country also take part in the celebration.

Traditions include military parades, recreations of the Battle of Puebla and other festive events. For many Mexicans, however, May 5 is a day like any other: It is not a federal holiday, so offices, banks and stores remain open.

Why Do We Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the United States?

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is widely interpreted as a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with substantial Mexican-American populations.

Chicano activists raised awareness of the holiday in the 1960s, in part because they identified with the victory of Indigenous Mexicans (such as Juárez) over European invaders during the Battle of Puebla.

Today, revelers mark the occasion with parades, parties, mariachi music, Mexican folk dancing and traditional foods such as tacos and mole poblano. Some of the largest festivals are held in Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston.

Confusion With Mexican Independence Day

Many people outside Mexico mistakenly believe that Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican independence, which was declared more than 50 years before the Battle of Puebla.

Independence Day in Mexico (Día de la Independencia) is commemorated on September 16, the anniversary of the revolutionary priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's famous " Grito de Dolores " ("Cry of Dolores," referring to the city of Dolores Hidalgo, Mexico), a call to arms that amounted to a declaration of war against the Spanish colonial government in 1810.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cinco de Mayo 2022: Facts, Meaning & Celebrations

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, is a holiday that celebrates the date of the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month) is an annual celebration that recognizes the historical and cultural contributions of individuals and groups of Asian and Pacific Islander descent to the United States. The AAPI umbrella term includes cultures from the entire Asian continent—including East, Southeast and South Asia—and the Pacific Islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. As of 2019, there were about 22.9 million people of Asian or Pacific Islander descent in the United States. According to the Pew Research Center, AAPI people are a diverse and growing population that make up about 7 percent of the total U.S. population. AAPI Heritage Month 2022 will take place from Sunday, May 1 to Tuesday, May 31.

Origins of AAPI Heritage Month

The effort to officially recognize Asian American and Pacific Islander contributions to the United States began in the late 1970s, and took over 10 years to make it a permanent month-long celebration.

In 1977, New York representative Frank Horton introduced House Joint Resolution 540, which proposed proclaiming the first 10 days of May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye introduced a similar joint resolution the same year. When the resolutions did not pass, representative Horton introduced House Joint Resolution 1007 the following year, which requested the president to proclaim a week during the first 10 days of May starting in 1979, including May 7 and 10, as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.

After the House and the Senate passed the Resolution, President Jimmy Carter signed it into Public Law 95-419 on October 5, 1978. From 1980 to 1990, each president passed annual proclamations for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. In 1990, Congress expanded the observance from a week to a month. May was annually designated as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month in 1992 under the George H. W. Bush administration with the passing of Public Law 102-540. Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month was renamed as AAPI Heritage Month in 2009.

Why Do We Celebrate AAPI Heritage Month?

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have contributed significantly to many facets of American culture and society, including science and medicine, literature and art, sports and recreation, government and politics, and activism and law. In 2021, Kamala Harris became the first Asian American Vice President of the United States. In film history, AAPI people, stories, and traditions have become more visible with South Korean director Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2019 and the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in 2021, debuting Marvel’s first Asian superhero.

AAPI people have a long history in the United States, despite the stereotype that they are “perpetual foreigners,” the idea that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are inherently foreign, other and not truly American. According to the Bering Land Bridge Theory, Asians first migrated to what is now known as North America over 15,000 years ago through a land bridge between Asia and North America. In the 16th century, Filipinos who were escaping forced labor and enslavement during the Spanish galleon trade immigrated to North America, eventually establishing a settlement in St. Malo, Louisiana in 1763. During the California Gold Rush of the 1850s, a wave of Asian immigrants came to the West Coast and provided labor for gold mines, factories and the transcontinental railroad. In 1882, Congress enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned Chinese immigration for 20 years.

Japanese and Koreans began immigrating to the United States by 1885 to replace Chinese labor in railroad construction, farming and fishing. However, in 1907, Japanese immigration was restricted by a “Gentlemen’s Agreement” between the United States and Japan. The civil rights movement assisted the liberalization of immigration laws. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act changed restrictive national origin quotas and allowed for the large numbers of Asians and Pacific Islanders to come to the United States with their families. In the mid-1970s, refugees from Southeast Asia like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos came to the United States to flee war, violence, and hardship.

Today, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing racial group in the United States. AAPI Heritage Month celebrates the unique journey of all AAPI immigrants and citizens in the United States and their unique life experiences, traditions and cultures

Scroll to Continue

Anti-Asian Racism

Since their immigration to the United States, Asians have been met with xenophobia, racism, bias and violence. Chinese workers were abused, robbed and murdered in San Francisco in the 1850s. In 1854, the California Supreme Court ruled in People v. Hall that people of Asian descent could not testify against a white person in court, meaning that white people could avoid punishment for anti-Asian crimes.

During World War II, from 1942-1945, people of Japanese descent were incarcerated in internment camps across the nation. In 1982, Chinese American Vincent Chin was murdered by two white men in Detroit because they believed Asians were taking auto industry jobs from whites. In March 2021, a man shot and murdered six women of Asian descent at three spas in the Atlanta area.

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, racist and xenophobic rhetoric about the origins of the virus led to a spike in anti-Asian racism and violence, with AAPI people of all ages and cultures being verbally and physically harassed and murdered in cities across the United States. As a response to the rise in anti-Asian violence, the AAPI Equity Alliance, Chinese for Affirmative Action, and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University launched the Stop AAPI Hate coalition on March 19, 2020. The coalition tracks and responds to violence, hate, harassment, discrimination, shunning and bullying of AAPI people.

In January 2021, the White House released a “Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States,” acknowledging their role in furthering xenophobic sentiments and proposing ways to prevent discrimination, harassment, bullying, and hate crimes against AAPI individuals.

AAPI Heritage Month 2022 commemorates the victims of the 2021 spa shootings along with all other Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have been lost to anti-Asian violence during the pandemic and throughout history.

AAPI Month 2022 Theme

According to the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC), the theme for AAPI Heritage Month 2022 is “Advancing Leaders Through Collaboration.” The FAPAC encourages local and national governments to prioritize collaboration, development, diversity, transparency, and inclusion through leadership training of AAPI people.

Why the Date of AAPI Heritage Month is Significant

The month of May was chosen for AAPI Heritage Month because it commemorates the immigration of the first Japanese people to the United States on May 7, 1843. May is also a significant month because it recognizes Golden Spike Day, May 10, 1869, which marks the completion of the transcontinental railroad that was built with significant contributions from Chinese workers.

- by Minhae Shim Roth

Sources

Asian/Pacific Heritage Month, Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration.
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, May 1, 2021, U.S. Department of State.
Asian Pacific American Center, Smithsonian.
Asian Americans Then and Now - Linking Past to Present, Asia Society.
"The long, ugly history of anti-Asian racism and violence in the U.S." by Gillian Brockell, March 18, 2021, Washington Post.
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: May 2021, U.S. Census Bureau.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month) is an annual celebration that recognizes the historical and cultural contributions of

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.kanopy.com/en/richlandlibrary/category/14214

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
May marks Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which celebrates the histories of Americans hailing from across the Asian continent and from the Pacific islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.

This year's theme, selected by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council, is "Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity," which builds on a leadership advancement theme series that began in 2021.

Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate says the month is a time to speak out, share stories and debunk myths about Asian communities, she said. But it's not the only time to celebrate Asian culture or diversity.

"Our history is also filled with incredible stories of resilience, of persistence, of determination, to fight for our basic rights," Choi told NPR. "This is a celebration of our history, of our culture ... and all the different ways in which our community has really demonstrated that we're not only here to stay, we are a part of this fabric - a part of this country."

Before it was a month, it was a week

The month was the brainchild of Jeanie Jew, a former Capitol Hill staffer, who shared the idea with Rep. Frank Horton, who introduced the legislation that formed it.

Jew's great grandfather, M.Y. Lee, left China for the United States in the 1800s before he helped build the transcontinental railroad, according to . Lee became a prominent businessman in California and later traveled to Oregon. He was killed during a period of unrest and anti-Asian sentiment.

"Mrs. Jew turned a personal tragedy in her family history into a positive force," Horton later told Congress in 1992.

In 1977, Horton introduced a resolution that would establish Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week. Sen. Daniel Inouye introduced similar legislation to the Senate.

In the following year, Horton, with cosponsor Rep. Norman Mineta, introduced another related resolution that passed. President Jimmy Carter signed it in October of 1978.

The resolution "authorized and requested" the president to proclaim the 7-day period beginning May 4, 1979 as Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. It also called on Americans, and especially educators, to observe the week with "appropriate ceremonies and activities."

Congress later passed legislation to extend the observance to a month in 1990. Two years later, Congress passed another public law to annually designate May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Why May was chosen to commemorate AAPI heritage

The legislation to annually designate May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month referenced two key dates: May 7 and May 10.

May 7, 1843, marks the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States. And May 10, 1869, or Golden Spike Day, recognizes the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S., which had significant contributions from Chinese workers.

The railroad stretched from the West Coast to the East Coast, and 15,000 to 20,000 Chinese immigrants were a major part of its construction, according to History.com. Initially, construction superintendent James Strobridge deemed the immigrants unfit for the job. But the railroad needed workers, and many white people weren't interested.

Conditions were brutal in the Sierra Nevada, and Chinese workers weren't receiving the same pay as their white counterparts, according to the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project. Unlike white workers, Chinese workers had to pay for their own food and had to work longer hours, according to the project.

The railroad was fundamental to the development of the American West, according to History.com. It cut travel time across the U.S. from months to less than a week.

This year's theme: Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity

The Federal Asian Pacific American Council - a nonprofit that supports the interests of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the federal and D.C. governments - selected the theme: Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity.

The theme builds on the Advancing Leaders series, which began in 2021 and will run through 2024. Last year's theme was Advancing Leaders through Collaboration.

"When you have diversity at the leadership table, the magnitude of what you can accomplish is enormous," Fahmida Chhipa, FAPAC's vice president, told NPR. "You really expand yourself in the horizons to have something creative and innovative."

The council says this year's theme "further highlights FAPAC's efforts in advancing leaders in the Federal and DC governments," according to a press release.

Choi also emphasized the importance of collaboration.

"We do need to center the experiences of those who've been disproportionately impacted," she told NPR. "And when government not only listens, but implements the recommendations of communities who are closest to those who are being impacted right now, you get better results."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The story behind Asian Pacific American Heritage, and why it's celebrated in May

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
May marks the beginning of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This year's theme is Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Novels by Asian and Asian-American Authors | Richland Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Taking place everywhere from far and wide, to worlds built in fantasy, these titles written by authors of Asian descent are the perfect way to delve into a sliver of a different culture, background or experience. Don’t forget to participate in the #BroaderBookshelf challenge or get more ideas about…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Dinner Table Talks create the opportunity for families to have important conversations centered around books. These discussions will build our capacity for talking about race and define our roles in fighting against both every day and systemic racism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dinner Table Talks: Missing Daddy and Dad Bakes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dinner Table Talks create the opportunity for families to have important conversations centered around books. These discussions will build our capacity for talking about race and define our roles in fighting against both every day and systemic racism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I hear my father's words playing over and over in my head "Every moment of our life, it goes with us. It stays forever."

"With pan de muerto sprinkled in marigold petals, I would tell him that I believe the dead place in us can come back to life."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Own Voices - The Mirror Season Book Review

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I hear my father's words playing over and over in my head "Every moment of our life, it goes with us. It stays forever." "With pan de muerto sprinkled in marigold petals, I would tell him that I believe the dead place in us can come back to life."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Interview with Councilwoman Jesica Mackey

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I had the honor of chatting with Richland County Council Vice Chair, Jesica Mackey, (District 9) about her leadership, community, and the importance of Women's History Month.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Since Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement, President Biden has conducted a rigorous process to identify his replacement. President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law. And the President sought an individual who is committed to equal justice under the law and who understands the profound impact that the Supreme Court's decisions have on the lives of the American people.

That is why the President nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as the next Justice on the Supreme Court. Judge Jackson is one of our nation's brightest legal minds and has an unusual breadth of experience in our legal system, giving her the perspective to be an exceptional Justice.

About Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

Judge Jackson was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Miami, Florida. Her parents attended segregated primary schools, then attended historically black colleges and universities. Both started their careers as public school teachers and became leaders and administrators in the Miami-Dade Public School System. When Judge Jackson was in preschool, her father attended law school. In a 2017 lecture, Judge Jackson traced her love of the law back to sitting next to her father in their apartment as he tackled his law school homework-reading cases and preparing for Socratic questioning-while she undertook her preschool homework-coloring books.

Judge Jackson stood out as a high achiever throughout her childhood. She was a speech and debate star who was elected "mayor" of Palmetto Junior High and student body president of Miami Palmetto Senior High School. But like many Black women, Judge Jackson still faced naysayers. When Judge Jackson told her high school guidance counselor she wanted to attend Harvard, the guidance counselor warned that Judge Jackson should not set her "sights so high."

That did not stop Judge Jackson. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, then attended Harvard Law School, where she graduated cum laude and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Judge Jackson lives with her husband, Patrick, and their two daughters, in Washington, DC.

Experience

Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

Judge Jackson was one of President Biden's first judicial nominees. She was confirmed with bipartisan support to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2021.

Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

President Obama nominated Judge Jackson to be a district court judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2012. She was confirmed with bipartisan support in 2013.

Vice Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission

President Obama nominated Judge Jackson to serve as the Vice Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission in 2009, and she was confirmed with bipartisan support in 2010. Prior to serving as a judge, Judge Jackson followed in the footsteps of her mentor Justice Breyer by working on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The Commission, which President Biden fought to create as a member of the U.S. Senate, is bipartisan by design. Her work there focused on reducing unwarranted sentencing disparities and ensuring that federal sentences were just and proportionate.

Public defender

Judge Jackson represented defendants who did not have the means to pay for a lawyer. She would be the first former federal public defender to serve on the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Clerk

Judge Jackson served as Justice Breyer's law clerk, and learned up close how important it is for a Supreme Court Justice to build consensus and speak to a mainstream understanding of the Constitution.

Perspective on the Legal System

Because of her diverse and broad public service, Judge Jackson has a unique appreciation of how critical it is for the justice system to be fair and impartial. With multiple law enforcement officials in her family, she also has a personal understanding of the stakes of the legal system. After serving in the U.S. Army and being deployed to Iraq and Egypt, Jackson's brother served as a police officer in Baltimore and two of her uncles were police officers in Miami.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court | The White House

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On April 7, 2022, a bipartisan group of Senators confirmed Judge Jackson's nomination to become the 116th Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It was the sigh heard around the world for many Black women.

As President Biden's pick to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Ketanji Brown Jackson has faced hours of questioning this week in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Many Republicans have pushed back against her historic nomination to the Supreme Court, challenging her work as a public defender, her sentencing on cases of child sex abuse and more.

But it was a line of questioning from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) that evoked what several reports interpreted as Jackson's first hints of exasperation.

On Tuesday, the senator brought up the school curriculum at Georgetown Day School, where the judge serves as a trustee. "It is filled and overflowing with critical race theory," he said, singling out " Antiracist Baby," a 2020 children's book by Ibram X. Kendi.

"Do you agree with this book that is being taught with kids that babies are racist?" Cruz asked Jackson.

Ted Cruz gave the nation a lesson on misreading kids books

In response, Jackson let out a sigh and long pause before she chose her next words. She said critical race theory - an intellectual framework to examine systemic racism - is taught at the graduate- and law-school level and added that her praise for GDS came out of its history of integration and equality.

Social media quickly seized on the exchange, with many Black women interpreting Jackson's reaction as a prime example of how they try to maintain composure in the face of aggression and hostility in the workplace.

"Every Black woman in a professional setting understands exactly what that moment was," said Cynthia Ntini, 38, who added that it triggered memories of her experiences working for a management consulting firm."We have to think, 'Is it worth it to react to how I'm feeling inside? Is this person worth my career?'"

Ntini, who has been watching the hearings all week and tweeting commentary from her home in D.C., said she felt particularly triggered by Cruz's remarks that suggested the real racism was against White people. "I grew up in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa," she said. "To this day in South Africa, a lot of White people insist that they are the victims of reverse racism."

Her own outrage to Cruz's line of questioning, she said, made her more impressed by Jackson's reaction while in the hot seat: "She is refuting them point by point and she is standing her ground. I think it's resonating with the public."

Trimiko Melancon, a professor of African American and African studies at Michigan State University, said this is something many other Black women exhibit in their lives: "Black womenintentionally and almost intuitively have to calibrate their posture and their demeanor and their tone to mitigate and lessen prevailing stereotypes that are circulating in people's minds."

"All of this really stems from that 'angry Black woman' stereotype and trope that is so ubiquitous and pervasive," Melancon added.

This characterization of Black women, she said, can raise concerns that they will face consequences in the workplace. And those worries aren't unfounded, according to a study by the American Psychological Association.

The research, published last year, found that expressions of anger from Black women can lead to worse performance evaluations and assessments of leadership capability.

For prominent positions like Jackson's, the scrutiny can be far more intense, said Melancon, and especially amid the gaze of social media. Since taking office, Vice President Harris has faced criticism from Republicans about her ability to serve as second-in-command, and national polls have reported a dip in her approval ratings.

In 2019, former first lady Michelle Obama told journalist Gayle King that she was stereotyped as an "angry Black woman who was emasculating her husband."

"As I got more popular, that's when people of all sides - Democrats and Republicans - tried to take me out by the knees," Obama said, "and the best way to do it was to focus on the one thing people were afraid of: the strength of a Black woman."

Opinion: Michelle Obama turned the 'angry Black woman' trope upside down

Women's expression of emotion has always been something society seizes on to criticize, according to experts.

"Men have historically and contemporarily always been afforded a level of emotional expansion that women generally don't have," said Melancon, citing sports and politics as areas where men's rage is widely accepted. "It's not misread as aggression, it's not deemed inappropriate, nor is it viewed within the lens of [unprofessionalism]."

Indeed, some users on social media noted the juxtaposition of Jackson's hearing performance this week and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh's in 2018 - a dramatic confirmation fight prompted by sexual misconduct allegations against him that surfaced at the height of the #MeToo movement. (Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations.)

At his hearing, Kavanaugh's outbursts and emotional testimony worked in his favor, Melancon said: "In crying, [he showed] a certain level of masculine affability, like the lighter side of his personality."

In recalling the media's coverage of his testimony, Ntini said some "news articles were casting it in a positive way ... that he's passionately and vigorously defending himself instead of what it was: It was a tantrum by a man-child who wasn't prepared to be scrutinized or to be held accountable."

Many Republicans at Jackson's hearings chided their Democratic colleagues for how they sparred with Kavanaugh at his hearings.

This week's hearings have brought their own displays of performative behavior, said Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb) on Wednesday. That came after Committee Chairman Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) called out Cruz after his allotted time for questions, and the exchange devolved into a shouting match.

At the close of testimony later that day, Durbin applauded Jackson's patience, dignity and grace in the face of what he called "offensive treatment" from Republican lawmakers.

Black women are leaning into joy throughout Jackson's hearings: 'We need to celebrate this'

But Jackson demonstrated her poise in other ways beyond just her performance, said Melancon: "Her attire also intersects with that level of composure because when we're talking about Black women, everything gets read."

In the way Jackson precisely picked her words during the hearings, Melancon believes that same effort went into the colorful suit jackets she wore and the way she styled her hair. They're subtle decisions, Melancon said, but nonetheless "they're so symbolic and they're powerful."

The imagery was something Ntini said her 10-year-old son picked up on. Last month, as they watched the news of Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court, Ntini's son said, "Mommy, she looks like you."

The general public has largely supported Jackson's ascent to the Supreme Court, and Ntini thinks her performance during the hearings brings her closer to that reality.

