By Stephanie Pappas, Senior Writer

Posted February 2nd 2012

There’s no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy.

The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. These findings point to a vicious cycle, according to lead researcher Gordon Hodson, a psychologist at Brock University in Ontario. Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, the study found. Those ideologies, in turn, stress hierarchy and resistance to change, attitudes that can contribute to prejudice, Hodson wrote in an email to LiveScience.

“Prejudice is extremely complex and multifaceted, making it critical that any factors contributing to bias are uncovered and understood,” he said.

Controversy ahead

The findings combine three hot-button topics.

“They’ve pulled off the trifecta of controversial topics,” said Brian Nosek, a social and cognitive psychologist at the University of Virginia who was not involved in the study. “When one selects intelligence, political ideology and racism and looks at any of the relationships between those three variables, it’s bound to upset somebody.”

Polling data and social and political science research do show that prejudice is more common in those who hold right-wing ideals that those of other political persuasions, Nosek told LiveScience. [7 Thoughts That Are Bad For You]

“The unique contribution here is trying to make some progress on the most challenging aspect of this,” Nosek said, referring to the new study. “It’s not that a relationship like that exists, but why it exists.”

Brains and bias

Earlier studies have found links between low levels of education and higher levels of prejudice, Hodson said, so studying intelligence seemed a logical next step. The researchers turned to two studies of citizens in the United Kingdom, one that has followed babies since their births in March 1958, and another that did the same for babies born in April 1970. The children in the studies had their intelligence assessed at age 10 or 11; as adults ages 30 or 33, their levels of social conservatism and racism were measured. [Life's Extremes: Democrat vs. Republican]

In the first study, verbal and nonverbal intelligence was measured using tests that asked people to find similarities and differences between words, shapes and symbols. The second study measured cognitive abilities in four ways, including number recall, shape-drawing tasks, defining words and identifying patterns and similarities among words. Average IQ is set at 100.

Social conservatives were defined as people who agreed with a laundry list of statements such as “Family life suffers if mum is working full-time,” and “Schools should teach children to obey authority.” Attitudes toward other races were captured by measuring agreement with statements such as “I wouldn’t mind working with people from other races.” (These questions measured overt prejudiced attitudes, but most people, no matter how egalitarian, do hold unconscious racial biases; Hodson’s work can’t speak to this “underground” racism.)

As suspected, low intelligence in childhood corresponded with racism in adulthood. But the factor that explained the relationship between these two variables was political: When researchers included social conservatism in the analysis, those ideologies accounted for much of the link between brains and bias.

People with lower cognitive abilities also had less contact with people of other races.

“This finding is consistent with recent research demonstrating that intergroup contact is mentally challenging and cognitively draining, and consistent with findings that contact reduces prejudice,” said Hodson, who along with his colleagues published these results online Jan. 5 in the journal Psychological Science.

A study of averages

Hodson was quick to note that the despite the link found between low intelligence and social conservatism, the researchers aren’t implying that all liberals are brilliant and all conservatives stupid. The research is a study of averages over large groups, he said.

“There are multiple examples of very bright conservatives and not-so-bright liberals, and many examples of very principled conservatives and very intolerant liberals,” Hodson said.

Nosek gave another example to illustrate the dangers of taking the findings too literally.

“We can say definitively men are taller than women on average,” he said. “But you can’t say if you take a random man and you take a random woman that the man is going to be taller. There’s plenty of overlap.”

Nonetheless, there is reason to believe that strict right-wing ideology might appeal to those who have trouble grasping the complexity of the world.

“Socially conservative ideologies tend to offer structure and order,” Hodson said, explaining why these beliefs might draw those with low intelligence. “Unfortunately, many of these features can also contribute to prejudice.”

In another study, this one in the United States, Hodson and Busseri compared 254 people with the same amount of education but different levels of ability in abstract reasoning. They found that what applies to racism may also apply to homophobia. People who were poorer at abstract reasoning were more likely to exhibit prejudice against gays. As in the U.K. citizens, a lack of contact with gays and more acceptance of right-wing authoritarianism explained the link. [5 Myths About Gay People Debunked]

Simple viewpoints

Hodson and Busseri’s explanation of their findings is reasonable, Nosek said, but it is correlational. That means the researchers didn’t conclusively prove that the low intelligence caused the later prejudice. To do that, you’d have to somehow randomly assign otherwise identical people to be smart or dumb, liberal or conservative. Those sorts of studies obviously aren’t possible.