As she put it: "They're really seeing her poise under immense pressure, her intellect, [and] the breadth of her legal knowledge."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Jackson had to keep her cool. These Black women could relate.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It was the sigh heard around the world for many Black women. As President Biden's pick to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Ketanji Brown Jackson has faced hours of questioning this week in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
All-Black women's World War II unit to be awarded Congressional Gold Medal | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An all-Black Women's Army Corps unit that sorted millions of pieces of mail in unheated warehouses during World War II will finally be awarded a Congressional Gold Medal decades after the fact.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
subscribe to Code Switch podcast

subscribe to Code Switch podcast

Gene Demby and Hari Kondabolu are both new fathers, and they're both learning to raise kids who will have very different identities and upbringings than their own. It's left both of them reflecting on some big questions: How will they teach their children about race? What are the elements of their childhoods that they want to pass on? And what, exactly, is a father anyway?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Gene Demby and comedian Hari Kondabolu are both new fathers, and they're both learning to raise kids who will have very different identities and upbringings than their own. It's left both of them reflecting on some big questions: How will they teach their children about race?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
From the legend of the Chinese moon goddess to a gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, this year is already brimming with diverse titles from #OwnVoices authors. Check out these new titles from our collection below!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#OwnVoices: No Gods, No Monsters - A Review

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#OwnVoices: Kindred by Octavia Butler | Richland Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
“Repressive societies always seemed to understand the danger of “wrong” ideas.”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
‘Turning Red’ is a turning point for Asians in film. Why is it seen as unrelatable?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A review of “Turning Red” posted online this week sparked outcry for calling the film, which features a Chinese Canadian teenage girl, “limiting.”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mila Kunis, Who Is Ukrainian, Reveals Why She Used To Say She Was Russian

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The “Four Good Days” star, who was born in Chernivtsi, said that when Russia initially invaded Ukraine she felt like “a part of my heart just got ripped out.”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
While on air, CBS News senior foreign correspondent Charlie D'Agata stated last week that Ukraine "isn't a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan, that has seen conflict raging for decades. This is a relatively civilized, relatively European - I have to choose those words carefully, too - city, one where you wouldn't expect that, or hope that it's going to happen".

If this is D'Agata choosing his words carefully, I shudder to think about his impromptu utterances. After all, by describing Ukraine as "civilized", isn't he really telling us that Ukrainians, unlike Afghans and Iraqis, are more deserving of our sympathy than Iraqis or Afghans?

Righteous outrage immediately mounted online, as it should have in this case, and the veteran correspondent quickly apologized, but since Russia began its large-scale invasion on 24 February, D'Agata has hardly been the only journalist to see the plight of Ukrainians in decidedly chauvinistic terms.

The BBC interviewed a former deputy prosecutor general of Ukraine, who told the network: "It's very emotional for me because I see European people with blue eyes and blond hair ... being killed every day." Rather than question or challenge the comment, the BBC host flatly replied, "I understand and respect the emotion." On France's BFM TV, journalist Phillipe Corbé stated this about Ukraine: "We're not talking here about Syrians fleeing the bombing of the Syrian regime backed by Putin. We're talking about Europeans leaving in cars that look like ours to save their lives."

In other words, not only do Ukrainians look like "us"; even their cars look like "our" cars. And that trite observation is seriously being trotted out as a reason for why we should care about Ukrainians.

There's more, unfortunately. An ITV journalist reporting from Poland said: "Now the unthinkable has happened to them. And this is not a developing, third world nation. This is Europe!" As if war is always and forever an ordinary routine limited to developing, third world nations. (By the way, there's also been a hot war in Ukraine since 2014. Also, the first world war and second world war.) Referring to refugee seekers, an Al Jazeera anchor chimed in with this: "Looking at them, the way they are dressed, these are prosperous ... I'm loath to use the expression ... middle-class people. These are not obviously refugees looking to get away from areas in the Middle East that are still in a big state of war. These are not people trying to get away from areas in North Africa. They look like any." Apparently looking "middle class" equals "the European family living next door".

And writing in the Telegraph, Daniel Hannan explained: "They seem so like us. That is what makes it so shocking. Ukraine is a European country. Its people watch Netflix and have Instagram accounts, vote in free elections and read uncensored newspapers. War is no longer something visited upon impoverished and remote populations."

What all these petty, superficial differences - from owning cars and clothes to having Netflix and Instagram accounts - add up to is not real human solidarity for an oppressed people. In fact, it's the opposite. It's tribalism. These comments point to a pernicious racism that permeates today's war coverage and seeps into its fabric like a stain that won't go away. The implication is clear: war is a natural state for people of color, while white people naturally gravitate toward peace.

It's not just me who found these clips disturbing. The US-based Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association was also deeply troubled by the coverage, recently issuing a statement on the matter: "Ameja condemns and categorically rejects orientalist and racist implications that any population or country is 'uncivilized' or bears economic factors that make it worthy of conflict," reads the statement. "This type of commentary reflects the pervasive mentality in western journalism of normalizing tragedy in parts of the world such as the Middle East, Africa, south Asia, and Latin America." Such coverage, the report correctly noted, "dehumanizes and renders their experience with war as somehow normal and expected".

More troubling still is that this kind of slanted and racist media coverage extends beyond our screens and newspapers and easily bleeds and blends into our politics. Consider how Ukraine's neighbors are now opening their doors to refugee flows, after demonizing and abusing refugees, especially Muslim and African refugees, for years. "Anyone fleeing from bombs, from Russian rifles, can count on the support of the Polish state," the Polish interior minister, Mariusz Kaminski, recently stated. Meanwhile, however, Nigeria has complained that African students are being obstructed within Ukraine from reaching Polish border crossings; some have also encountered problems on the Polish side of the frontier.

In Austria, Chancellor Karl Nehammer stated that "of course we will take in refugees, if necessary". Meanwhile, just last fall and in his then-role as interior minister, Nehammer was known as a hardliner against resettling Afghan refugees in Austria and as a politician who insisted on Austria's right to forcibly deport rejected Afghan asylum seekers, even if that meant returning them to the Taliban. "It's different in Ukraine than in countries like Afghanistan," he told Austrian TV. "We're talking about neighborhood help."

Yes, that makes sense, you might say. Neighbor helping neighbor. But what these journalists and politicians all seem to want to miss is that the very concept of providing refuge is not and should not be based on factors such as physical proximity or skin color, and for a very good reason. If our sympathy is activated only for welcoming people who look like us or pray like us, then we are doomed to replicate the very sort of narrow, ignorant nationalism that war promotes in the first place.

The idea of granting asylum, of providing someone with a life free from political persecution, must never be founded on anything but helping innocent people who need protection. That's where the core principle of asylum is located. Today, Ukrainians are living under a credible threat of violence and death coming directly from Russia's criminal invasion, and we absolutely should be providing Ukrainians with life-saving security wherever and whenever we can. (Though let's also recognize that it's always easier to provide asylum to people who are victims of another's aggression rather than of our own policies.)

But if we decide to help Ukrainians in their desperate time of need because they happen to look like "us" or dress like "us" or pray like "us," or if we reserve our help exclusively for them while denying the same help to others, then we have not only chosen the wrong reasons to support another human being. We have also, and I'm choosing these words carefully, shown ourselves as giving up on civilization and opting for barbarism instead.

Moustafa Bayoumi is the author of the award-winning books How Does It Feel To Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America and This Muslim American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror. He is professor of English at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. He is a contributing opinion writer at Guardian US

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
They are 'civilised', 'European' and 'look like us': the racist coverage of Ukraine | Moustafa Bayoumi

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Are Ukrainians more deserving of sympathy than Afghans and Iraqis? Many seem to think so

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Opinion | Ukraine’s refugee crisis lays bare a dangerous media bias

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The western media might have you convinced that war only happens in other countries — ones that are not white.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Russian invasion of Ukraine shows racism has no boundaries

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Russian invasion of Ukraine shows racism has no boundaries as Ukrainian refugees of African descent are being turned away at border crossings in favor of white Ukrainians.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Finding & Celebrating Black Joy Through Black Love Romance

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Romance is known as the literature of hope for all readers, but for Black readers navigating a world that discounts the value of Black life and denies the existence of Black humanity, Black beauty, and Black people's capacity for love, the idea of romance as hope has additional weight."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Read, sip, and celebrate A Year of Black History! Make a toast to Black Excellence with a delicious Mocktail recipe and one of our suggested titles that beautifully depicts the versatility within Black Culture.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What better way to continue to broadcast #Blackgirlmagic other than highlighting Blackout, a novel that was written by six Black female authors. Ashley Woodfolk, Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Nicola Yoon and Angie Thomas came together to give us a intertwined love story, connecting characters to each other, but also allowing them to have their own moment all at the same time. Shedding light on this novel, written by these six Black women, during Black History Month is my way of sharing Black Joy and Black Girl Magic!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What better way to continue to broadcast #Blackgirlmagic other than highlighting Blackout, a novel that was written by six Black female authors. Ashley Woodfolk, Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Nicola Yoon and Angie Thomas came together to give us a intertwined love story, connecting characters to each other, but also allowing them to have their own moment all at the same time.

# data[].attributes.headline
I am definitely not active enough in politics, especially local politics, to fight for more equitable and fair practices and laws. There are so many injustices against people of color that the only way to make any difference is by taking legal action.

# data[].attributes.subject
I am definitely not active enough in politics, especially local politics, to fight for more equitable and fair practices and laws. There are so many injustices against people of color that the only way to make any difference is by taking legal action.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In Celebration of Black History Month and in honor of the Black experience, we have highlighted a few links to articles and videos featuring Afro Latinx people, who have made notable contributions here in the United States and abroad in the fields of medicine, politics, music and more!

Articles:

Huff Post- Afro-Latinos and Black History Month

African American Registry - Blacks in Latin America

Pew Research Center - Afro-Latino: A deeply rooted identity among U.S. Hispanics

NPR - Amara La Negra and Colorism

Videos:

Afro Latinx Influence in Dance:

Puerto Rico's Bomba, A Dance of The African Diaspora | KQED Arts - Witness the unstoppable joy of dancing bomba, Puerto Rico’s Afro-Puerto Rican dance of resistance.

Afro-Mexicans: Dancing Their Way Back To Their Roots - Obatala is an Afro-Mexican dance troop that travels and performs throughout southern Mexico.

Afro Latinos in Sports:

Minnie Minoso - Biography - Saturnino Orestes Armas (Arrieta) Minoso (Cuban Comet) -Leftfielder and Third Baseman

Afro-Latino History: Roberto Clemente - Baseball player and important figure in AL community

The Afro-Latinx Experience:

One Nación: Afro-Latinos - In recognition of the estimated 1.5 Million Afro Latinos in the U.S., ESPN produced this feature discussing the Afro Latino experience.

Afro Latinas on Amara La Negra, Colorism and Black History | ESSENCE  - being Afro Latina, the rise of "Love & Hip Hop Miami" star Amara La Negra and overcoming ignorance about their ethnicity.

Featured Afro Latinx author with Strong Afro Latinx Characters in their books:

Elizabeth Acevedo, author of:

The Poet X - Winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award!

Clap When You Land - A novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.

With Fire on High - A novel in prose about a girl with talent, pride, and a drive to feed the soul that keeps her fire burning bright.

Special Thanks to contributor: Diane Artemis, Manager of our NM Branch

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Author Geltrudis “Gert” Cabrera Wells Hispanic and Latino/a/e Outreach Coordinator

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Black History Month and The Afro Latinx Connection | Richland Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Afro Latinx [ af-roh-luh-tee-nex ] - of or relating to Black Latinx people with African ancestry

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Following 2019's list of Comics With Black Protagonists, here are some recent releases featuring black superheroes. Some are from big, established universes, while others star in their own fantasy series.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Year of Black History Continues

Folktales, comics and history ... here we are!

Also, Hoopla is allowing 15 checkouts for the month of February, as well as bonus borrows. Hoopla offers many comic book/graphic novels to choose from! Please, enter your email address and password associated with Hoopla.

Find staff recommendations for each of the #BroaderBookshelf2022 prompts, here or try our personalized recommendation service, here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Year of Black History Continues Folktales, comics and history ... here we are! Also, Hoopla is allowing 15 checkouts for the month of February, as well as bonus borrows. Hoopla offers many comic book/graphic novels to choose from! Please, enter your email address and password associated with Hoopla.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The fence that once stood between protesters and the White House at Lafayette Park during the summer of 2020 (also known as the Black Lives Matter memorial), displayed hundreds of signs, posters and artwork left by protesters following the murder of George Floyd.

While authorities took down the fence in early 2021, activists made it their mission to preserve every artifact - knowing that each sign represents a part of the nation's history.

Now, thanks to the help of activists and archivists, the pieces of artwork that once served as a memorial of the movement are being displayed in a new online exhibit on the Library of Congress' website.

According to the Library, more than 30 pieces of artwork are now available online.

"[The Library] wants people to see those signs, the messages and contextualize them with other parts of our collection that talk about similar issues," said Aliza Leventhal, head of technical services for the prints and photography division of the Library of Congress.

The collection was a team effort from activists and archivists

Leventhal, who spearheaded the Library's collection efforts of artwork and signs from the fence, worked alongside the fence's de facto curator Nadine Seiler and others to make the digital collection come to life.

Leventhal says she visited the fence daily for eight months, becoming intrigued with what she saw each time.

"Every day new signs were showing up, another person sharing their story and adding valuable layers to the ongoing conversation on the fence," she said.

As the artwork began to cover the fence until its dismantling in early 2021, Leventhal began to document the experience on her own - keeping track of the emotions and experiences brought on by the display.

"The signs ranged from crafted works of art either brought from home or created on the site, as well as scrap pieces of paper with hastily written messages," Leventhal said.

As the fence was dismantled, volunteers took down more than 800 pieces of artwork, signs and banners - preserving each one in hopes of their being archived.

Activists spent months watching over the fence and its artwork

Protesters came to Lafayette Park next to the White House after Floyd's murder in May 2020, as federal authorities quickly put up metal barricades to block off various entrances to the square around the park. The fencing went up on June 4, 2020, and came down on Jan. 30, 2021.

Seiler and activist Karen Irwin from New York had spent long hours at the fence on what is now called Black Lives Matter Plaza as the two worked to preserve the hundreds of pieces created by protesters.

"Whether it was going to rain, snow or ice, we lived at the fence," Seiler said. "There was somebody on that fence or within a few feet of the fence, wherever the police pushed us."

As Seiler and others guarded the fence, its artwork became a symbol for the movement, a place where people stopped and took pictures - honoring what the fence and its signs stood for.

But the drive to save the artwork was inspired on Oct. 26 when demonstrators saw counter protesters tearing down signs from the fence.

"Because people would come by and vandalize this stuff, part of me felt disrespected," Seiler says. "I made sure the stuff wasn't going to get torn down."

Some signs have been distributed across the nation

When volunteers removed the 800-plus signs, Seiler made it her mission to preserve as many signs as she could.

The signs are being housed in a storage unit in Washington, D.C., as they await to be scanned by archivists at Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library, a joint project with the D.C. Public Library.

A small collection of signs were exhibited in Tulsa, Okla., last year as part of the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre and a number of them were also collected by Howard University.

Following the story published by NPR last October, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., and the George Floyd and Anti-Racist Street Art Archive database also expressed interest in receiving pieces of artwork for exhibits and archival purposes.

Once all 800-plus items have been scanned, Seiler says the gifting process for the artwork will officially begin.

Ideally, she says organizers with the D.C. chapter of Black Lives Matter would like for the pieces to stay in the hands of Black organizations. But, Seiler said that wherever the pieces might land, she hopes people would recognize their worth and the messages behind them.

"I don't know what it's going to take, but whoever takes some has to agree to care for them," Seiler said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Artwork from the Black Lives Matter memorial has a new home: the Library of Congress

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The fence that once stood between protesters and the White House at Lafayette Park during the summer of 2020 (also known as the Black Lives Matter memorial), displayed hundreds of signs, posters and artwork left by protesters following the murder of George Floyd.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#OwnVoices: The Black Joy in Picture Books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Black children lose teeth, learn to walk and talk, start Kindergarten, and tussle with siblings just as all children do, so books portraying them in these and all scenarios is not just appropriate, it should be the norm." - Kelly J. Baptist, author Below are Joyful books that reflect the everyday happenings in the lives of young black children.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
#OwnVoices: The Black Joy in Children’s Books | Richland Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Author Taelor J. Youth Services Specialist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#OwnVoices: The Black Joy in Children’s Books | Richland Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
“Books that center Black joy are important for a very simple reason: they show Black reality.” - Kelly J. Baptist, author

# data[].attributes.body
Conversations about race were not part of my upbringing. Without speaking to my parents about it, I'd say it was likely twofold: them not knowing how to begin such a conversation and not recognizing the need, despite and especially since, we lived in a very white homogeneous community. I didn't know what I didn't know until much later in life. And now I'm trying to be braver about having conversations about race with family and friends.

# data[].attributes.body
Growing up, I always had school projects that brought awareness to other cultures and race. I also was taught outside of the classroom. My mom had us watch and read about our culture as well as others. I grew up going to predominately black schools and there was always a lesson after class ended. I remember having tons of discussions with teachers outside of class. The special part was that my teachers looked like me and they shared their life experiences. There were times I heard misconceptions about other races from family and friends. These statements weren't the best outlook and included stereotypes. I would never take on their opinions as truths. Instead, I sought facts and learned continuously from other cultures. My upbringing definitely made an impact on how I view myself, my race, and other races.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Over the years, there have been several newspapers published in Columbia covering news and events for Black readers. Let's take a look at some of these titles and find out where you can access them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Brian Flores has sued the NFL and three teams -- the Dolphins, Broncos and Giants -- alleging discrimination regarding his interview processes with Denver and New York and his firing last month by Miami.

The 58-page lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court Tuesday and seeks class-action status.

Flores alleges that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross attempted to incentivize him to "tank," or purposely lose games, shortly after he was hired in 2019, with Ross allegedly offering Flores $100,000 for every loss that season. Flores says that as the team won games late in the season, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier told him Ross was "mad" that the on-field success was "compromising [the team's] draft position."

Additionally, Flores alleges that Ross pressured him into recruiting a "prominent quarterback" at the end of the 2019 season, which the coach refused so as not to violate the NFL's tampering rules. Ross then allegedly invited Flores onto a yacht for lunch in the winter of 2020, where he informed him that the quarterback was "conveniently" arriving at the marina for an impromptu meeting.

Flores refused the meeting and left the yacht. Afterward, Flores alleges he was "treated with disdain and held out as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with."

Former Miami coach Brian Flores has sued the NFL and 3 teams -- the Dolphins, Giants and Broncos -- alleging in part racism in hiring practices. Among his allegations: Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss in 2019 to help with the team's draft position and that the Giants and Broncos conducted "sham" in-person interviews with him to comply with the Rooney Rule. The full lawsuit can be found here.

He was fired Jan. 10 despite recording the Dolphins' first back-to-back winning seasons since 2003 (10-6 in 2020, 9-8 in 2021).

Flores also alleged that the Giants interviewed him last month for their head-coaching vacancy for no other reason than compliance with the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for their open positions. The league has amended that rule in recent years and now says teams must hold an in-person interview with at least one external minority candidate for any general manager or head-coach opening.

Flores alleged he spoke with the Giants via Zoom on Jan. 18, prior to the team hiring former Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen as its GM on Jan. 23. He said that the next day Schoen finalized his interview date for Jan. 27, and Giants co-director of player personnel Tim McDonnell texted Flores, saying he hoped he would "come in and win the f-ing job."

However, hours later, Flores' lawsuit alleges, he received a series of text messages from Patriots coach Bill Belichick, under whom Flores worked for 10 years in New England. In those texts, Belichick told Flores he had heard from "Buffalo and NYG that you are their guy."

Flores asked Belichick to clarify whether he meant to talk to him or Brian Daboll, who was also in the running for the Giants' job. Belichick acknowledged his error and informed him that the Giants wanted Daboll.

"Sorry -- I f---ed this up. I double checked and misread the text. I think they are naming Brian Daboll. I'm sorry about that," Belichick allegedly texted.

Flores alleges that his Jan. 27 interview with the Giants -- which satisfied the Rooney Rule, because he was the first minority candidate to interview in-person -- was a "sham." New York hired Daboll, the former Bills offensive coordinator, a day later.

Flores alleges that a similar scenario occurred when he interviewed with the Broncos for their head-coaching job in 2019. Flores says that then-Denver general manager John Elway, among others, arrived to the interview an hour late and hungover -- alleging they had been "drinking heavily the night before."

The Giants, Dolphins and Broncos responded separately to the allegations Tuesday.

The Giants said they were "pleased and confident" with their hiring process.

"We interviewed an impressive and diverse group of candidates," the team said. "The fact of the matter is, Brian Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach."

The Dolphins "vehemently" denied the allegations against them" while noting they are "proud of the diversity and inclusion throughout our organization."

"The implication that we acted in a manner inconsistent with the integrity of the game is incorrect," the team said.

And the Broncos detailed their Jan. 5, 2019, interview with Flores, saying it started promptly at 7:30 a.m. in Providence, Rhode Island, lasted 3½ hours and was conducted with five team executives.

"Pages of detailed notes, analysis and evaluations from our interview demonstrate the depth of our conversation and sincere interest in Mr. Flores as a head coaching candidate," the team said. "Our process was thorough and fair to determine the most qualified candidate for our head coaching position.

"The Broncos will vigorously defend the integrity and values of our organization -- and its employees -- from such baseless and disparaging claims."

Denver ultimately hired Vic Fangio for the position.

In the lawsuit, Wigdor Law LLP, the firm representing Flores, said the coach hopes to "shine a light on the racial injustices that take place inside the NFL." Among the areas Flores said he would like to see addressed:

* Increase influence of Black individuals in hiring

* Increase "the objectivity" of hiring/terminating GMs, head coaches and coordinators

* Increase the number of Black coordinators

* Incentivize hiring/retention of Black GMs, head coaches and coordinators

* Transparency of pay for GMs, head coaches and coordinators

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from the NFL, which called the claims "without merit" Tuesday.

"The NFL and our clubs are deeply committed to ensuring equitable employment practices and continue to make progress in providing equitable opportunities throughout our organizations," the league said in a statement. "Diversity is core to everything we do, and there are few issues on which our clubs and our internal leadership team spend more time. We will defend against these claims, which are without merit."

Flores, who turns 41 later this month, had been tied to head-coaching vacancies with the Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints since his firing by the Dolphins. New Orleans interviewed him for its head-coaching vacancy Tuesday, according to ESPN's Mike Triplett.

"God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football, but the need for change is bigger than my personal goals," Flores said in a statement put out by the Wigdor firm. "In making the decision to file the class action complaint today, I understand that I may be risking coaching the game that I love and that has done so much for my family and me. My sincere hope is that by standing up against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come."

Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Flores, told The New York Times that Wigdor Law LLP is looking into allegations from other coaches who could be part of the class-action suit. He noted that Flores reached out to the firm on the same day he received the Belichick text messages.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Flores sues NFL, teams, alleges racism in hiring

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Among Brian Flores' allegations: Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100K for every loss in 2019 to help with draft position and the Giants conducted a "sham" in-person interview with him to comply with the Rooney Rule after deciding on Brian Daboll.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The three white men sentenced to life in prison for murdering Ahmaud Arbery are now standing trial on federal hate crime charges. At issue is whether the men targeted Arbery because he was Black.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

A second trial gets underway today in the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man. Three white men have already been sentenced to life in prison by the state of Georgia for chasing Arbery down with pickup trucks and killing him as he ran through their neighborhood just outside of Brunswick. His killing has been likened to a modern-day lynching, and the federal hate crimes trial centers on whether the killing was racially motivated. Jury selection begins today. NPR's Debbie Elliott joins us now. Debbie, first tell us how the hate crimes case differs from the state trial last year that resulted in those murder convictions.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE: Well, father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, are facing federal charges that they violated Arbery's civil rights and that they targeted him because of his race, because he was Black. The state murder conviction last year did not address motive. This case will.

MARTINEZ: OK. So what kind of evidence is expected to come out during this trial?

ELLIOTT: You know, investigators have said they will testify that they found evidence of racial animus on the defendants' cellphone messages and in social media posts. For instance, Travis McMichael allegedly used racial slurs. He linked Black people to criminal behavior, and he supported a vigilante-like response to that. I talked with Bobby Henderson, a civil rights activist in Brunswick, and he told me that all of that needs to come to the surface here.

BOBBY HENDERSON: The determining factor as to why they gave chase to Ahmaud was that he was Black. It was their motivation, why they felt he was not supposed to be in the neighborhood in the first place. And it's important that people understand that those things were the motivation so that they can begin to really interrogate their own biases.

ELLIOTT: Henderson sees this hate crimes trial as part of the larger racial reckoning that's been underway since the killings in 2020 of Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

MARTINEZ: I know last week it appeared that the McMichaels were willing to plead guilty and admit they had targeted Arbery because he was Black. What happened?

ELLIOTT: Well, they said they'd reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors, but it fell apart when the judge rejected the deal. Part of that would have allowed the McMichaels to spend 30 years in federal custody before finishing out their life sentence in a Georgia prison. Arbery's family had objected to that. They were quite upset about it. They said it was not fair to give their son's murderers the option of better conditions in federal prison. So the McMichaels stuck with their not-guilty pleas. The question now, as jury selection is starting today, is whether potential jurors will be affected. You know, this got a lot of media attention, so people know that these men had been willing to admit racial motivation before the trial.

MARTINEZ: OK, but with these men already sentenced, I mean, why also pursue a federal hate crimes case?

ELLIOTT: That's a question I put to former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. He's a former head of the civil rights division at the Justice Department. Historically, he says, federal prosecutions like this were a backstop, a way to, like, seek justice if a state or local prosecutor did not go after such crimes. Today, Patrick says, it's more about taking a national stand against racist behavior.

DEVAL PATRICK: In the most egregious examples, even if there has been a conviction in a state court, there's a national interest in there being federal consequences. And I think this is one of those cases.

ELLIOTT: Now, we should note that two years ago, the state of Georgia did not have a state hate crimes law that would have applied here. The public outcry over Arbery's murder changed that.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR's Debbie Elliott. Debbie, thanks a lot.

ELLIOTT: You're welcome.

Copyright © 2022 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A 2nd trial is about to begin in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The three white men sentenced to life in prison for murdering Ahmaud Arbery are now standing trial on federal hate crime charges. At issue is whether the men targeted Arbery because he was Black. A MARTINEZ, HOST: A second trial gets underway today in the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Black History Month is the one time of year when the country unreluctantly shines a light on the history, triumphs, and trials of African Americans that shaped much of the nation's history.

In 1926, historian Carter G. Woodson became the first to petition for a designated time when the history and accomplishments of Black Americans would be highlighted and recognized nationwide, as noted by historian and the president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, W. Marvin Dulaney.

Woodson, the "father of Black history," initially intentioned for it to be one week where public schools would teach students about Black history, NPR reports. Woodson selected the second week of February as Negro History Week and petitioned fellow historians through the Study of Negro Life and History, which he founded in 1915 before its name was changed to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

"Woodson's goal from the very beginning was to make the celebration of Black history in the field of history a 'serious area of study,' " Albert Broussard, a professor of Afro-American history at Texas A&M University said.

Woodson's initiative grew in acceptance over the years and by the late 1960s had expanded into the entire month of February.

While it is the shortest month of the year, the second week of February was selected to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. With Lincoln's decision to end slavery and Douglass' advocacy work as a former slave turned abolitionist, Black History Month was centered around the two prominent leaders.

Since 1976, every U.S. president has recognized the month of February as Black History Month, History.com reports. Other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.

President Gerald R. Ford was the first to officially recognize Black History Month during the country's 1976 bicentennial.

To keep up with Woodson's introduction of Black History Month, the ASALH selects a new theme for the month each year. For 2022, the theme is Black Health and Wellness. It's appropriate given the coronavirus pandemic and its disproportionate effect on the Black community.

"As [Black people], we have terrible health outcomes, and even the coronavirus has been affecting us disproportionately in terms of those of us who are catching it," Dulaney said.

"There's never been a time where Black people and others should not celebrate Black history," Broussard said. "Given the current racial climate, the racial reckoning that began in wake of George Floyd's murder ... this is an opportunity to learn."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Here's Why Black History Month is Celebrated In February

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Black History Month is the one time of year when the country unreluctantly shines a light on the history, triumphs, and trials of African Americans that shaped much of the nation's history. In 1926, historian Carter G.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Take Out with Lisa Ling | Official Trailer | HBO Max

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A bill that would require public schools to teach Asian American history has been approved by the New Jersey Legislature.

The bill, which passed the Senate earlier this month and the General Assembly on Monday, now heads to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is expected to sign it into law. If signed, New Jersey would become the second state to mandate Asian American history as part of its public school curriculum, after Illinois did so earlier this year.

More than 1 million New Jersey residents identified as Asian in the 2020 census, the New Jersey Monitor reported, making the population the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the state.

"It's affirming our sense of belonging to this country, and also that we deserve to feel safe," said Kani Ilangovan, the founder of Make Us Visible New Jersey, an advocacy group that's been pushing the state to adopt a K-12 curriculum that's more inclusive of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. "It's very sad, but during the pandemic, there's been a huge rise in anti-Asian violence, and we feel education is the best antidote to hate."

Ilangovan, who is Indian American, launched Make Us Visible New Jersey earlier this year following a spate of anti-Asian hate incidents across the U.S.

Two South Asian Democratic lawmakers sponsored the bill: Assemblyman Raj Mukherji and state Sen. Vin Gopal. Gopal, the first Indian American elected as state senator in New Jersey, said he missed out on learning about Asian American history in school. Now, he hopes other students have that opportunity.

"What I didn't learn was about people who look like me, those who were from the AAPI community that have had significant contributions to our great country we live in today," Gopal said in a statement. "I am proud to sponsor legislation that can help kids who look like me know that they can be anything."

Mukherji said passing this bill was urgent given the rise in anti-Asian hate.

"It is not a secret that hate incidents against Asian Americans are on the rise at an alarming level since the pandemic, and when you have people with a platform referring to the disease as the 'kung flu' or the 'China virus,' I'm not so sure that's shocking," Mukherji said. "Hate comes from a place of ignorance, and if we can educate our young people about the Asian American immigrant experience, about our history, we will not only be teaching them, but we will be building empathy."

Last month, Murphy created the Asian American Pacific Islander Commission in the Department of State that has been tasked with "developing policies to address the social and economic needs of the growing Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in New Jersey."

If the Asian American curriculum bill is approved, advocates said a commission would advise the New Jersey Department of Education about how to implement the curriculum across the state.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
New Jersey poised to become second state to require teaching Asian American history

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A bill that would require public schools to teach Asian American history has been approved by the New Jersey Legislature. The bill, which passed the Senate earlier this month and the General Assembly on Monday, now heads to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is expected to sign it into law.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed legislation requiring that Asian American history be taught in public schools starting in the 2022-2023 school year. Illinois is the first state in the nation to hold such a requirement.

The Teaching Equitable Asian American History (TEAACH) Act comes at a time when growing numbers of Asian Americans have become the targets of hate crimes in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Asian Americans are facing hate incidents at a higher rate than ever reported before, and the Democratic governor says teaching students about Asian American history will help combat false stereotypes.

Today, we are reaffirming our commitment to creating more inclusive classrooms by making Illinois the first state in the nation to require Asian American history be taught in public schools. pic.twitter.com/Sv7fETNhd1
- Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) July 9, 2021

"We are setting a new standard for what it means to truly reckon with our history. It's a new standard that helps us understand one another, and, ultimately, to move ourselves closer to the nation of our ideals," Pritzker said last Friday after signing the legislation into law.

The new curriculum will add a new unit for every public elementary school and high school to learn about Asian American history, and the story of Asian Americans in Illinois and the Midwest, specifically.

The bill focuses on the contributions of Asian Americans

Required topics that will be covered in the new school year include the Asian Americans advancing civil rights and the contributions Asian Americans have made in government, the arts, sciences, economics and politics.

"Asian American history is American history. Yet we are often invisible. The TEAACH Act will ensure that the next generation of Asian American students won't need to attend law school to learn about their heritage," said State Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, who sponsored the legislation.

"Empathy comes from understanding. We cannot do better unless we know better. A lack of knowledge is the root cause of discrimination and the best weapon against ignorance is education," she said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Illinois Has Become The First State To Require The Teaching Of Asian American History

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed legislation requiring that Asian American history be taught in public schools starting in the 2022-2023 school year. Illinois is the first state in the nation to hold such a requirement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Over six episodes, Take Out explores the history of the Filipinos in Louisiana, the Chinese in Northern California, the Vietnamese in Orange County's Little Saigon, the Bangladeshis in New York, the Japanese in L.A's Boyle Heights, and the Koreans in Fairfax County, Virginia-and how all of those immigrant groups used food to find their footing in the United States and understand themselves and the people around them.

In each episode, Ling establishes the background info, often using archival footage, and then interviews multiple members from each diaspora. In episode four, for example, Ling explains the formation of Bangladesh, then meets with actor Alaudin Ullah, who shares how his father, a steamship worker, jumped ship to start a new life in New York as an undocumented immigrant. He eventually started the restaurant Bengal Garden, refusing to compromise on his culture during a time when many Bengali immigrants felt pressure to present their establishments as Indian restaurants. Later, Ling goes to Jersey City's Korai Kitchen, where co-founder Nur-E Farhana Rahman explains how they pushed Uber Eats to create a new category for Bangladeshi restaurants when they joined the service. We see how the decisions of forebears still influence how younger generations understand their cultural identity today.

Is the selection of cultures featured by Take Out the complete breadth of groups who make up Asian America? Certainly not, but it's a step in the right direction. And it bodes well for the future that all the major streaming platforms are exploring shows that dive deep into the ways food is linked to race, history, and power, for communities from all over the world.

Unlike the many food shows that center around the premise that food is the great unifier, able to bridge gaps between different groups, Take Out considers food the key to unlocking the connections within a diaspora. In Boyle Heights-the neighborhood that became a refuge for Japanese Americans after their incarceration during World War II, but saw an exodus as Japanese Americans gained upward mobility-Ling visits Otomisan, its oldest-running Japanese restaurant. There, owner Yayoi Watanabe has taken on a role akin to the "community's Japanese mom," as Ling puts it, by sharing history and food with younger generations. In this way, Take Out highlights the importance of remembering and learning from the past.

That we, as viewers who might not share the backgrounds of the communities in each episode, learn about their livelihoods is more a pleasant byproduct than Take Out's sole appeal. Where Take Out shines is by letting communities whose histories have been unheard tell their own stories, in their own way.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Take Out with Lisa Ling' Is a Delicious Crash Course on Asian America

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Over six episodes, Take Out explores the history of the Filipinos in Louisiana, the Chinese in Northern California, the Vietnamese in Orange County's Little Saigon, the Bangladeshis in New York, the Japanese in L.A's Boyle Heights, and the Koreans in Fairfax County, Virginia-and how all of those immigrant groups used food to find their footing in the United States and understand themselves and the people around them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#Own Voices: When We Make It (Book Review)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Raw, heart-wrenching, full of hope and pride.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Whether you are looking for something to read while getting cozy by the fire, or catching some rays at the beach, these books are sure to heat things up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As Racial Justice Week comes to a close, check out these engaging discussions with past guests, thought leaders and community members that encourage honest dialogue on injustices, anti-racism and diversity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As Racial Justice Week comes to a close, check out these engaging discussions with past guests, thought leaders and community members that encourage honest dialogue on injustices, anti-racism and diversity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Interview: Exploring What It Means to Be a Black Cowboy with John Wright

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When researching black cowboy culture, I came across Richland Library's very own resident cowboy, John Wright. This interview was conducted to learn more about black cowboy culture and what it truly means to be a cowboy. Interview conducted by Tyler Edmond Edited by Lindsey Taunton

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Intersection of Race & LGBTQI2SA+ Liberation | Celebrating Racial Justice Week

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences." - Audre Lorde

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As we celebrate Richland County's Racial Justice Week, we'd like to share some of the eResources available through Richland Library that support our community's commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Trombone Shorty and Other Jazz Greats | Richland Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
“Who’s that playing out there?” Bo Diddley asked the crowd on a sunny day in New Orleans, LA. Suddenly, four-year-old Troy ‘Trombone Shorty’ Andrews was lifted into the air and over the crowd to perform onstage with the famous musician. This experience changed his life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They both are fruit, but they taste completely different. - Stephen King

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
DIY Horses (History of the Black Cowboy)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn about the deep history of Black Cowboys in the United States while making your very own horse.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Richland Library will celebrate Gullah Geechee history with the "It's a Gullah Geechee Celebration" Jan. 29, at Columbia's Hyatt Park (950 Jackson Avenue).

Visitors can expect a cultural experience including the art of storytelling, music and more from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Exhibits of the celebration will include Gullah artwork, sweetgrass basketry, storytelling, Gullah cuisine and African drumming and dance.

A variety of special guests include Natalie Daise from the popular '90s Nick Jr. television show, "Gullah Gullah Island." Aunt Pearlie Sue, a Beaufort native will deliver Gullah folktales through her character Anita Singleton-Prather. The Black Cowboys of Rembert, South Carolina will make an appearance, teaching the history of cattle ranching.

The Gullah Geechee celebration is recognized by the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. This heritage area was designed to protect and preserve the cultural history and practices associated with the Gullah people throughout the Southeastern coast.

Additional information about the event is available at www.richlandlibrary.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Richland Library to host Gullah Geechee celebration

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Richland Library will celebrate Gullah Geechee history with the "It's a Gullah Geechee Celebration" Jan. 29, at Columbia's Hyatt Park (950 Jackson Avenue). Visitors can expect a cultural experience including the art of storytelling, music and more from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We can't stop racist white Americans from being racist. But we can stop them from being politically powerful racist white Americans

By Michael Coard

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that things are as bad for Blacks today as they were during slavery. It would be insane to make such a foolish statement. But what I am saying is that racial bigotry in terms of attitudes of superiority are the same. Although most whites today don't want to own us (well, let's assume that for the sake of this article), they do think and always have thought they are better than us.

A prime example is one of America's greatest presidents (relatively speaking). Although he gets major kudos for going to war against the Southern "slave-holding" seceding seditionists, he was a racist.

As disclosed in the PBS documentary "The Abolitionists," Abraham Lincoln actually considered allowing the Confederacy to keep Blacks enslaved until 1900 if it immediately surrendered. In addition, he actually said during his historic Sept. 18, 1858, debate with Stephen A. Douglas, "I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and Black races ...."

The "Great Emancipator" felt like that about us - and he was one of the "good" white folks! God help us regarding the rest of the white folks - then and now.

White America's implemented racism began on Aug. 25, 1619, with the birth of slavery in British Colonial America. And 403 years later on Jan. 18, 2022, one of America's states moved closer to passing a law making it illegal for schools to teach courses about slavery and racism and for employers to effectuate policies to alleviate slavery's modern-day residue of discriminatory employment and promotions because such courses and such policies might cause racist whites to feel bad about being racist whites in racist America.

On that Jan. 18 date and with the enthusiastic support of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida's Senate Committee on Education voted to move forward toward ultimate passage of an anti-Critical Race Theory (CRT) legislative proposal officially called S.B. 148, which declares, in pertinent part, that:

"An individual should not be made to feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race .... [Moreover,] An individual, by virtue of his or her race ... does not bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race ...."