The researchers controlled for factors such as education and socioeconomic status, making their case stronger, Nosek said. But there are other possible explanations that fit the data. For example, Nosek said, a study of left-wing liberals with stereotypically naïve views like “every kid is a genius in his or her own way,” might find that people who hold these attitudes are also less bright. In other words, it might not be a particular ideology that is linked to stupidity, but extremist views in general.

“My speculation is that it’s not as simple as their model presents it,” Nosek said. “I think that lower cognitive capacity can lead to multiple simple ways to represent the world, and one of those can be embodied in a right-wing ideology where ‘People I don’t know are threats’ and ‘The world is a dangerous place‘. … Another simple way would be to just assume everybody is wonderful.”

Prejudice is of particular interest because understanding the roots of racism and bias could help eliminate them, Hodson said. For example, he said, many anti-prejudice programs encourage participants to see things from another group’s point of view. That mental exercise may be too taxing for people of low IQ.

“There may be cognitive limits in the ability to take the perspective of others, particularly foreigners,” Hodson said. “Much of the present research literature suggests that our prejudices are primarily emotional in origin rather than cognitive. These two pieces of information suggest that it might be particularly fruitful for researchers to consider strategies to change feelings toward outgroups,” rather than thoughts.

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

Posted January 31st 2012

Carter Godwin Woodson was born on December 19, 1875 in New Canton, in Buckingham County, Virginia, to parents who were formerly enslaved. He was instrumental in bringing professional recognition to the study of African American history during a period when most historians held the opinion that African Americans were a people without history.

He founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in September 1915 and a journal to chronicle the history and advancements of African Americans. To draw greater attention to the contributions and achievements of African Americans to civilization, he and others founded Negro History Week in 1926. He chose the week to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and Frederick Douglass on February 14, whose lives and work supported freedom, equality, and citizenship for African Americans. This celebration and remembrance would later evolve into Black History Month, celebrated nationally beginning in the mid-1970s. Years later many referred to Woodson as the “Father of Negro History.”

The association today sets the theme for Black History Month and serves as a resource for local, state, and international branches to help promote greater knowledge of African American history through programs of education, research, and publishing.

Born to a poor family, Woodson supported himself by working in the coalmines of Kentucky. As a result, he was unable to enroll in high school until he was 20. After graduating in less than two years, he taught high school, wrote articles, studied at home and abroad, and went on to earn a doctorate in history at Harvard University in 1912; at the time, only the second African American to receive a Harvard doctorate. His predecessor was the eminent scholar, W.E.B. DuBois.

His organization, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, encouraged scholars to engage in the intensive study of the past as it related to Africans and their descendants through the world. In 1916, Woodson edited the first issue of the association’s principal scholarly publication, The Journal of Negro History (now the Journal of African American History), which, under his direction, remained an important historical periodical for more than 30 years. Woodson served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and head of the graduate faculty at Howard University, Washington, D.C. (1919-20), and was dean at West Virginia State College in Institute, West Virginia (1920-22).

Important works by Woodson include the widely consulted college text The Negro in Our History (1922; 10th ed., 1962); The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861 (1915); A Century of Negro Migration (1918), and The Miseducation of the Negro (1933). He was at work on a projected six-volume Encyclopedia Africana at the time of his death. Woodson died on April 3, 1950, in Washington, D.C.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION: EVENT LISTING 2012

February 1st through February 29th

Black History Month 2012  Cleveland City Hall Rotunda
Beginning at noon on Tuesday, February 1st City of Cleveland  kicks off the annual  Black History Month celebration. Free events will feature live music, food, and local vendors every Tuesday and Wednesday at noon. Free and open to the public. Click HERE for details.

The United Church of Christ Honors Black History Month

The UCC Church House in Cleveland will feature prominent African-American preachers during Black History Month, who will lead worship. Amistad Chapel, 700 Prospect Avenue E, Cleveland, OH 44115.  Each Wednesday in February at noon: Free to the public.