In other words, slavery doesn't matter to Florida.

Neither does the hypocritically racist 1776 Declaration of Independence, the slavery-advocating 1788 U.S. Constitution, the "Indian" genocide, Mexican land robbery, the anti-Reconstruction Redemption Era, Black Codes, convict leasing, sharecropping, disenfranchisement, Jim Crow, gerrymandering, redlining, inadequate school funding, school-to-prison pipeline, police brutality, mass incarceration, the 74.2 million Americans who voted for the KKK-endorsed, Nazi-condoning presidential candidate, the approximately 2,500 nearly all-white terroristic seditionists who attempted a violent coup at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, white privilege, or any other manifestation of systemic racism.

None of that matters to them.

As an aside, a 2019 Pew Research Center poll disclosed that 77% of Americans who identified as Republican or as leaning toward Republicanism (i.e., almost exclusively white people) confirmed that "When it comes to racial discrimination, the bigger problem for the country today is people seeing discrimination where it does not exist."

Wow!

That means nearly 8 of 10 white folks think Black people are paranoid and delusional about racial discrimination. How come I'm not surprised?

White critics know nothing about critical race theory | Michael Coard

The only thing that matters to racist white Florida is racist white folks' hurt feelings about their personal white racism and about their country's past and present white racism.

White America's racism and racist hurt feelings ain't just a Florida thing, though. As documented by Education Week, "Since January 2021, 35 states have introduced bills or taken other steps that would restrict teaching CRT or limit how teachers can discuss racism .... Fourteen states have imposed these bans and restrictions either through legislation or other avenues."

By the way, CRT is not what racist white America claims it is. It is not Black Lives Matter. It is not reparations. It is not defunding/defanging the police. And it is not taught to any children and was never designed to be taught to any children.

It is a law school concept that grew out of Critical Legal Studies, which evolved from the premise that the law is not racially objective or racially apolitical as clearly evidenced by "Slave" Codes, Black Codes, convict leasing, debtors' prison, Jim Crow legislation and jurisprudence, drug sentencing disparities, stop and frisk, mass incarceration, capital punishment, etc.

The then-unnamed law school concept was first publicized 46 years ago in a 1976 Yale Law Journal article by Derrick Bell, who was a Harvard Law School professor, a New York University Law School professor and a prominent civil rights attorney. After CRT had been taught for over a decade all across the country by many professors at many law schools, Columbia Law School professor Kimberle Crenshaw, along with a few other law school professors in 1989, coined the phrase "Critical Race Theory."

White America's racism ain't just an anti-CRT thing. It's also an anti-Black voting rights thing.

For example, on Jan. 19, the U.S. Senate rejected passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act that would have reinstated the essential pre-clearance section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that the U.S. Supreme Court vacated in 2013 and also would have increased voting locations and times, allowed for earlier voting, broadened voting by mail, loosened unnecessarily stringent voter ID requirements, expanded multi-lingual voting materials, and banned partisan gerrymandering.

White America's racism ain't just those racist white Republican U.S. senators (along with Senator "I. M. A. Race Traitor"). It's also, as revealed by the Brennan Center, the 43 state legislatures since February 2021 in which Republican lawmakers have carried over, pre-filed, or introduced 253 bills with provisions that restrict Black and Brown voting access.

White America's racism ain't just a Black voter disenfranchisement thing. It's also a lynching thing in that Congress continues to refuse to pass the 2019 Emmett Till Anti-Lynching bill, which is designed to simply and finally specify lynching as a hate crime in light of the fact that, as documented by the U.S. Census Bureau, "At least 4,742 people ... were reported lynched in the United States between 1882 and 1968."

That's not a typo. That's 1968. That's quite recent.

And it's actually worse than that. Congress wasn't as precise as it should have been. The last lynching wasn't 54 years ago in 1968. The last three lynchings- that we know of- were on June 7, 1998, when 49-year-old James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas, was dragged to death behind a car until decapitated, Feb. 23, 2020, when 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in Satilla Shores, Ga. was hunted down and shot to death, and May 25, 2020, when 46-year-old George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn. was strangled to death for nearly 10 minutes.

White America's racism ain't just a pro-lynching thing. It's also a pro-police brutality thing in that Congress continues to refuse to pass the 2021 George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

A first step toward ending white America's racism is for racist white Americans to admit that they're racist. But that will never happen.

Therefore, since we can't persuade them with reason, then let's beat them with votes- despite their nationwide disenfranchisement efforts. We beat slavery yesterday despite chains and whips, so we can beat disenfranchisement today despite laws and ordinances.

As Brother Malcolm proclaimed, "It's the ballot or the bullet." And I choose the ballot because racist white Americans ain't scared of the bullet since they have many more bullets than we have.

But they are scared of the ballot because America is becoming Blacker and browner each day, which means we'll soon have many more voters than they have.

We can't stop racist white Americans from being racist. They are what they are and what they always have been. But we can stop them from being politically powerful racist white Americans.

Malcolm X is still a political genius. And America is still racist.
Opinion contributor Michael Coard is an attorney and radio host. He wrote this column for the Philadelphia Tribune, where it first appeared.

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
From critical race theory to voting rights, America's just as racist as ever | Michael Coard - Pennsylvania Capital-Star

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We can't stop racist white Americans from being racist. But we can stop them from being politically powerful racist white Americans By Michael Coard Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that things are as bad for Blacks today as they were during slavery. It would be insane to make such a foolish statement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Opening statements got underway Monday in the federal trial of three former Minnesota police officers charged in the death of George Floyd with a prosecutor telling the jury the defendants "made the conscious choice over and over again" not to protect the 46-year-old Black man.

Fired Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng, 28, Thomas Lane, 38, and Tou Thao, 35, are fighting charges stemming from their alleged roles in the deadly confrontation with Floyd who their one-time senior officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murdering.

The trial, expected to last two to four weeks, is being held at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building in St. Paul.

The trial got underway just after 10 a.m. with U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson swearing in the jury before calling on a federal prosecutor to give the first opening statement.

"In your custody, in your care," Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha Trepel told the jury, reading from the Minneapolis Police Department's policy on how officers should treat people once taken to custody. The prosecutor added that it's "not just a moral responsibility, it's what the law requires under the U.S. Constitution."

Trepel said the defendants were all trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, yet took no action to help save Floyd's life as he claimed at least 25 times that he could not breathe, was rendered unconscious and lost a pulse.

"Here on May 25, 2020, for second after second, minute after minute, these three CPR-trained defendants stood or knelt next to Officer Chauvin as he slowly killed George Floyd right in front of them," Trepel said.

She added that the officers each made the "conscious choice over and over again" not to act to protect a man they had in handcuffs and pinned to the pavement.

Trepel noted that in one of the videos of the episode, Tao, who was trying to keep a crowd at bay, was standing next to Chauvin but failed to stop the excessive force, rather telling witnesses, "This is why you don't do drugs, kids."

The prosecutor said Keung was kneeling on Floyd's back the whole time and did nothing to stop Chauvin's excessive use of force, even two minutes after he could not find Floyd's pulse and after an ambulance crew arrived and could not detect a heartbeat.

Trepel said that despite being rookie cops, Lane and Keung had been extensively trained for 1 1/2 years, both being taught at the police academy many times to turn a subject onto their side when they are having trouble breathing.

"We will ask you to hold these men accountable for choosing to do nothing and watch a man die," Trepel told the jury

Attorneys for each of the defendants are expected to follow with their own opening statements to the jury.

Following Trepel's statement, Kueng's attorney, Thomas Plunkett, made a motion for a mistrial, arguing that some of what Trepel's told the jury was more argumentative than a preview of the evidence the prosecutors intend to present over the course of the trial.

Magnuson denied the motion.

Thao's attorney, Robert Paule, acknowledged in his opening statement that Floyd's death was a tragedy, but added, "a tragedy is not a crime."

Paule told the jury that he expects the prosecution to lean heavily on the video evidence in the case, including footage taken by witness Darnella Fraizer, the then 17-year-old, who began recording when the officers already had Floyd handcuffed and prone on the ground. Paule told the jury that the video doesn't tell the whole story and noted that Floyd was struggling and resisting the officers prior to Fraizer and other witnesses filming the encounter.

Paule told the jury that after hearing the evidence, the only verdict justified will be not guilty on all counts.

Keung's attorney, Tom Plunkett, said Keung and Lane had only completed five shifts on the job by the time they became involved in Floyd's fatal arrest and deferred to Chauvin, their field training officer with 19 years of law enforcement experience under his belt.

Plunkett said a field training officer "has great control over a young officer's future in the Minneapolis Police Department."

He said Chauvin was clearly in charge of the incident even though Lane should have been because he was the senior officer in the first squad car to arrive at the scene.

Lane's attorney, Earl Gray, called the government's case against his client a "perversion of justice."

Gray said Floyd measured 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds and put the officer in a "scary" scenario when he struggled with them.

"He was all muscle," Gray said of Floyd.

He said Lane "was totally concerned and did everything he could possibly do to help George Floyd." He said Lane asked Chauvin and Kueng if they should turn the man on his side to help him breathe, but his suggestions were rejected.

"Not deliberatively indifferent about his health at all," Gray said of Lane's reactions during the episode.

Gray told the jury that Lane will testify during the trial.

Attorneys for the Floyd family released a statement earlier saying the trial is "another milestone in the long, slow journey to justice for George Floyd and his family."

"This trial will be another painful experience for the Floyd family, who must once more relive his grueling death in excruciating detail," the statement from the family's attorneys said.

The 18-member jury, including six alternates, was impaneled in just one day, chosen on Thursday from a pool of 256 potential jurors. The jury is comprised of 11 women and seven men, none of whom are Black.

All three defendants are charged with using the "color of the law," or their positions as police officers, to deprive Floyd of his civil rights by allegedly showing deliberate indifference to his medical needs as Chauvin dug his knee in the back of a handcuffed man's neck for more than 9 minutes, ultimately killing him.

Kueng and Thao both face an additional charge alleging they knew Chauvin was kneeling on Floyd's neck but did nothing to intervene to stop him. Lane, who was heard on police body camera footage asking if they should roll Floyd on his side to help ease his breathing, does not face that charge.

Kueng, Lane and Thao have pleaded not guilty.

Opening statements in the trial commenced a little over a month after Chauvin, 45, a former Minneapolis police officer, pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges stemming from Floyd's death and the abuse of a 14-year-old boy he bashed in the head with a flashlight in 2017. He admitted in the signed plea agreement with federal prosecutors that he knelt on the back of Floyd's neck even as Floyd complained he could not breathe, fell unconscious and lost a pulse.

The guilty plea came after Chauvin was convicted in Minnesota state court in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison in the state case and is facing an even stiffer sentence in the federal case.

Kueng and Lane were rookies being trained by Chauvin at the time of Floyd's fatal arrest.

The May 25, 2020, police encounter with Floyd, who was accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a convenience store, was recorded on video from start to finish and included multiple angles taken by bystanders with cellphones, police body cameras and surveillance cameras.

The footage showed Chauvin grinding his knee into the back of Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds while Kueng helped keep Floyd down even after he stopped resisting by placing his knee on the man's back and holding and lifting one of his handcuffed hands. Lane, according to the videos, held down Floyd's feet.

Thao, according to footage, stood a few feet away, ordering a crowd to stand back despite several witnesses, including an off-duty firefighter, expressing concern for Floyd's well-being.

Following the federal trial, Lane, Keung and Thao are facing a state trial on charges arising from Floyd's death of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

The three defendants have pleaded not guilty to the state charges.
ABC News' Janel Klein contributed to this report.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Prosecutor says cops made 'conscious choice' not to protect George Floyd

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Opening statements got underway Monday in the federal trial of three former Minnesota police officers charged in the death of George Floyd with a prosecutor telling the jury the defendants "made the conscious choice over and over again" not to protect the 46-year-old Black man. Fired Minneapolis police officers J.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Couple rekindles romance after decades apart

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#OwnVoices: 80 | Must-Read Black Fiction novels for 2022 | Richland Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
📚 Below you will find a mix of great reads from the past few decades. Take a look and find your next great read from one of these talented authors!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Each year #OwnVoices authors and illustrators work to close the gap and insure that the black and brown community is equally represented in the literary world. Below you can find a list of picture books published in 2021 written and/or illustrated by African Americans.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#OwnVoices: Middle Grade Books of 2021 | Richland Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
While it is important for young children to see themselves in pictures books, it is equally important for older children to relate to the characters in the books they read. Below you can find a list of #OwnVoices books released in 2021 and written by African American authors for older children.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#OwnVoices: Children's Books Reflection of 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Missed out on 2021 book releases? Don't worry, you can find #OwnVoices books published in 2021 for both younger and older children here. Don't forget to look out for what's to come in 2022! ____________________________________

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Have you ever seen a medical illustration featuring a Black body? Social media users admitted they hadn't when an image of a Black fetus in a Black woman's womb went viral this month.

Chidiebere Ibe, 25, is behind the image. The Nigerian medical student, who will enter Kyiv Medical University in Ukraine next month, describes himself as a self-taught medical illustrator. He said he's spent at least a year learning to draw anatomy, focusing on Black skin every step of the way.

"I wasn't expecting it to go viral," Ibe, an aspiring pediatric neurosurgeon, said of the image in an interview. "I was just sticking up for what I believe in, advocating for equality in health through medical illustrations. I made a deliberate action to constantly advocate that there be inclusion of Black people in medical literature."

He began publishing the images on social media, showing conditions like empyema thoracis and seborrheic eczema on Black skin. Many of the images show skin conditions prevalent with Black people, combating a misrepresentation that often leads to misdiagnosis. The fetus illustration went viral after a Twitter user shared the photo, writing, "I've literally never seen a black foetus illustrated, ever." The post was retweeted more than 50,000 times, and the illustration garnered more than 88,000 "likes" on Instagram and even made its way to TikTok. Ibe drew praise from medical professionals far and wide.

"Little did I understand what the drawing meant to a lot of people. On my LinkedIn, on my Twitter, on my Instagram, I read the comments and they really touched me. I was crying," Ibe said. "It was amazing to see how good people felt about it. People could see themselves in the drawing."

Ibe said he became interested in medical illustrations after graduating with an undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Uyo in Nigeria and preparing to enter medical school. Ibe, who leads creative design at the Association of Future African Neurosurgeons, was working under Dr. Ulrick Sidney Kanmounye at the association to learn anatomy drawing when, he said, he came to a realization: "The drawings I saw aren't in Black skin." This launched him into studying medical illustration and focusing on Black skin. A little over a year later, Ibe said, the viral images have landed him an offer to pursue a PhD at a New York university after medical school.

Anatomy drawings have been around for thousands of years, but medical illustration was established as a profession in the United States in the late 19th century, according to the Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI). The lack of Black representation in medical journals and textbooks is no secret, though. A January study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that just 4.5 percent of images in general medicine textbooks show dark skin.

Ni-ka Ford, the chair of AMI's diversity committee, said this is an extension of medical racism.

"The field is so closely connected to medicine and health care, which have a lot of roots in systemic racism. So that's a big part of it," Ford said. "Medical illustrations have historically have always been very predominately white and male centered. ... A lot of textbooks have already been published and are already in the rounds around the world and they are very exclusionary in the visual content of people of different backgrounds."

The few Black medical illustrators in the predominately white field have been working to right the injustice, Ford said. Earlier this year, she and the association's diversity team launched the #AMIDiversity campaign, urging medical illustrators everywhere to post their work of "nonwhite bodies." Ford said the association plans to hold the campaign annually. The team is also working on efforts to get more Black people into the field.

Ford, who has been a practicing medical illustrator for four years, said diverse medical illustrators are imperative for making diagnoses. She described medical illustrations as "visual education material" that play a major role in training medical professionals. "It literally affects patient health at the end of the day," she said.

She added that diverse medical illustrations promote empathy in doctor-patient relationships and, in turn, improve patient care. When patients see reflective medical illustrations in their doctor's office, it promotes trust and honest communication that are often vital in medical care, Ford said. There are a lot of positive implications for both the medical field and the patient when illustrations reflect different skin types, Ford added. And Ibe agreed.

"I believe everybody deserves to be seen," he said. "In the U.S. there are a lot of health care disparities. So this is a call to everybody that everyone should matter, and there should be health equality for everybody."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Meet the student bringing Black illustrations to the medical field

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Have you ever seen a medical illustration featuring a Black body? Social media users admitted they hadn't when an image of a Black fetus in a Black woman's womb went viral this month. Chidiebere Ibe, 25, is behind the image.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
WASHINGTON - Today, President Biden announced his intent to appoint the following leaders as commissioners to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders:

The Commission will advise the President on ways the public, private, and non-profit sectors can work together to advance equity and opportunity for every Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community. The Commission is also charged with advising the President on policies to address anti-Asian xenophobia and violence, ways to build capacity in AANHPI communities through federal grantmaking and policies to address the intersectional barriers that AANHPI women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities face. The Commission will include civic leaders from across the country and will reflect the rich diversity of AANHPI communities across the United States.
Amy Agbayani
Dr. Amefil (Amy) Agbayani is an Emeritus Assistant Vice Chancellor for student diversity and equity, University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Agbayani was born in the Philippines and received her education from the University of the Philippines, East West Center and the University of Hawai'i. She is a former chair of the Hawai'i Civil Rights Commission, conducts research on AANHPI in higher education, member of the Patsy T.Mink PAC and The Legal Clinic for immigrant justice Hawai'i.
Teresita Batayola
Teresita Batayola is the President and Chief Executive Officer of International Community Health Services, Washington state's largest Asian and Pacific Islander non-profit health center providing comprehensive health care to all those who need affordable care, especially immigrants and refugees. Batayola is an advocate for health care access, equity, and addressing social determinants of health. ICHS has received awards for its high quality of care and Batayola has been recognized in the Puget Sound Business Journal's Award for Outstanding Business & Philanthropic Contributions, Woman of Courage Undaunted from the University of Washington Women's Center, and the Filipino Women's Network's Most Influential Filipino Woman in the World.
Ajay Bhutoria
Ajay Bhutoria is a Silicon Valley technology executive, community leader, speaker, and author that has been recognized for his work. He is a passionate advocate for the South Asian and AAPI communities in the areas of small businesses, educational opportunities, immigration issues, and technological advancement. His expertise in the areas of organizational transformations and change management has supported critical advancements within the AAPI community, and he is committed to the creation of a compassionate and empowering environment for all.
Luisa Blue
Luisa Blue retired from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in August 2020 after serving as an Executive Vice President for four years, one of the highest ranking AAPI officials in the labor movement. During her term was responsible for the SEIU Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Engagement and Leadership program, a member of the Racial Justice Task Force, chair of the Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, and chair of the Ethical Culture Committee. She served on the SEIU Executive Board prior to her election as Executive Vice President. Luisa continues to be active in the community and serves on the Asian Health Services Community Board, a Trustee on Alameda County Health Systems Board of Trustees, and Vice President of the AAPI Victory Alliance Board. Luisa is the proud grandmother of seven grandchildren.
Kimberly Chang
Kimberly Seu Gin Chang, MD, MPH, born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai`i in a six generation kama`āina family, is a board-certified family physician in Oakland, California, at Asian Health Services, a federally qualified community health center. Dr. Chang has dedicated her 20+ year career to focusing on the health of the underserved AANHPI community, including people vulnerable to and affected by human trafficking and exploitation, developing national clinical and health policy recommendations for this issue. Dr. Chang has received numerous awards, most recently the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 2020 Emerging Public Health Professional Award and the 2021 UCSF Alumni Humanitarian Service Award. She received her undergraduate degree from Columbia College of Columbia University, her medical degree from the University of Hawai`i, her MPH from Harvard with the Commonwealth Fund Minority Health Policy Fellowship, and her residency training at UCSF. Dr. Chang currently serves as the Vice Speaker of the House for the National Association of Community Health Centers, and as expert faculty for Health Partners on Intimate Partner Violence + Exploitation at Futures Without Violence.
Emily Chen
Emily Chen is Chief of Research at Olshan Realty and manages the Private Wealth Real Estate Services, providing brokerage expertise along with research and consulting capabilities. She co-founded the Olshan Luxury Market Report, a weekly real-time snapshot of the Manhattan residential real estate market, which became the industry standard and revolutionized how the market is analyzed and evaluated. A former National Big Sister of the Year, Chen serves on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and is on the Executive Committee. Chen is a graduate of Georgetown University and Co-Founder and Executive Producer of Stand Up for Georgetown.
Kerry Doi
A 4th generation Japanese-American born on a Hawaiian plantation, Mr. Kerry Doi has spent his life combatting hate and solidifying his commitment to social and economic justice. For over 46 years, Mr. Doi has dedicated his work to the cause and the community development space through his leadership at Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment (PACE) - one of the nation's largest Asian-led community development organizations serving 40,000 minority, low income individuals annually through workforce, small business, environmental justice, affordable housing, and early childhood education. He has served on numerous local, state, and national boards including his current appointments as Chair of the CA Community Economic Development Association, Vice Chair and Treasurer of the LA Housing Partnership, and member of the LA County Small Business Commission.
Grace Huang
Grace Huang, J.D., is a Taiwanese-American attorney who has advocated on behalf of the rights of survivors of domestic and sexual violence for almost 30 years as a legal services lawyer, attorney in private practice, and policy advocate. She currently is the Director of Policy at the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, where she focuses on federal policy to address the needs of survivors in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Ms. Huang serves on the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, on the Washington State Women's Commission. Ms. Huang also co-chairs the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors, working to address the needs of survivors of gender-based violence in the immigration system.
Victoria Huynh
Victoria Huynh is currently the Senior Vice President of the Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc. (CPACS), the largest nonprofit in the Southeast to focus on issues and concerns of AANHPI communities, especially women, children, and families. For more than a decade, Huynh has advocated for equitable language access, promoted local civic engagement, protected immigrant rights, championed cultural competency, and developed vital social service programs within the immigrant and refugee communities in Atlanta, Georgia. Mrs. Huynh's experiences in her limited English proficient (LEP) Vietnamese Refugee household, fuels her passion for community building, strategic planning, and policy work within immigrant and refugee spaces. She is an MBA candidate and currently serves as consultant, board member, and panelist on various boards influencing state and local funding, nominations, and programs that impact communities of color.
Mia Ives-Rublee
Mia Ives-Rublee, MSW, is currently the Director of the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress. She obtained her Master's in Social Work at University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill. She was also recognized as one of Glamour Women of the Year in 2017, She the People's 20 Women of Color in Politics to Watch in 2020, and received the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award from the UNC School of Social Work. Ives-Rublee works at the intersection of disability, race, and gender, helping promote equity and opportunity for marginalized communities through policy and organizing.
Kamal Kalsi
Dr. Kamal Singh Kalsi, LTC, USAR is an emergency medicine physician from New Jersey that has served in the Army for 20 years and was awarded a Bronze Star medal for his work taking care of hundreds of combat casualties on the front lines in Afghanistan. He has transitioned into the Army reserves, and now serves as a senior advisor for Policy Vets and a Fellow of the Truman National Security Project's Defense Council. He founded the Sikh American Veterans Alliance (SAVA) in order to promote diversity, religious freedom, and service.
Michelle Kauhane
Michelle Kauhane is the Senior Vice President of Community Grants & Initiatives at Hawaii Community Foundation. Previously, she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement where she engaged in lending and investment services deploying capital in underserved native Hawaiian communities statewide. Michelle has a background in non-profit management, organizational leadership, community based economic development and public policy advocacy. She has served on numerous local and national boards and currently sits on the Community Advisory Council at the Federal Reserve of San Francisco to offer perspectives on the economic and financial service needs of low- and moderate- income populations in Hawaii. She is a graduate of Gonzaga University.
Daniel Dae Kim
Daniel Dae Kim is an award-winning actor, director and producer. In addition to his series regular roles on TV's LOST and THE HOT ZONE: ANTHRAX, Kim starred as the King of Siam in Lincoln Center's Broadway production of the KING AND I. In addition to his numerous credits as an actor, he is developing both film and television projects as a producer with his company, 3AD. His current projects include THE GOOD DOCTOR currently airing on ABC. Recently, he also turned to advocacy, joining the Asian American Foundation, where he serves a Co-Chair of the Advisory Council. Mr. Kim can next be seen as an actor in the live action adaptation of AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER. He currently lives in Hawaii with his family.
Kevin Kim
Kevin D. Kim is a seasoned attorney, entrepreneur, and public servant. He is a co-founder of Abakidz, a mental math program. In public service, Mr. Kim was the first Korean American to win a NYC primary election as a 2009 Democratic nominee for a NYC Council seat, then served as the first Asian American commissioner of the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA), and now serves as the first Korean American Member of the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York (CUNY) where he chairs the Audit Committee. He has served on the boards of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), Korean American Association of Greater New York (KAAGNY), American Red Cross - Queens Chapter, Friends of THIRTEEN, International Student Conferences, Inc. (ISC), Korean American Community Foundation (KACF), and the Fordham Law School Voting Rights and Democracy Project (Advisory Board). Mr. Kim received his B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University and his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and a member of the Columbia Law Review.
Sarah Min
Sarah Min is an advocate and former media executive. Min promotes the advancement of mission-driven organizations who are transforming how to use technology, media and person-to-person outreach to mobilize people and change perceptions about women and people of color. From 2013-2019, Min was an independent consultant, working with clients such as HBO, Penguin Random House and other nonprofits, Previously, she served as Executive Vice President for, Marketing & Corporate Development for ScrollMotion, an enterprise software company. Min also was the Managing Editor of Vibe and Domino magazines, a director at media company Bertelsmann, as well as President of literary publishing company McSweeney's. She serves as a director on nonprofit boards, including Color of Change and EMILY's List, and has been engaged in grassroots organizations, including the Korean American Community Foundation and the Asian American Power Network. Sarah holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Simon Pang
Emigrated from Singapore in late 1989, Pang has been in banking industry since 1981. Pang is currently an Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of Royal Business Bank. He is active in community service and was appointed to positions in statewide nonprofit organizations, including California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs, California Highway Patrol Citizens Advisory Board member, Los Angeles County Sheriff Youth Foundation Board member, US-Sino Friendship Association President, US-Sino Aviation Heritage Foundation Honorable Chairman. He has also served as a National Governing Board Member and National Diversity Coalition Advisor with the national nonprofit Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs.
Ai-jen Poo
Ai-jen Poo is an award-winning organizer, author, and a leading voice in the women's movement. She is the Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Director of Caring Across Generations, Co-Founder of SuperMajority, Co-Host of Sunstorm podcast and a Trustee of the Ford Foundation. Ai-jen is a nationally recognized expert on elder and family care, the future of work, and what's at stake for women of color. She is the author of the celebrated book, The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America.
Naheed Qureshi
Naheed Qureshi is Head of Policy Partnerships at Instacart. Ms. Qureshi has had an extensive 20-year career in civil rights, including serving as a founding board member and later deputy director of Muslim Advocates and as co-chair of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Hate Crimes and Bigotry Task Force. Ms. Qureshi started her career in the U.S. Department of Justice Attorney General's Honors Program and has also worked at the Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the City of Los Angeles, and the national legislative office of the ACLU. Ms. Qureshi received a B.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin and J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. The daughter of immigrants from Pakistan, she was raised in Wisconsin and is an avid Packers fan.
Raynald Samoa
Dr. Raynald Samoa is an endocrinologist at the City of Hope and his current research projects include a faith-based community-centered diabetes prevention program in the San Gabriel Valley investigating a social-connectedness modified approach. Dr. Samoa served as the Lead for the National Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response Team and has authored several manuscripts describing the impact of COVID-19 on Pacific Islander communities. He has testified to the House of Representative Ways and Means Committee during a session entitled THE DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON COMMUNITIES OF COLOR. He currently is the technical assistance lead for the Healing Association of Pacific Islander Physicians, a professional organization associated with the National Association of Organization of Pacific Islander Organizations.
Sonal Shah
Sonal Shah is a social impact and innovation leader that has launched and led social impact efforts in academia, government, and the private and philanthropic sectors for over 25 years. She is the Founding President of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), starting the largest philanthropic effort to serve the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Prior to TAAF, Shah founded and led Georgetown University's Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, providing students a first-hand opportunity to work on social impact projects in the public, private, and social sectors. She served as Deputy Assistant to President Obama and created the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, worked on international development at the Department of Treasury, and led social impact efforts at Google and Goldman Sachs. She serves on the boards of TAAF, Oxfam America, the Century Foundation, and the National Democratic Institute.
Smita Shah
Smita N. Shah is an engineer, entrepreneur, and civic leader serving as President and CEO of Chicago-based SPAAN Tech, Inc, a multi-disciplinary firm with expertise in public and private infrastructure projects including transportation, aviation, and facilities. Shah serves in various roles with the Chicago Plan Commission, M.I.T., the Museum of Science and Industry, After School Matters, Delhi Chicago Sister Cities Program, YPO, the Lincoln Academy of Illinois, and the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. She is a member of the board of MacLean Fogg Company and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and the Economic Club of Chicago. Shah earned her Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University, her Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from M.I.T., and a Post Graduate Certificate in Management Studies from Oxford University.
Robert Underwood
Robert A. Underwood is a former Member of Congress representing Guam for 10 years. He is also President Emeritus of the University of Guam and has the distinction of being the longest serving President of the university. He has served the nation as Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the founding Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Scholarship Fund. As a scholar and activist, he has served his region and his people as a passionate advocate for the respect and maintenance of the Chamoru language and the empowerment of the peoples of Micronesia.
KaYing Yang
For more than three decades, KaYing has been a social justice advocate who has built and led community organizing, public policy engagement, and development efforts locally, nationally, and globally. She began her career as a community organizer and executive manager providing social services and advocacy for the protection of refugees and immigrants in Minnesota at the Women's Association of Hmong and Lao. She then went on to defend and promote immigrant and human rights by serving in a number of organizations including the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, the International Organization for Migration, the International Finance Corporation, and the Coalition of Asian American Leaders in Minnesota. All of her work comes from a deep experience having come to the United States as a Hmong refugee at the age of seven in 1976 where she experienced firsthand the struggles faced by communities experiencing generational trauma and poverty.

###

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
President Biden Announces Intent to Appoint Commissioners to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders | The White House

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
WASHINGTON - Today, President Biden announced his intent to appoint the following leaders as commissioners to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: The Commission will advise the President on ways the public, private, and non-profit sectors can work together to advance equity and opportunity for every Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community.

# data[].attributes.body
I'm aware of race and racism constantly. Whether it's scrolling through tik tok, chatting with family, or watching the 5' o clock news. It can be exhausting at times. The last time I was aware of race was watching the series finale of a tv show that featured an extremely diverse crew (actors, producers, etc.) This was a show that celebrated black people's stories and culture. As a black woman, I resonated with the series (like many others) and felt a sense of pride seeing the success of the show.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#OwnVoices: The Mistress of Spices (Book Review)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's bestselling book, The Mistress of Spices is an evocative classic; a magical, mystical tale of a clairvoyant who sells spices that can soothe your soul. The author says that she wrote this novel "in a spirit of play, collapsing the divisions between the realistic world of twentieth century America and the timeless one of myth and magic" in her "attempt to create a modern fable."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#OwnVoices: The City We Became - A Review

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What we are, what we're made of, is many worlds coming together. Reality and legends. This world where we're just people, and that world, where we can be miles-wide cities that just happen to be sitting a couple of feet across from each other because the laws of space, physics, don't work the same way.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#OwnVoices: This Close to Okay - A Review

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dinner Table Talks: Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dinner Table Talks create the opportunity for families to have important conversations centered around books. These discussions will build our capacity for talking about race and define our roles in fighting against both every day and systemic racism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Based on the popular 1962 children's book, the show aims to celebrate Blackness and attract new audiences to the art form.

The soprano Raven McMillon plays Peter in "The Snowy Day," based on the children's story by Ezra Jack Keats that is the most checked-out book in the history of the New York Public Library. Credit... Annie Mulligan for The New York Times

In the first scene of "The Snowy Day," a new opera based on the popular 1962 children's book, a Black mother sings an aria as her young son, Peter, prepares to go outdoors alone to explore the snow.

"Oh, how Mama's eyes are watching this world," she says.

The moment conveys the anxiety that every parent feels sending a child into the unfamiliar. But in our times, the scene takes on a more painful specificity, speaking to the fear and trauma experienced by many Black families, in particular.

"He's a Black boy in a red hoodie going out into the snow alone," said Joel Thompson, the composer of the work, which premieres at Houston Grand Opera on Thursday. "That's Tamir Rice; that's Trayvon Martin. And we wanted to focus on Peter's humanity and his childlike wonder."

"The Snowy Day," by Ezra Jack Keats, has long been a favorite, celebrated as one of the first mainstream children's books to prominently feature a Black protagonist. It is the most checked-out book in the history of the New York Public Library.

"The Snowy Day" (with McMillon, left, and Karen Slack as Peter's mother) shows a Black family that is happy and intact, to counter stereotypes of dysfunction and despair in Black communities. Credit... Annie Mulligan for The New York Times

This adaptation aims to help change perceptions about Black identity and attract new audiences to opera at a time when the art form faces serious financial pressures and questions about its future.

"We are waking up to the idea that opera is for everyone," said Andrea Davis Pinkney, a children's book author who wrote the libretto. "We are waking up to the fact that, yes, this is your story, and your story, and my story, and our story."

Since their first meeting about four years ago at a deli near Carnegie Hall, Thompson and Pinkney have been working to recreate the book's sense of enchantment and its nuanced portrayal of race.

The opera, like the book, tells the story of Peter, who awakens one day to see the world outside his window covered in a fresh blanket of snow. He ventures into the cold, making snow angels, watching a snowball fight, meeting a friend and sliding down a hill.

While Thompson and Pinkney tried to stay true to the spirit of Keats's work, they also took liberties. Several new characters are introduced, including Amy, a Latina friend of Peter's who teaches him some words in Spanish.

The creators wanted the work to show a Black family that was happy and intact to counter stereotypes in popular culture of dysfunction and despair in Black communities. They added a father, who is featured in later books by Keats but not in "The Snowy Day," to avoid any suggestion that Peter was being raised by a single mother. They reworked the libretto several times, choosing to describe Peter as a "beautiful boy" rather than to explicitly mention his race. (An early draft described him as a "brown sugar boy.")

"It's about a loving family who happens to be a family of color," Pinkney said. "That is the universal nature of 'The Snowy Day.'"

Thompson has long had an interest in connecting music to social issues. He is best known for "The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed," which premiered in 2015. That choral piece sets to music the final words of seven Black men killed during encounters with the police.

"The Snowy Day" was a different kind of challenge, giving Thompson a chance to focus on a world of wonder and whimsy. But he also sees parallels to his previous work.

The creators added a father (played by Nicholas Newton), who is featured in later books by Keats but not in "The Snowy Day," to avoid any suggestion that Peter was being raised by a single mother. Credit... Annie Mulligan for The New York Times

"It has the same mission of centering Black humanity and the complex interiority of Blackness in America," he said. "I had to let go of all of the lenses of fear that I had sort of put over my eyes as just being a Black man in this world, and really look at the world through Peter's eyes."

He chose to ground the score in a four-note motif that appears throughout the opera, which lasts about an hour. Some passages evoke hymns; others, like the snowball fight, take a jazzy, irreverent turn.

Because there is no dialogue in the book, much of the libretto is invented. When Peter sees the snow outside his window at the start of the opera, he sings:

Morning promise, rising.

Surprising me

with its splendor

on the sidewalks and streets.

Omer Ben Seadia, the director of the production, said she hoped the work would resonate with people, even if they had never read "The Snowy Day" or seen an opera before.

"There are a lot of people who are stepping in for the first time," she said. "Our challenge is to make the opera as magical as possible."

She added: "If you don't know the book; if you, like me, didn't grow up with snow; if you've never seen an opera, there are so many things that make this opera so accessible and familiar."

The production is notable for its efforts to showcase Black and Latino artists - especially women - who historically have been severely underrepresented in classical music. The idea to adapt the book originally came from the soprano Julia Bullock, who was set to play the role of Peter but withdrew because of travel restrictions related to the pandemic, which also forced the cancellation of the scheduled premiere last year.

Peter is now played by Raven McMillon, and the cast also includes the soprano Karen Slack as Mama, the bass-baritone Nicholas Newton (Daddy) and the soprano Elena Villalón (Amy). Patrick Summers, Houston Grand Opera's artistic and music director, conducts.

The effort to bring more diversity to opera has grown increasingly urgent in recent years as companies across the country have seen declining attendance and an aging subscriber base.

Some institutions, including the Metropolitan Opera, have found success with productions like Terence Blanchard's "Fire Shut Up in My Bones," which debuted at the Met this fall, the first work by a Black composer in the company's 138-year history. (Following the success of "Fire," the company said on Tuesday it would stage Blanchard's earlier opera, "Champion," next season.)

Khori Dastoor, who starts next month as Houston Grand Opera's general director and chief executive, said that presenting works that reflect a broad range of experiences and perspectives was essential to the future.

"Our mission centers on advancing opera as an art form and building the diverse audiences of tomorrow," Dastoor said.

Members of the cast said they were pleased to be part of a work that is challenging stereotypes.

"It's important for Black people to not always have to watch something that is filled with trauma in order to see themselves onstage," McMillon said. Credit... Annie Mulligan for The New York Times

"People can see themselves in it," McMillon said. "It's important for Black people to not always have to watch something that is filled with trauma in order to see themselves onstage."

Thompson said he has been inspired by Peter's ability to see the world through a prism of wonder rather than fear.

"Fear and wonder are two sides of the same coin," he said. "If I can stop for a moment and breathe and choose to look with wonder instead of fear, it's healing for me."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'The Snowy Day,' a Children's Classic, Becomes an Opera

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Based on the popular 1962 children's book, the show aims to celebrate Blackness and attract new audiences to the art form. In the first scene of "The Snowy Day," a new opera based on the popular 1962 children's book, a Black mother sings an aria as her young son, Peter, prepares to go outdoors alone to explore the snow.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
At first glance, the image looks like a standard drawing that could easily be found in the pages of a medical textbook or on the walls of a doctor's office.

But what sets apart the illustration of a fetus in the womb that recently captured the attention of the internet is a simple, yet crucial, detail: its darker skin tone.

The image, created by Nigerian medical student and illustrator Chidiebere Ibe, struck a chord with countless people on social media, many of whom said that they had never seen a Black fetus or a Black pregnant woman depicted before. It also brought attention to a larger issue at hand: A lack of diversity in medical illustrations.

(While most fetuses are red in color - newborns come out dark pink or red and only gradually develop the skin tone they will have for life - the medical illustration is intended to represent patients who aren't used to seeing their skin tones in such images.)

Ibe said in an interview with HuffPost UK that he didn't expect to receive such an overwhelming response - his fetus illustration was one of many such images he's created as a medical illustrator, most of which depict Black skin tones. But it underscored the importance of a mission he's long been committed to.

"The whole purpose was to keep talking about what I'm passionate about - equity in healthcare - and also to show the beauty of Black people," he told the publication. "We don't only need more representation like this - we need more people willing to create representation like this."

CNN reached out to Ibe for comment, but he did not expand on the topic further.

Ni-Ka Ford, diversity committee chair for the Association of Medical Illustrators, said that the organization was grateful for Ibe's illustration.