• February 1, 2012 — Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, UCC general minister and president.
• February 8, 2012 — Rev. Paul Hobson Sadler Sr., pastor of Mt. Zion Congregational UCC in Cleveland.
• February 15, 2012 — U.S. Federal Judge Denise Page Hood.
• February 29, 2012 — Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Cincinnati Ohio- Courage: The Vision to End Segregation, The Guts to Fight For It

Half a century ago, a series of lawsuits that changed America were launched. These lawsuits led to the 1954 landmark Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education. The Brown decision ruled racially segregated schools were unconstitutional and set in motion a series of events that continue to shape our lives today. Courage is an award-winning, groundbreaking exhibition that tells the story of Rev. J.A. De Laine and other brave citizens of Clarendon County, South Carolina. Through photographs, oral histories and key artifacts, Courage explores the grassroots community activism that one community initiated to begin the process that ended legal segregation of all races in America’s schools. Click HERE for exhibit days and times.

Kent State University Presents ‘The Black List’

A three-part series features video portraits of some of today’s most prominent African-Americans from areas of arts, sports, politics, business and government. Produced by photographer/filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and public radio host, journalist and former New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell. Moderated discussion to follow each video presentation. Click HERE for more information and additional events. Kent State University at Stark, Library Conference Room, 6000 Frank Avenue NW, North Canton, OH 44720. Free to the public.

• Volume I – Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, 12:30 p.m.- 2 p.m.
• Volume II – Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012, 12:30 p.m.- 2 p.m.
• Volume III – Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012, 12:30 p.m.- 2 p.m.

Karamua House Presents ‘The Bluest Eye’

A Karamu House production based off of Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison’s novel. It chronicles the tragic life of a young black girl in Ohio, in the 1940s, and explores the toll that a legacy of racism has taken on a community, family and innocent girl. (Play contains adult language and themes.)  Karamu House, 2355 East 89th Street, Cleveland, OH 44106. Click HERE for dates, times and admission prices.

Rock Hall: ‘Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power’

A groundbreaking new exhibit at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Guests get an in-depth look at more than 70 female artists and the important roles they have played in rock and roll, from its inception through today.  Exhibit features artifacts, video and listening stations, as well as a recording booth. Click HERE for more information.

Western Reserve Historical Society

The 13th annual A Fugitive’s Path – Escape on the Underground Railroad returns to Hale Farm & Village on select dates from February through April 2012. This interactive, role-playing program involves visitor s in the story of the Underground Railroad. The program begins on the auction block with slaves sold to a harsh overseer. A twist of fate allows them to escape, traveling under cover of darkness on a perilous 90-minute journey in search of freedom. Click HERE for days and times.

The King Art Complex Columbus Ohio: The February Family Film Series  “ Book to Movies”

The February Family Film Series will focus on books that have become movies.  In honor of Black History Month the series embraces, reviews and acknowledges the power of literature that has influenced films on cultural and social patterns of our society.  The dialogue will be led by community facilitators and/or local media personalities that will provide their expertise in their field, either by knowledge or interest. Admission is Free. Click HERE for schedule.

Visual Voices 2012: The African American Experience,  Schuster Performing Arts Center, Dayton,
A part of the KeyBank African-American Arts Festival, the free exhibit, open daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., features African-American “skyscrapers,” women and men who stand tall as role models in the Dayton community. Curated by Willis “Bing” Davis, Visual Voices is presented in partnership with EbonNia Gallery and will feature the work of dozens of Dayton-area African-American artists. Click HERE for details.

Black History Month at the Ohio Statehouse, Columbus Ohio

The Ohio Statehouse will celebrate Black History Month throughout February with a special display, free historical performances each Tuesday at noon and special tours of the George Washington Williams Room. The 2012 Rosa Parks Children’s Art Exhibit will be on display in the Statehouse Map Room throughout February. Musical performances will honor Black History Month each Wednesday from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in the Crypt of the Ohio Statehouse. Guests will be treated to a free lunch-time concert.  Living history programs will be presented each Tuesday at noon throughout February in the Museum Gallery on the ground floor of the Ohio Statehouse. Visitors will meet first-person interpreters who portray African Americans who are prominent figures in U.S. history. Free to the public. Click HERE for details.

Cleveland State University will present a wide range of activities in honor of Black History Month. From lectures to art exhibits to films and more, Cleveland State is engaging the community in a celebration of the lives, history and culture of people of African descent. All events are free and open to the public unless noted.  For more information, please call the Black Studies Program at 216.687.3655.