"Along with the importance of representation of Black and Brown bodies in medical illustration, his illustration also serves to combat another major flaw in the medical system, that being the staggering disproportionate maternal mortality rate of Black women in this country," she wrote in an email to CNN.

What medical illustration is

Medical illustrations have been used for thousands of years to record and communicate procedures, pathologies and other facets of medical knowledge, from the ancient Egyptians to Leonardo da Vinci. Science and art are combined to translate complex information into visuals that can communicate concepts to students, practitioners and the public. These images are used not just in textbooks and scientific journals, but also films, presentations and other mediums.

There are fewer than 2,000 trained medical illustrators in the world, according to the Association of Medical Illustrators. With only a handful of accredited medical illustration programs in North America, which tend to be expensive and admit few students, the field has historically been dominated by people who are White and male - which, in turn, means the bodies depicted have usually been so, too.

"Historically [medical illustrations] have always featured white able bodied male figures and still do in the present day," Ford said. "Bias towards one body type in medical illustration marginalizes everyone else."

Studies have backed up this lack of diversity. Researchers at the University of Wollogong in Australia found in a 2014 study that out of more than 6,000 images with an identifiable sex across 17 anatomy textbooks published between 2008 and 2013, just 36% of the depicted bodies were female. A vast majority were White.About 3% of the images analyzed showed disabled bodies, while just 2% featured elderly people.

Why diversity in the field matters

Diversity in the field of medical illustrations (or lack thereof) matters because these images can have implications for medical trainees, practitioners and patients.

"Without equitable representation and the perpetual use of only white able bodied patients depicted in medical textbooks, medical professionals are limited in their ability to accurately diagnose and treat people who don't fit that mold," Ford said. "Medical professionals can then tend to rely on racial stereotypes and generalizations because of this knowledge gap on how symptoms present differently on darker skin tones, leading to poorer care."

A study by the same University of Wollogong researchers published in 2018 found that gender-biased images from anatomy textbooks increased medical students' scores on implicit bias tests. Another study published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Global Open in 2019 found that White patients were overrepresented in the images of plastic surgery journals, which the authors suggested could potentially influence the care non-White patients received.

"For decades, peer-reviewed academic publications have used photographs and images that inadequately portray the diversity in demographics of patients affected by particular diseases," the researchers wrote. "This is particularly striking in the lack of diversity in medical illustration. These inequities in medical reporting can have lasting downstream effects on the accessibility and provision of healthcare."

Ford said that those who aren't often depicted in medical illustrations "can feel left out and unacknowledged in a healthcare setting, leading to feelings of distrust and isolation when receiving care." She also said that medical professionals might feel less empathy for groups who aren't represented - people who are Black, brown, women, transgender or nonbinary - which can lessen the quality of care they receive.

Inequities in health care have been well-documented, with studies showing that Black patients are more likely to experience bias and be misdiagnosed for certain conditions. Research has also shown that a substantial share of White medical students and residents hold false notions about biological differences between Black and White people, which can lead to racial bias in the ways their pain is perceived and treated.

Despite the persistent need for medical illustrations to depict the full scope of human diversity, the field is beginning to see changes, medical illustrator Hillary Wilson told CNN.

Wilson, whose illustrations depict Black people in infographics about eczema, sun damage, alopecia and other conditions, said both patients and practitioners could benefit from seeing diversity represented in medical illustrations. And through her work, she's attempting to humanize people of color and other marginalized groups by doing just that.

"The reality is that there are so many different types of people that exist," she said. "To me, a resource isn't complete if I didn't at least consider that and try my best to account for the fact that there are so many different types of people."

While Ibe's image of the Black fetus seemed to mark a departure from the norm, Wilson said she hopes that in the future, seeing Black skin tones in medical illustrations will become routine.

"Eventually, I hope it can just become one of the things that's expected," she added.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A viral image of a Black fetus is highlighting the need for diversity in medical illustrations | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The image, created by Nigerian medical student and illustrator Chidiebere Ibe, struck a chord with countless people on social media, many of whom said that they had never seen a Black fetus depicted before. It also brought attention to a larger issue at hand: A lack of diversity in medical illustrations.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Read All About It: Indigenous and Native Picture Book Biographies | Richland Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discover the true stories and history of Indigenous and Native people of North America in these picture book titles. Looking for even more good books? Check out our personalized recommendations or call us at 803-799-9084. Find more resources on race, equity, and inclusion, here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Read All About It: Indigenous and Native Middle Grade & YA Biographies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discover the true stories and history of Indigenous and Native people of North America in these titles for middle grade and teen readers. Looking for even more good books? Check out our personalized recommendations or call us at 803-799-9084. Find more resources on race, equity, and inclusion, here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
#OWNVoices: This Poison Heart | Richland Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For me, This Poison Heart embodies Black Girl Magic, LITERALLY! Briseis is a unique teen who just wants to be her authentic self. In my opinion, when black girls and women come to a point in their life where they realize they can be their authentic self 100% of the time, that is when they are able t…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Not one, but six critically acclaimed, best selling and award-winning YA authors have come together to give us Blackout. This charming, hilarous, and heartwarming YA novel brings us interwoven love stories that celebrate Black teens.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Not one, but six critically acclaimed, best selling and award-winning YA authors have come together to give us Blackout. This charming, hilarous, and heartwarming YA novel brings us interwoven love stories that celebrate Black teens.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Native American Heritage Month | Richland Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I remember when I first heard about President George H.W. Bush’s request to Congress to issue a proclamation designating November as National American Heritage Month on August 3rd, 1990. Today, when we talk about Native Americans, we include Alaskan Natives and Hawaiian Natives with the first people…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Many First Nation voices, past and present tell us of their worlds, experiences and dreams. Some of these titles are available as ebooks and other formats. You can also get personalized reading recommendations by email.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Image source, Getty Images

The racially charged case of three men accused of killing a black jogger last year in the US state of Georgia has drawn national attention. The community at the heart of the incident is on tenterhooks as the trial nears its end.

Ahmaud Arbery was shot on 23 February 2020 in a confrontation with Gregory and Travis McMichael. It took more than two months for the men to be arrested, along with the neighbour who filmed the death.

Lawyers for Mr Arbery's family have called his death a "modern-day lynching". The McMichaels argue that they were defending themselves while trying to make a "citizen's arrest".

Here's what we know so far.

Who is on trial?

Gregory McMichael, 65, his son Travis, 35, and their neighbour William "Roddie" Bryan, 52, were arrested in May last year. Mr Bryan joined the McMichaels in their pursuit of Mr Arbery.

They each face nine charges, including murder and aggravated assault. They have pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors allege that Travis McMichael used a racial epithet and an expletive directed at Mr Arbery as he lay on the ground. The men deny racism.

Image source, Georgia Bureau of Investigation

Image caption,
Son Travis McMichael (left) and father Gregory McMichael

What has happened in the trial?

Prosecutors have argued racism was a key factor in the case. In her opening statement, lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski told the jury: "All three of these defendants did everything they did based on assumptions - not on facts, not on evidence."

On 8 November, the jury saw footage from police body cameras in the moments just after Mr Arbery was killed. Prosecutors used the video in court in an effort to undermine the defence's argument that the three men were simply trying to detain Mr Arbery.

"You had no choice," the elder McMichael is heard telling Travis as the first officer approaches. Mr Arbery is shown on the ground just a few steps away.

Prosecutors rested their case on 16 November after showing jurors graphic photos of Mr Arbery's shotgun wounds.

In her closing argument on 22 November, Ms Dunikoski said that the defendants "assumed" Mr Arbery had committed a crime and tried to unlawfully detain him "without legal authority".

"You can't create the situation and then go 'I was defending myself'," Ms Dunikoski said, adding that all three defendants had made their decisions because Mr Arbery "was a black man running down the street".

Despite protests from prosecutors, only one black member is seated on the the 12-person jury. Defence lawyers ruled out some African-American candidates for the panel, citing their possible preconceived bias on the case under questioning.

The defence has employed a two-part strategy: citizen's arrest and self-defence.

"It was obvious that he was attacking me, that if he had gotten the shotgun from me, it was a life-or-death situation," Travis McMichael told the court.

He spoke using police terminology and at one point cried on the stand, saying he thought of his son during the confrontation.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,
Travis McMichael seen in court during jury selection

During his closing argument, defence attorney Jason Sheffield said that Travis McMichael had spent nearly a decade "learning about duty and responsibility" while in the US Coast Guard.

He also defended the younger Mr McMichael's right to make a citizen's arrest, and argued his client was worried that Mr Arbery had a weapon.

"You do have the right to stop a person and hold them and detain them for the police," Mr Sheffield said. "There's a risk with that, and tragic consequences that can come from that."

Mr Sheffield's arguments were echoed by Laura Hogue, who represents Gregory McMichael.

In her closing remarks, Ms Hogue said that a "good neighbourhood is always policing itself", and called Mr Arbery a "recurring night-time intruder" that refused to stop when confronted.

Who was Ahmaud Arbery?

A former star high school football player, his father said he often exercised in the area.

His family has described him as a good, generous young man with a big heart.

Image source, Family photo

Image caption,
Ahmaud Arbery

When Mr Arbery was in high school, he received five years of probation for a first-time weapons charge and in 2018, was convicted of probation violation for shoplifting, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.

It emerged that, in 2017, a Glynn County officer attempted to tase him after he denied their request to search his car at a park.

Police bodycam footage showed the encounter with officers, who said he was in a car in an area known for drug use. He said he was on his day off from work. The taser malfunctioned and he was allowed to leave on foot.

How did he die?

Mr Arbery was out for an afternoon jog in Brunswick on 23 February 2020.

The elder McMichael, a neighbourhood resident, told police he believed Mr Arbery resembled the suspect in a series of local break-ins. Police have said no reports were filed regarding these alleged break-ins.

The McMichaels armed themselves with a pistol and a shotgun and pursued Mr Arbery in a pickup truck through the neighbourhood. Mr Bryan later joined the pursuit.

The younger McMichael testified during the trial that he tried to talk to Mr Arbery while the two were still in their truck and that Mr Arbery never threatened the trio, brandished a weapon, reached into his pockets or yelled after being confronted.

After getting out of his truck, Mr McMichael fired his shotgun at Mr Arbery during a struggle. He claimed self-defence, saying that Mr Arbery grabbed at his gun.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,
Residents have set up memorials in the neighbourhood

A post-mortem examination showed Mr Arbery had two gunshot wounds in his chest, and a gunshot graze wound on the inside of one of his wrists.

A 36-second clip filmed from a vehicle following Mr Arbery surfaced publicly on 5 May 2020.

It shows Mr Arbery trying to bypass a pickup truck ahead of him on the road and then struggling with a man carrying a shotgun. There is muffled shouting and three gunshots are heard.

A second man with a pistol, who was standing in the bed of the pickup, is then seen standing alongside the other armed man with the jogger no longer in view.

The clip - which sparked nationwide outcry swiftly followed by criminal charges - was leaked at the behest of Gregory McMichael because he thought it would make him and his son look better, according to WSB-TV in Atlanta.

Five days later, footage from a surveillance camera emerged, showing a black man in a white T-shirt - believed to be Mr Arbery - at a home construction site shortly before the shooting.

He is seen walking on to the site and looking around for a few minutes before jogging down the street.

During the trial, the site's owner, Larry English Jr, testified that the man in question had not disturbed or damaged his property during the visit. He added others had also been seen trespassing on his property, but he never authorised the McMichaels to enter his property or confront anyone.

Jurors were also shown bodycam footage of the armed McMichaels searching for a suspected burglar at Mr English's property 12 days before the jogger was killed.

Police records show one report of theft in the neighbourhood between 1 January and 23 February 2020, US media report. That incident involved Travis McMichael's pistol going missing from the family's unlocked pickup truck on 1 January.

What's the law in Georgia?

Under the citizen's arrest law, an individual could detain someone they had seen committing a serious crime and if the suspect was trying to escape.

The state law, which dates back to the American Civil War era, was repealed in the wake of the incident.

Georgia was also one of only four states at the time with no hate crime statutes. Hate crime legislation has since been passed into law.

In a separate trial due to begin next year, a federal grand jury has accused the McMichaels of hate crimes and attempted kidnap of Mr Arbery. They have pleaded not guilty.

More on this story

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ahmaud Arbery: What you need to know about the case

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery drew national attention. The trial over his death is underway.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Featuring new Korean American character Ji-Young and an all-star lineup of celebrity guests, See Us Coming Together debuts on multiple platforms on Thanksgiving Day 2021

(NEW YORK, NY - November 15, 2021) - Sesame Workshop today announced a new family special celebrating the rich diversity ofAsian and Pacific Islander (API) communities as part of the organization's ongoing racial justice initiative. See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special will debut on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 25. Families can find the special on platforms including Cartoonito on HBO Max, PBS KIDS, and Sesame Street 's YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram channels.

Designed for families to watch together, See Us Coming Together follows the Sesame Street friends through a "Neighbor Day" celebration with new friend Ji-Young-a seven-year-old Korean American character performed by Sesame Workshop puppeteer Kathleen Kim. Celebrity guests like actors Simu Liu and Anna Cathcart, comic book artist Jim Lee, chef Melissa King, television personality Padma Lakshmi, and athlete Naomi Osaka join in, too, sharing their passions, talents, and cultures with their Sesame Street friends. The "Neighbor Day" celebration culminates with a new original song, also entitled "See Us Coming Together," led by Ji-Young and performed by the full cast. A reimagined version of Sesame Street classic, "The People in Your Neighborhood," reinforces that children of all backgrounds can be anything they want to be.

"Sesame Workshop's mission is to help kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. Today, we uphold that mission by empowering children and families of all races, ethnicities, and cultures to value their unique identities," said Kay Wilson Stallings, Sesame Workshop's Executive Vice President of Creative and Production. " See Us Coming Together continues Sesame Street's proud legacy of representation with an engaging story that encourages empathy and acceptance and uplifts Asian and Pacific Islander communities. With the generous support of the The Asian American Foundation, Ford Foundation, and P&G/Pampers, we're proud to bring this special to life."

As part of Sesame Workshop's "Coming Together" initiative-created to support families of all backgrounds through ongoing conversations about race-the special also includes an opportunity for talking about anti-Asian racism. (In an offscreen incident, another child tells Ji-Young to "go home." This is an example of one kind of discrimination Asian and Pacific Islander people face in western countries where they're often perceived as "perpetual foreigners." After the incident, Ji-Young seeks out trusted grown-ups and friends who unite to help her know that she's exactly where she belongs.) To help guide those conversations, a viewing guide and accompanying activities for adults and children to complete together will become available at sesame.org/seeus the week of the special.

"It's a powerful thing when kids see people like themselves represented on screen and in stories -it supports them as they figure out who they are and who they want to be," said Alan Muraoka, longtime Sesame Street cast member and co-director of See Us Coming Together. "We can't wait for families to get to know Ji-Young-in this special and in future seasons of Sesame Street- and celebrate some of the Asian and Pacific Islander people in our neighborhood!"

"This is a proud moment for AAPIs everywhere, particularly Korean Americans, as Ji-Young and the See Us Coming Together special demonstrate that Asian Americans are part of the very fabric of American society and culture," said Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Board Member, The Asian American Foundation. "At TAAF, we are striving to help create a permanent and irrevocable sense of belonging for AAPIs in this country, and supporting Sesame Workshop's introduction of the first-ever Asian American Sesame Street Muppet brings us one step closer toward making that vision a reality. We are grateful for their partnership and their commitment to supporting AAPI communities."

See Us Coming Together joins another broadcast Sesame Street special, "The Power of We," also available on HBO Max, and a companion series of short-form digital content. Additional videos and articles for adults cover the building blocks of what racial justice can mean for young children. For more information -including more viewing guides and activities to complete together -please visit sesame.org/seeus.

See Us Coming Together is made possible with support from The Asian American Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and P&G/Pampers.

About Sesame Workshop:
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit media and educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We're active in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically-funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. For more information, please visit www.sesameworkshop.org.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sesame Workshop Introduces New Sesame Street Muppet and Announces Special to Celebrate Asian and Pacific Islander Communities and the Power of Belonging | Sesame Workshop

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Featuring new Korean American character Ji-Young and an all-star lineup of celebrity guests, See Us Coming Together debuts on multiple platforms on Thanksgiving Day 2021 (NEW YORK, NY - November 15, 2021) - Sesame Workshop today announced a new family special celebrating the rich diversity ofAsian and Pacific Islander (API) communities as part of the organization's ongoing racial justice initiative.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Five hundred dollars was all it took for Robert Perry Tucker II to gain an interest in an Asheville home that had been owned by a Black family since 1918.

Two elderly heirs signed deeds selling their sharesof the hometo a Tucker company for $250 apiece. With their ownership in hand, Tucker's company used a Reconstruction-era law to force a sale of the entire property, and another Tucker company bought it at auction for $3,750.

The eight heirs whose family had owned the property for a century received $445 each, the auction commissioner reported. The Tucker company that bought the property sold it in three months for $55,000.

Robert Tucker, left, and his attorney, Peter Henry, at an April hearing held virtually in Buncombe County Superior Court. Photo credit: Sally Kestin, Asheville Watchdog

The law enabling the sale, known as partition and sometimes called "forced sale," allows any co-owner in a jointly owned property to cash out their share by requesting local courts to physically divide the property or sell it and split the proceeds. Partitions aremeant to resolve disputes among family members or business partners, but the law has been exploited by investors who acquire one or more relatives' interest - however small - force a sale, and buy the entire property, an Asheville Watchdog investigation found. When sold by public auction, partition sales typically bring prices substantially below market value.

Low-income owners and minorities are especially vulnerable to exploitation when they inherit property from a family member who died, usually without a will, in what is known as heirs' property. Partition sales have become a major source of land and wealth loss, particularly in the South among Black families, where such property is a common form of ownership that in some cases traces to Emancipation.

Asheville Watchdog 's investigation: Asheville area homeowners, many elderly and/or Black, have been left embittered and poorer by their encounters with a local real estate investor and his associates.

Tucker's companies have filed at least a dozen partition actions in Buncombe County since 2015, Asheville Watchdog found in a year-long investigation that involved reviewing scores of real estate transactions and court filings, and more than 100 interviews.

The eight heirs whose family had owned the property for a century received$445 each. The law enabling the sale is easily exploited, Asheville Watchdog found.
Tucker's attorney, Peter R. Henry of Arden, points out that partition actions are "completely legal." Lawyer groups, including the real estate section of the American Bar Association, call partitions potentially exploitative and have endorsed a uniform law that helps preserve families' property wealth. Nineteen states have passed it. North Carolina is not one of them.

Investor buys half of West Asheville house

For $3,000, a Tucker company bought a half-interest in Kathy Waites'sWest Asheville home, assessed at $303,800, and is now seeking to force a partition sale of the house where Waites has lived for 10 years and had hoped to spend her retirement.

"I don't know where I'm going to go or what I'm going to do," said Waites, 62.

Waites filed a lawsuit in October 2020 accusing Tucker and his company of fraud by acquiring her nephew's share in the property through "false representations," including that he could go to jail for unpaid property taxes. In answer to the suit, Tucker and his company denied wrongdoing.

Asheville Watchdog previously reported how Tucker's companies have acquired properties, often in foreclosure and estate cases, at far below market value. Of more than four dozen transactions reviewed, nearly half the sellers were Black, even though Blacks make up just 3.9 percent of Buncombe County homeowners.

Lisa Roberts-Allen's LinkedIn page says she is blessed "to be able to extend a helping hand to those in need." Photo credit: LinkedIn

Lisa K. Roberts, a Black woman who calls herself a housing advocate, negotiated some of the deals and has notarized documents in at least 20 transactions to Tucker's companies since 2013, the majority from Black sellers.

Roberts, who also goes by Roberts-Allen, declined to speak with Asheville Watchdog, despite repeated requests. Tucker referred questions to his lawyer, Henry, who described all of the transactions as voluntary and legal.

"Terrifying and heartbreaking"

Waites's house has been in her family since 1935. She owns half, and after her brother's death, the other half passed to her now estranged nephew, Linsey Waites of Georgia.

Kathy Waites paid all the expenses on the property but missed two years of property tax payments after her income declined due to a health issue.

In 2019, Buncombe County began tax foreclosure proceedings. Linsey, 28, didn't like being served with a court summons at his job at a food processing plant, he said, and sold his half interest to a Tucker company for $3,000. A "memorandum of conveyance" recorded with the deed is notarized by Lisa Roberts.

The property had a tax value of $229,600 and a Zillow estimate of $308,000, making Linsey Waites's interest worth at least $114,800.

The sale price is "so disproportionate to the value ... it would shock the conscience of a reasonable person," said Kathy Waites's lawsuit, filed by attorney Martha Bradley.

In an interview with Asheville Watchdog, Linsey Waites said Tucker told him that he "was going to have to pay" his aunt's taxes, but if he signed over ownership, he'd "be clear."

Linsey Waites said he didn't want the house anyway, had never lived init and didn't even know he owned half until he began receiving notices for overdue taxes. He said his mother, Mary, of Asheville, who had been married to Kathy Waites's brother, worked out details of the sale.

Mary Waites told Asheville Watchdog a woman called her several times and came to her house, presenting herself as an "advocate" and telling her that Linsey could be responsible not just for his aunt's property taxes but her other bills, too. Mary Waites could not recall the woman's name or provide a description.

The woman showed her paperwork of Kathy Waites's credit card debt from Bank of America - a collection action against Waites for $13,562 had recently been filed in court - and said "there's more to be coming out," Mary Waites said.

The woman said "they'd chase" Linsey and that "it would all be his responsibility to pay back," Mary Waites said. "He didn't have no money to pay it ... Linsey ain't got two cents."

The woman said he could be tied up in court or worse, an implication Mary Waites said she took to mean that her son, who had an arrest record, could go to jail.

"He could be liable," Mary Waites said."He could go to court, all drawn out, whatever, you know, left that up to your mind, you know what I'm saying?"

Asked if she feared her son could be locked up over his aunt's debts, she said, "Hell, yes, I was worried about it because if he didn't have no money to pay nothing, what was left to happen?"

Property owners cannot be jailed for failing to pay property taxes in North Carolina, and Linsey Waites would not have been responsible for his aunt's debts. Had the house been sold in a tax foreclosure, the proceeds after taxes and fees would have been split between Kathy and Linsey Waites.

"If we had known that, we wouldn't have done that," Mary Waites said. "It was just about getting Linsey out of trouble."

No money was mentioned until right before the deed signing, she said. The initial discussions were "just to help us get out of the situation."

Mary Waites said she insisted on being present when her son signed the sale documents, and a man Linsey identified as Tucker drove her to Georgia. Linsey received $3,000 and Mary, $1,000, both in cash, Mary Waites said.

She said she now realizes Tucker's company got Linsey's interest for "goddamn nothing" but that she's relieved her son is "out of it."

In a response to the lawsuit, Henry said that "no fraud or misrepresentation took place" and asked the judge for a partition order forcing the sale of the property.

Kathy Waites could lose her West Asheville house through the partition law. Photo credit: Kathy Waites

Courts often order partition sales by public auction, and owners who want to keep their property must bid against the investor.

Kathy Waites filed for bankruptcy last year and said she has no money to outbid Tucker if her property goes to a partition auction, a prospect she finds frightening.

"I've been very independent all of my life, and this has been humbling and terrifying and heartbreaking," she said.

Law easily exploited

North Carolina's partition law dates to the period following the Civil War. Emancipated Blacks in the South acquired millions of acres of farmland as well as residential properties that have since passed to heirs and become prime opportunities for investors.

Land most susceptible to abuses is heirs' property that is passed from one generation to the next, usually intestate, without a will. Many Americans, including an estimated three out of four Blacks, lack a will, in which case ownership goes to descendants and their descendants when they die. As a result, it's not uncommon for some properties to be owned by dozens of relatives.

Most co-owners of a property, legally referred to as co-tenants, assume it can only be sold if everyone agrees. But North Carolina's partition law allows any owner - whether it's through a 50 percent interest or 1/50 th - to force a sale, and an investor need only buy one relative's share.

About 500 partition cases are filed each year in North Carolina, according to state court statistics. No breakdown is available for how many involve heirs' property.

Partition sales have become one of the greatest sources of land loss in the South. In Hilton Head, South Carolina, for example, speculators have used the law to pry valuable land from Black families for development.

Recognizing widespread abuse of the partition law, the Uniform Law Commission, a lawyer group that promotes model laws to states, developed the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act in 2010.

Nineteen states have passed it, including five in the South. Rep. Brian Turner, a Buncombe County Democrat, co-sponsored a bill to adopt the Uniform Act this year in the North Carolina General Assembly. It passed the House in May but is still pending in the Senate.

Buncombe County Democratic Reps. Brian Turner (left) and John Ager. Photo credit: Legislative bios

"You've got developers who are looking to secure land below potentially market cost," said Turner, a commercial real estate agent. They buy an interest in a property "and all of a sudden the [other owners] are put in a position where they're forced to sell it, really without a lot of recourse."

The law has been used to buy farmland in eastern North Carolina but also residential properties in Buncombe and other western counties at below market prices.

"The problem," said Rep. John Ager, a Buncombe Democrat who signed onto the bill, "is that property is inherited down the line through relatives. Those relatives move away, have no particular interest in the property or connection to it."

Developers research the properties and "pick off a relative for some minimal amount of money," Ager said, "and then ask the court for a partition."

Cash deal in a Kmart parking lot

Robert Tucker used the partition law to buy Mary Hobart's East Asheville house in 2016. Hobart, who had paid the mortgage and taxes for nine years, came away with $2,500, and a Tucker company got the property.

It began with a mortgage foreclosure. Hobart said she came home to find a business card from Lisa Roberts as "senior housing coordinator" of Home Advocates and Limitless Outreach, her business. "Please call me as soon as possible," Roberts wrote on the back.

Mary Hobart said this is the business card she found at her home

Hobart had recently discovered a major problem with her ownership. Another person had inherited 25 percent from a previous owner years earlier, court records show.

Hobart's predicament became Tucker's opportunity. His company bought the other owner's interest for $10,000, according to the deed, and then filed a partition action against Hobart and her mortgage holder. Hobart said Tucker came to her house, and to her job at a lemonade stand at the Asheville Outlets.

"Every time it was like, 'You're a squatter here,' " she said. "He said I was in trouble because I was living in a foreclosed home."

Hobart's home hadn't been foreclosed on, but she said she came to believe from Tucker that her ownership "was a mess" and that "there would be a lot more owed on it than what I already paid." She sold her 75 percent to his company for $2,500, signing the deed, she said, on the hood of a car in a Kmart parking lot. Henry notarized it, and Tucker paid her in cash, counting out 25 hundred-dollar bills, she said.

Henry said he did not recall the specific signing or location but has notarized deeds in parking lots. "I've met people in all kinds of odd places to do closings," he said.

Asked why Hobart received so little for her interest, especially compared to the other owner, Henry said, "I can't tell you that."

Henry said he would ask Tucker about Hobart's claim that Tucker called her a squatter and in trouble but then declined further comment.

"I am not involved in negotiating any of these deals," Henry said, describing his role as "clerical."

Tucker let Hobart and her children remain in the house while they looked for a place to rent. Henry filed a second partition action naming the mortgage holder. At a partition sale, another Tucker company bought the property for $40,000 and sold it two months later for $89,000.

Forced out

Frances Roland Conley-Green had been living in her deceased mother's house near downtown Asheville, and a property tax bill was overdue. Green said she took out a loan and paid it. End of story, so she thought.

After matriarch Frances Roland died, her Asheville home passed to her children. Photo credit:

Three days earlier, her siblings signed over their ownership interests to a Tucker company. Green said Roberts came to the house and said "that the property had been sold and I needed to sign the paper work [sic] because my siblings had already signed to sell due to unpaid taxes." Green refused, and Tucker's company filed a partition action against her and her husband.

In response, Green alleged that Roberts had told her siblings "the house would be auctioned on the court house [sic] steps, with no pay out to family. Due to taxes not being paid."

Once Green paid the tax bill, there was no longer a threat of foreclosure, but even if there had been, the family would have received the equity after the taxes and costs were paid.

Green and her husband went to court, but a judge ruled Tucker's company was entitled to a partition sale. An auction sign went up in the yard. With an attorney, the Greens negotiated a settlement. All told, Tucker's company paid the family $150,000 for the house and sold it a year later for $277,000, property records show.
Coming Thursday, Part Three: An Asheville family loses its land and inheritance, and efforts to reform the law that allowed it are stalled in the North Carolina Senate. Asheville Watchdog Asheville Watchdog gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Lawyers for Reporters, a joint project of the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice and the Press Freedom Defense Fund, and the Duke University School of Law's First Amendment Clinic, with special thanks to Jonathan Ellison, Danielle Siegel, and Zane Martin.

is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Sally Kestin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter. Email skestin@avlwatchdog.org.
"We'd been there since '71," Green said. "I had to pack up everything from the top to the bottom, clean it ... I get anxiety attacks thinking about it."

Asked if he knew that Green and others felt victimized by Tucker's partition actions, Henry said, "Absolutely not."

"I'm sorry to hear it," he said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Equity Erased, Part 2: Imperfectly Legal: Forced Sales Hurt Heirs, Poor Homeowners - Asheville Watchdog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Five hundred dollars was all it took for Robert Perry Tucker II to gain an interest in an Asheville home that had been owned by a Black family since 1918. Two elderly heirs signed deeds selling their shares of the home to a Tucker company for $250 apiece.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Many were elderly or Black homeowners in distress. Some were vulnerable to a Reconstruction-era property law abused so often that it has been rewritten in other states, but not North Carolina.

And most were left embittered or poorer by their encounters with Buncombe County real estate investor Robert Perry Tucker II, who acquired their houses and lands at far below market rates, a year-long Asheville Watchdog investigation found.

In a review of more than four dozen of Tucker's real estate transactions since 2014, Asheville Watchdog found his companies have acquired interests in Buncombe properties for as little as $250 - or nothing at all. Many of the sales appear to have generated profits for Tucker while erasing years if not generations of home equity for property owners, nearly half of them Black.

Tucker, an attorney, has done nothing illegal, his lawyer said. The North Carolina State Bar has opened an investigation into Tucker's transactions, and largely as a result of Asheville Watchdog's reporting, a judge in September returned a house to a family after finding Tucker's company, Asheville Holdings, obtained it by fraud.

In that case, James David Dimsdale, a Swannanoa Baptist minister, said hedidn't even know he was signing a deed selling his family's South Asheville home, worth more than $200,000, to Asheville Holdings for just $500. Dimsdale said a woman he later identified as Lisa K. Roberts asked him to sign what he thought was a receipt for money to move his belongings before a bank foreclosed on his son's mortgage. In September, a judge granted a default judgment against Asheville Holdings, finding the allegations true and returning ownership to the family.

In another court case Asheville Holdings recently lost, Tucker convinced Robert Buckner Jr. to sign over his deceased father's property for $10,000, a week before the estate administrator sold it for $148,000. Tucker then tried to claim the proceeds from that sale, $136,000, belonged to his company. At a hearing in September, Buckner's lawyer said his client had been "snookered," and a judge ruled Asheville Holdings had no legal interest in the property.

And in two other instances uncovered by Asheville Watchdog, families disputed the authenticity of documents that were used to sell their properties.

The family of George G. Wilson Jr., now deceased, wonders how he could have made the full, cursive signature on a notarized deed selling his share of the family house to a Tucker company when he didn't have fingers. All but his thumbs had been amputated more than a year earlier, records show.

And all four siblings in the Brewer family allege that deeds were notarized by Roberts and recorded in their names without their knowledge, giving control of their share of the family's North Asheville home to a Tucker company. The family said they received a total of $1,200. Tucker's company resold the property the same day for $45,000.

Roberts declined to comment to Asheville Watchdog, despite numerous requests including phone calls and visits to her home. Tucker in December referred questions to his lawyer, Peter R. Henry of Arden, and in a follow-up visit by reporters in June, refused further comment.

Neither Henry nor Tucker responded to questions about the allegations made by the Brewers. Henry, who notarized the deed of the fingerless George Wilson, said he didn't recall it.

Asked about homeowners who told Asheville Watchdog they felt exploited, Henry said: "Nothing that has been done has been illegal. Nobody has been coerced in any way, shape or form. These were all voluntary transactions."

"They're taking advantage of people"

Tucker, 59, an Asheville real estate attorney who is white, has bought and sold property in Buncombe for some 30 years, a career that generated at least $200,000 a year in income, as estimated by his then-wife in 2017 divorce pleadings.

Tucker's family has been in real estate since 1922. His grandfather worked at Tucker Realty, a business his father, Robert, joined after college.

Lisa Roberts, a Black woman also of Asheville, has notarized deeds or "memorandums of conveyance" in at least 20 transactions with Tucker's companies since 2013, public records show.

Robert P. Tucker in 1988, the year he became a lawyer. Source: Buncombe County Bar directory. Right: Lisa K. Roberts, from her LinkedIn profile.

Asked if Roberts worked for Tucker, Henry said, "I don't know for sure. I don't believe she does. I know that they have worked together on various things."

Roberts, 60, who also goes by Roberts-Allen,runs a nonprofit called Home Advocates and Limitless Outreach (HALO), which she describes as providing renovation and foreclosure assistance. "I am blessed to have the opportunity to be able to extend a helping hand to those in need," her LinkedIn page says.

HALO obtained a tax-exempt status in 2013.

More than half of the deeds Roberts notarized to Tucker's companies were from Black homeowners. Yet just 3.9 percent of Buncombe County homeowners are Black, according to figures from the Urban Decision Group, American Community Survey and the Environmental Systems Research Institute.

Studies have documented land loss among Asheville's Black community through government practices such as urban renewal, the displacement of families and neighborhoods to make way for development beginning in the 1950s. And Buncombe political leaders have vowed to make amends for policies that deprived Blacks of the opportunity to acquire wealth, but little has been made of homes lost to individual investors.

Roberts and Tucker, among a small group of regulars at the Buncombe County Courthouse, scoured court filings on foreclosure and estate cases for leads,court clerks said.

"It is clear that Mr. Tucker and others spend a good amount of time searching public records for opportunities to make money," said Steven Cogburn, Buncombe's Clerk of Superior Court. "They do a lot of investigation on people and they run people down."

Molly Maynard, director of the consumer law program at Pisgah Legal Services, a legal assistance program for low-income residents, said the agency has received two to three complaints a year, beginning around 2013, about sales or prospective sales to Tucker's companies, most involving Roberts.

Tucker and Roberts are "taking advantage of people who don't have the life experience and background to protect themselves," Maynard said.

'I felt helpless'

Nine homeowners reached by Asheville Watchdog said Roberts or Tucker contacted them, usually showing up at their houses, soon after a mortgage or tax foreclosure was filed in court or an estate case was opened. Six of the sellers said Roberts made the initial contact or negotiated deals that resulted in sales to Tucker's companies.

Mary Thompson owned two homes in Asheville's Shiloh neighborhood, one where she and her husband lived and another next door that they'd built for their daughter and her family. With the daughter in school and not working, the Thompsons, both retired, fell behind on their bills.

In 2014, a mortgage foreclosure was filed on the house where the Thompsons lived. Mary Thompson said Roberts came to her door and, according to Thompson, told her she could do her "a favor": The Thompsons could prevent harm to their credit rating and keep their primary home if they would sign over the daughter's house to a Tucker company for what was owed on it, about $60,000, Thompson said. The property had a tax value of $129,300.

"I felt helpless and just agreed to everything," Mary Thompson said. Photo credit: Pat Barcas, Asheville Watchdog

According to Thompson, Roberts said "they would pay [the daughter's home] off and relieve us of that mortgage and it would help our credit score. It wouldn't go down as a repo."

Two months after the Thompsons signed over the daughter's house, Tucker's company sold it for $90,000 to another investor, who after doing some work on it sold it in about three months for $133,000, records show.

The Thompsons were able to stop the foreclosure on their house but lost some $70,000 in equity on the daughter's house. "I felt helpless and just agreed to everything," said Thompson, a former nurse, who was 73 at the time.

Henrysaid he was unfamiliar with the deal that was negotiated with Thompson.

"Possible financial exploitation"

Maynard described Roberts and Tucker as being involved in "foreclosure rescues," convincing homeowners facing a mortgage or tax foreclosure to sign away property ownership for much less than it is worth. Other Buncombe investors also target properties in foreclosure, but none have generated as many complaints to Pisgah's attorneys as Roberts and Tucker, Maynard said.

"We've seen them get houses for well below market value," Maynard said. "What they do is they convince someone, 'You could never possibly save your home. The only good outcome is for us to rescue you.' "

Pisgah's attorneys have stopped some sales to Tucker's companies, helping homeowners with loan modifications or payment plans. In other instances, the homeowners had already signed deeds, or Tucker's companies no longer owned the property, Maynard said. "They flip it pretty quickly," making it difficult to reverse or recoup losses, she said.

Foreclosure rescues were prevalent throughout North Carolina following the 2008 housing market crash and have been on the rise again in gentrifying areas of the state. Legal aid attorneys said they expect a new crush now that pandemic protections against foreclosures have ended.

Ed Byron, senior attorney at the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacywho handles consumer protection cases including foreclosures, said property owners don't understand they have options, like a loan modification, refinancing, or reverse mortgage. "People are losing themost valuable asset that they have ever owned," Byron said.

Law doesn't prohibit 'bad deals'

Patricia Farmer's East Asheville property went into foreclosure over $675 in unpaid taxes. Farmer, who was living in a nursing home and missing an arm and a leg, signed over ownership to a Tucker company for $7,000, less than a quarter of the taxvalue. She died 10 weeks later, on Christmas Day 2019.

Patricia Farmer signed over her property from a nursing home. Photo credit: Farmer obituary
Theproperty then sold twice in just over three weeks - to another Tucker company for $20,000 and to an investor for $40,000.

Henry said Farmer's property was in tax foreclosure and "was going to be lost to [her] anyway."

A relative reported Farmer's sale to Asheville Police for possible fraud, said police spokeswoman Christina Hallingse,but no criminal charges were filed. Police have received two other reports of potential fraud since 2016, one involving Roberts and the other involving Tucker and Roberts, said Hallingse, who recently left the police department. Again, no criminal charges were filed. The reports list several people, including Farmer, who had recently sold property to Tucker companies. All of them were over the age of 60, records show.

Hallingse declined to provide specifics of the allegations but said two of the reports came from Buncombe County's Adult Protective Services for "possible financial elderly exploitation." Detectives consulted multiple agencies, Hallingse said, including the office of Buncombe District Attorney Todd Williams.

"Criminal law does prevent deceptive acts and punishes frauds, but it doesn't necessarily punish bad deals," Williams said in an interview. "That's why all these matters were basically determined to be civil because representations were made, and intent to deceive, to defraud, was lacking."

A house for $500

Dimsdale, the Baptist minister, said his family home originally belonged to his parents,and his mother left it to him and his two sons, but her will was never filed and verified in court.

One son had been living in the house for years, obtained a mortgage, and later fell behind on his loan payments. Shortly after a substitute trustee was filed in March 2020,the first public filing in a mortgage foreclosure, a woman contacted Dimsdale and asked to meet at an Ingles store, Dimsdale said.

Dimsdale said the woman told him she worked for an attorney foreclosing on the house,gave him $500 in cash to "remove my personal items from the home," and asked him to sign a document he thought was a receipt for the money, which he didn't read.

The document wasn't a receipt, a judge later found, but rather was a deed turning over ownership of the home to Asheville Holdings, Tucker's company.

"I've always been trusting of people," Dimsdale, 71, told Asheville Watchdog. "I pastor a small church and I generally believe the best about people until I find out different."

James David Dimsdale said he didn't even know he was signing a deed selling his family's property. Photo credit: Swannanoa Valley Missionary Baptist Church

Dimsdale said he didn't get the woman's name. The deed in the transaction is notarized by Roberts. Later, when shown photos of Roberts by Asheville Watchdog, Dimsdale identified her as the woman he met.

Roberts presented him with only a single page to sign, Dimsdale told Asheville Watchdog. When shown the three-page deed recorded in his name, he said he didn't recall seeing the third page, a legal description of the property, and that the first page,titled "North Carolina General Warranty Deed" in bold, would have stood out.

"I would have noticed that," Dimsdale said.

A week after obtaining the deed, Henry, on behalf of Asheville Holdings, filed a court action against the son and his mortgage lender seeking to declare Tucker's company the legal owner of the property and not subject to the mortgage. The complaint alleged that because no will was filed, ownership of the house passed to Dimsdale after his parents' death, not to the son, and the son therefore had no authority to use the property as collateral for the mortgage.

The attorney for the lender's insurer, Esther Manheimer, countered with an action that accused Tucker's company of fraud and included an affidavit from Dimsdale. "I did not know I was signing a deed to the property and I never intended to sign a deed," Dimsdale said in the sworn statement.

Manheimer, who is also Asheville's mayor, told Asheville Watchdog, "It looks like they just got in there and hoodwinked him."

The only debt on Dimsdale's property, valued by Zillow at the time at $188,800, was the balance of the son's $65,400 mortgage taken out in 2006.

Asked why Dimsdale would agree to sell the property for just $500, Henry told Asheville Watchdog, "I have no idea how Mr. Dimsdale or why Mr. Dimsdale sold his interest for that."

In December, Henry told Asheville Watchdog thatif he could verify Dimsdale's account, he would set aside the deed and dismiss the suit. He did neither.

Nine months later, well beyond the deadline, Henry on behalf of Asheville Holdings filed a response to Manheimer's action, denying the allegations.

Buncombe Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Grant on Sept. 17 issued a default judgment, a legal ruling finding the allegations against Asheville Holdings, including that Dimsdale unknowingly signed a deed based on "fraudulent misrepresentations," are true. Ownership of the property returned to Dimsdale's son subject to the mortgage.

"I'm very relieved to know that the home is back in my family," said Dimsdale's daughter, Kristi Lytle. "My grandparents worked really hard to have that house and to know that it was taken the way it was ... is really sad."

Lisa Roberts did not respond to a hand-delivered letter and phone messages with detailed questions about her role in the transaction involving Dimsdale or other homeowners.

'I did not sign a deed'

Cynthia Brewer and her three siblings told Asheville Watchdog they never agreed to sell their grandmother's North Asheville house to a Tucker company in 2014, but their signatures wound up on deeds transferring the property.

Brewer had been handling the family's affairs after her grandmother's death in 2005 but was struggling to keep up with the property taxes. A tax foreclosure was filed in court, and Brewer said Roberts appeared at her house, saying she was in real estate and offering to help sell her grandmother's property.

Cynthia Brewer said she and her siblings never agreed to the sale of their grandmother's house. Photo credit: Cynthia Brewer
Brewer said Roberts told her she would need her siblings' consent and gave her a document for them to sign. She gathered their signatures and returned them to Roberts. "She said we were signing that paper to give approval to put the house on the market," Brewer said. "It did not have any language in there that we were selling the house to anybody."

When an Asheville Watchdog reporter showed the Brewers the deeds recorded in their names, all four said they'd never seen them.

Cynthia Brewer, a correctional case manager, said, "I promise you, I did not sign a deed." Her brother, Benjamin, said, "I've never seen a deed to my grandmother's house."

Below the family's signatures on the deeds is a notary stamp completed and signed by Roberts, certifying that she witnessed the signings and that the Brewers "acknowledged the execution" of the deeds.

All four Brewers said no one notarized their signatures. Benjamin and Johnny Brewer said they've never met Roberts.

"I don't know a Lisa Roberts, and I've never been in front of a notary to do anything with the property," Johnny Brewer said.

Darlene Brewer said she met Roberts briefly; Roberts had initially come to her home, and she sent Roberts to her sister. "I've never signed anything in front of this woman - nothing ever," Darlene Brewer said.

The Brewers also said they didn't recognize another document filed in court containing their signatures and notarized by Roberts: an " affidavit " of a family tree. It misidentified the name and gender of one relative, and the date of Roberts's signature is five months before the Brewers's."I've never seen it before in my life," Cynthia Brewer said.

The deeds recorded in three of the Brewers' names indicate a sale price of $0 and for Cynthia Brewer, $3,000. Darlene, Johnny, and Benjamin Brewer all said they received no money. Cynthia Brewer said Roberts sent her a check for $1,200 some time later, and she didn't know what it was for.

The Brewers said they never would have agreed to sell to Tucker's company for so little. Their grandmother, Britey Johnson, known throughout the neighborhood for her cooking, had owned the property since 1970, having been displaced from her Southside Asheville home under urban renewal.

"I grew up in that house," Benjamin Brewer said. "No way in the world I would have signed something saying that we didn't want anything for that house."

Britey Johnson and her brother, Bryson Anderson. Photo credit: Cynthia Brewer
Others had been interested in the property, including the neighbor next door, Coalter Lathrop. The Brewers had received offers of up to $250,000 in the years following the grandmother's death, according to letters the family received.

Tucker's company also obtained a deed for a partial interest in the property from an out-of-state cousin of the Brewers, who has since died. That deed, along with the four from the Brewers, were recorded on one day in September 2014, and on that same day, Tucker's company sold the family's interest to Lathrop for $45,000.

Lathrop told Asheville Watchdog Tucker had called him "out of the blue" a few days before the sale. "I'd been working on trying to purchase this property from the Brewers for years," Lathrop said.

He said he asked Tucker why the family had sold to him but never received an explanation.

Cynthia Brewer said at the time she assumed the house had been sold in a tax foreclosure.

"It makes me angry because my grandmother, she worked hard for her house, and that's why I spent the money that I spent trying to keep it as long as I could," Cynthia Brewer said.

A tree had fallen through the roof of the house, which by 2014 had deteriorated beyond saving, Lathrop said, and he demolished it.

"A 100-year old Craftsman in the landfill, and a set of heirs who received next to nothing for their grandmother's home, that's a bad result," Lathrop said. "This was a Black family who lost substantial wealth, and I feel terrible about how it turned out."

Roberts, Tucker and Henry did not respond to questions about the Brewers' allegations.

Signed deed from fingerless man

Relatives of George G. Wilson Jr. question how he could have signed a deed to Tucker's company for his share of the family property in 2018 since the fingers on both of his hands had been amputated more than a year earlier, in February 2017. Wilson had only his thumbs remaining, said his sister, Shirley Brown.

Wilson was 67, in debt and living without heat or electricity in a Shiloh home that he'd inherited with his two siblings. In October 2018 the city of Asheville sent a letter warning of fines if Wilson continued living in the house that had already been deemed unsafe for occupancy.

Wilson called his friend, Maugherite Poole, and said, " 'I need some help,' " Poole told Asheville Watchdog. She said she introduced him to someone she knew through her fiance's church, Lisa Roberts, who had been interested in properties in the area.

Poole said she went with Roberts to Wilson's home and later accompanied him to an attorney's office, where he sold his one-third interest in the property to a Tucker company. Poole said she wasn't present for the discussions and did not know how much Wilson received.

Wilson died in June. His siblings said Wilson was addicted to crack cocaine, and they didn't know about the sale until later. "He needed the cash because he was doing drugs," said his brother, Kenneth Wilson.

The deed indicates a sale price of $8,000. Brown said George Wilson told her he received $1,000, and some additional money may have been paid on a debt he owed from a car accident. Court records show Geico won a $10,861 judgment against Wilson that was settled two weeks after the deed was recorded.

At the time, the property had a total tax value of $71,900. The land alone was valued at $35,800, making George Wilson's one-third interest worth about $12,000 to $24,000.

A comparison of George Wilson Jr.'s signatures: Top, on a deed notarized by Peter Henry in 2018. Bottom, on health forms, following amputation of his fingers in 2017.
The signature on the deed, with Wilson's first, middle and last names in cursive handwriting, appears similar to his pre-amputation signature on other documents. But after the surgery, his sister said, he signed with just his initials, like this health record from May.

Melvin Foster, a cousin who said he visited George Wilson weekly, told Asheville Watchdog he saw Wilson try to sign his name after he lost his fingers. "I'd seen him try to write before. He couldn't do it," Foster said.

Henry notarized the deed, affirming that George Wilson Jr. signed it in his presence. "I don't specifically recall" it, he told Asheville Watchdog. "But I don't notarize things without people being in front of me." He declined further comment, and Tucker did not respond to an email with questions about the transaction.

George G. Wilson Jr. Photo credit: Wilson obituary

Kenneth Wilson said a man who identified himself as a lawyer had come to his house, said he had bought George Wilson's interest and offered him $12,000. Wilson said he refused. Now he and his sister co-own the property with Tucker's company. They had hoped to renovate the house and keep it in the family, Kenneth Wilson said.

"My sister's son was going to take over, try to make a rental property of it," Kenneth Wilson said. "Seems like we can't do nothing now."

A deed from prison

Tucker retained a private investigator to locate Robert Buckner, Jr., the son and sole heir of an Asheville man who died in 2020, and found him in a Florida prison, Tucker said in a sworn statement. Tucker's company obtained a deed from Buckner for his father's house for $10,000.

A week later, the estate administrator sold the house for $148,000. Tucker then claimed that the net proceeds, $136,000, should go to his company, not the son.

In a virtual court hearing in April, Buckner testified that Tucker had promised him a second, undetermined payment dependent on the sale price of the house, and that he hadn't understood the documents he signed. "There's no way I would sell my father's home and property for $10,000," he said.

Henry asked, "Where did you get the understanding that you would receive the secondary payment?"

"In conversations, sir, with Mr. Tucker," Buckner replied.

Robert Buckner Jr., in prison in Florida, was "snookered" in a deal with Robert Tucker, his attorney said in court. Photo credit: Florida Department of Corrections
Henry asked Tucker if he or his company had agreed to any other payment besides $10,000. "Absolutely not," Tucker testified.

Buckner said he wasn't "very good with financial or legal matters" and didn't understand "how much money was involved."

The property had atax value of $110,000, no mortgage, and, according to a document publicly available in the court file, was under contract for $148,000 as of October 2020, more than a month before Buckner signed the deed.

Tucker did not respond to questions from Asheville Watchdog about when he knew the sale price.

James Kilbourne, an Asheville attorney, was appointed to represent Buckner. At a second hearing in September, Kilbourne called the sale an "extreme situation."

"It's not as if they offered him $90,000 for a $150,000 house," he said. "They offered him $10,000."

Tucker had knowledge of the legal system and access to information about the property that Buckner, in prison in Florida, did not, Kilbourne said. He told Buncombe Superior Court Judge Steve Warren, "You don't need our client to testify that he got snookered to know he got snookered."

Judge Warren ruled that the property had been turned over to the estate at the time Buckner signed the deed; therefore it wasn't Buckner's to sell, and Asheville Holdings had no legal interest in it. Buckner stood to receive the $136,000 from the sale of his father's house, but in October Tucker's company filed a notice to appeal the judge's ruling.

'No deal,' a daughter intervenes

Barbara Warren already knew Lisa Roberts from church and assumed she had her best interests at heart when she signed over her house across from McCormick Field in downtown Asheville to a Tucker company, said her daughter, Pamela, of Charlotte. The purchase price was 59 percent of the property's tax value. Warren at the time was 76 and, according to a letter from her attorney, William Biggers, "confused about the consequences of her actions."

Under the arrangement, Warren would lend Tucker's company the$88,510 she was due, and his company would repay her $5,000 a month, interest-free, according to documents provided by Warren's family. Warren wouldn't receive all her money for up to 18 months but would have to leave her house within six months.

Warren also signed a " disclosure " acknowledging that Tucker was an attorney and that she could have sought legal advice but had "chosen to represent myself."

In an interview with Asheville Watchdog, Warren's daughter said she learned of the sale in a phone call from Lisa Roberts.

"I said, 'No deal, no deal,' " Pamela Warren said. " 'First of all, Lisa, you know, Mom is legally blind.' " Pamela Warren drove to Asheville and with Biggers's help got Tucker's company to deed her mom's house back.

"I think [Barbara Warren] was being taken advantage of," Biggers told Asheville Watchdog. "She's had a tough life and just probably was very vulnerable to something like that."

Henry said he was unfamiliar with the case. "I can't tell you whether any of these deals are good deals, bad deals or anything," he said. "That's in the eye of the beholder."
Becky Tin contributed to this report.
Equity Erased, a in-depth investigation by Sally Kestin: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
Asheville Watchdog Asheville Watchdog gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Lawyers for Reporters, a joint project of the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice and the Press Freedom Defense Fund, and the Duke University School of Law's First Amendment Clinic, with special thanks to Jonathan Ellison, Danielle Siegel, and Zane Martin. is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Sally Kestin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter. Becky Tin is a retired district court judge and lawyer. Email skestin@avlwatchdog.org.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Equity Erased, Part 1: Real Estate Deals Strip Elderly, Poor of Homes, Land, and Inheritances - Asheville Watchdog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Many were elderly or Black homeowners in distress. Some were vulnerable to a Reconstruction-era property law abused so often that it has been rewritten in other states, but not North Carolina. And most were left embittered or poorer by their encounters with Buncombe County real estate investor Robert Perry Tucker II, who acquired their houses and lands at far below market rates, a year-long Asheville Watchdog investigation found.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Author Taelor J. Youth Services Specialist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dinner Table Talks: Dear Martin | Richland Library

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dinner Table Talks create the opportunity for families to have important conversations centered around books. These discussions will build our capacity for talking about race and define our roles in fighting against both every day and systemic racism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Tribes across the nation are celebrating their heritage and remembering their ancestors.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - November is November is Native American Heritage Month, a month set aside to pay tribute to the ancestry, traditions and contributions of Native Americans.

Chief John Creel of the Natchez Kusso Tribe of South Carolina Edisto, a state recognized tribe says this month is about remembering these Americans who's history runs deep throughout the nation. "It gives recognition that there are native Americans still here," Creel said.

His tribe is an eastern coastal tribe, based Dorchester county.

"It makes me feel good to be Native American, proud to be Native American, to celebrate our heritage."

"South Carolina Native communities continue to face the continuous challenge of 'not being forgotten,'" Jerry Francis with the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs said in a statement. "Efforts are being made to rectify this via addressing their 'absence' in educational curriculum, and revising the Native American exhibit at the SC State Museum."

Chief Mary Louise Worthy of the Lower Eastern Cherokee Nation South Carolina tribe, also state recognized, says pre-COVID her tribe hosted students.

"To educate the other people that there are Indians here. I mean, we know we're here, and we know where we came from," Worthy said. "Before the pandemic, we had schools come out to our tribal grounds."

The PAIA Lower Eastern Cherokee Nation SC held their annual Pow Wow in September in Gray Court. The event featured music, storytelling, drumming and traditional dances including the Cherokee Bear Dance and a solo performance from Mr. William Gills that are featured in today's #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth spotlight. #stillstanding #NAHM #southcarolina [Video description: PAIA Lower Eastern Cherokee Nation SC members perform traditional dances at their annual Pow Wow in September]
Posted by South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs on Tuesday, November 2, 2021

"Our tribe is made of people who are decedents from Cherokee Indians in this area," Worthy said.

In 2010, there were more than 19,000 Native Americans living across the state, according to the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs. A decade later, that number jumped to more than 24,000.

"You may have an Indian as your neighbor and not even know it," Chief Worthy said.

The South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs is recognizing Native American Month. Visit the agency's Facebook page or Instagram page to find out how you can participate.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
South Carolinians honor heritage during Native American Heritage Month

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tribes across the nation are celebrating their heritage and remembering their ancestors. COLUMBIA, S.C. - November is November is Native American Heritage Month, a month set aside to pay tribute to the ancestry, traditions and contributions of Native Americans.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Georgia judge has acknowledged there appeared to be "intentional discrimination" after a nearly all-white jury was selected for the trial of three white men accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, but has seated the jury nonetheless.

A jury comprising 11 white members and one Black member was seated on Wednesday after defense attorneys struck almost all Black jurors from the pool. Opening arguments in the high-profile case are set to begin on Friday.

Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was killed while out jogging in the coastal town of Satilla Shores, Georgia. None of the men involved were charged until eyewitness footage was made public months later, shortly before the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, prompting widespread protests.

Jury selection for the case has lasted for 11 days, and lawyers were initially given a pool of 48 potential jurors, 12 of whom were Black. But defense lawyers for the accused murderers, Gregory McMichael, 67, his 35-year-old son Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan, 52, struck all but one of them from the final jury.

Prosecutors had urged Judge Timothy Walmsley, who is overseeing the trial in south Georgia, to reverse the strikes of eight Black potential jurors, whom they said had been intentionally targeted over race. A landmark 1986 US supreme court decision in Batson v Kentucky ruled it unconstitutional for potential jurors to be struck solely based on race or ethnicity.

But Walmsley, while acknowledging the apparent "intentional discrimination", cited limitations spelled out in the supreme court precedent and pointed to defense lawyers' justifications, which did not mention race or ethnicity.

Ahmaud Arbery's parents, Marcus Arbery and Wanda Cooper, outside the courthouse after a hearing last year. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA

Glynn county, Georgia, where the trial is taking place and where Arbery was killed, is 26% Black and 69% white.

Arbery was shot dead in February 2020 when the three men pursued him while he was out on a run, claiming they suspected his involvement in a series of burglaries in the neighborhood. Arbery had been recorded on surveillance footage entering and leaving a semi-constructed house in the town that day, but no evidence has linked him to any offense.

The McMichaels, both carrying firearms, attempted to corner Arbery in a roadway using their pickup truck. Travis McMichael then fired three times with a shotgun.

All three men have pleaded not guilty to murder and will argue they were acting in self-defense and were legally justified in pursuing Arbery due to a now defunct citizen's arrest law.

On Wednesday, representatives for the Arbery family expressed outrage at the racial makeup of the jury.

"How did we get to this result?" said Barbara Arnwine, a spokeswoman for the Arbery family who was speaking outside the courthouse flanked by Marcus Arbery, Ahmaud's father. "The one thing we know is that the Black jurors who showed up for service came hoping to serve if selected. They had the same concerns as the white jurors."

She continued: "It's disappointing to hear the bases that were articulated by the defendants for striking the Black jurors because my mind kept going from white juror to white juror who met the precise parameters that they were describing for omitting Black jurors."

As well as the state criminal charges, the three accused men face federal hate crimes and attempted kidnap charges in a separate case brought by the US justice department. Their federal trial is due to start in February 2022.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ahmaud Arbery: judge seats nearly all-white jury in Georgia murder trial

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Georgia judge has acknowledged there appeared to be "intentional discrimination" after a nearly all-white jury was selected for the trial of three white men accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, but has seated the jury nonetheless. A jury comprising 11 white members and one Black member was seated on Wednesday after defense attorneys struck almost all Black jurors from the pool.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"The Death of Vivek Oji is a propulsive, titanic book. Emezi doesn't simply tell stories; they create genres, making new stories, new characters, feel as forever as thunder, clouds, and betrayal." -Kiese Laymon