Bowling Green State University, month-long
Bowling Green State University celebrates Black History Month with numerous events, including a lecture series, musical performances and conferences. A highlight of the month’s events is the 13th Annual Black Issues Conference on Feb. 11 from 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Click HERE for full schedule of events.

Friday February 3rd 2012

E.J. Thomas Hall:  ‘THE COLOR PURPLE’ is an inspiring family saga that tells the unforgettable story of a woman who – through love – finds the strength to triumph over adversity and discover her unique voice in the world. Set to a joyous score featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues, THE COLOR PURPLE is a story of hope, a testament to the healing power of love and a celebration of life. Directed by Gary Griffin, THE COLOR PURPLE is adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Marsha Norman, with music and lyrics by Grammy Award winners Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray and choreography by Donald Byrd. 198 Hill St., Akron; 330-972-7595 F Showtimes are February 3rd & 4th.

Saturday February 4th 2012

The Cleveland Public Library continues our tradition of offering African American History Month programs throughout the Main Library and its branches to commemorate the rich history that helped shape this country.

Cleveland Public Library: Writers & Readers Series: Eugine Robinson, Author and Political Analyst

Cleveland Public Library welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning author and political analyst, Eugene Robinson. Frequently seen on MSNBC. Mr. Robinson is also associate editor and columnist for The Washington Post. His latest book, Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America, was published in 2010. This event is FREE and open to the public.
Books are available from A Cultural Exchange at aculturalexchange.org. 2:00 p.m. Main Library • Louis Stokes  Wing Auditorium • East Sixth & Superior Ave. For more Cleveland Public Library events Click HERE

Cleveland Jazz Orchestra: Celebration of the Big Band, Classic to Contemporary Revue

Pre-show talk @ 7:30 pm * February  4, 2012 * Donor Lounge
Sean Jones takes the CJO and the audience on a journey through the evolution of the big band from Count Basie to Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Thad Jones, and more contemporary ensembles. Click HERE for event details.

Sunday February 5th 2012

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad: Lessons in the Underground Railroad

 Wednesday  February 8th 2012

‘History of African-Americans in American Politics’

Former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Thom Collier, presents a brief examination on the political elements affecting African-Americans, from slavery to citizenship. Event sponsored by the OSU/M/NC State College Republicans. Click HERE for more information and additional events. North Central State College, Conard Performance Hall in Reidl Hall, 1760 University Drive, Mansfield, OH 44906. 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. Free to the public.

Maltz Museum: Performance Preview and Director’s Talk, ‘The Antebellum’

Join Cleveland Public Theatre director Beth Wood and members of the cast of Antebellum as they talk about and perform selected scenes from this provocative drama that unfolds against the backdrop of a southern plantation, a German concentration camp and the 1939 Atlanta premiere of Gone with the Wind; a play that resonates with the entwining realities of Nazi cruelty and Hollywood dreams. 7pm. Click HERE for event details.

The Cleveland Art Museum: ‘Chucho Valdés with the Afro-Cuban Messengers.’

Thursday February 9th 2012

Oberlin College: ‘Why I Had to Dance’-A Premiere Choreopoem Written by Ntozake Shangé

Poet/playwright Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem “Why I Had to Dance” propels the audience into the world of dance through the poet’s experiences. Shange describes it as: “The story of black dance herself… the connectedness of black dance from one generation to another generation and from one region to another region, moving all around the dance world from my childhood on.” Experience the world premiere of this animated journey of dance through time, over generations and across geography brought to life on stage. “Why I Had to Dance” is written by Ntozake Shange and choreographed and directed by Dianne McIntyre. The evening opens with Unexpected Journeys, another new piece choreographed by Dianne McIntyre with Oberlin student collaborators. Unexpected Journeys is directed by Oberlin College Associate Professor Caroline Jackson Smith. Click HERE for ticket information.

Sunday  February 12th 2012

‘An Evening of Theater Celebrating Black History Month’

Presented by US Bank and The Urban League of Greater Cleveland. Event features the award-winning stage play, “Radio Golf,” by August Wilson. Production tells the story of a successful entrepreneur aspiring to become a city’s first black mayor. It’s the final chapter in Wilson’s 10-play cycle chronicling African-American life in the 20th century. Click HERE for more information.

Allen Theater — Playhouse Square, 1501 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH Sunday, February 12, 2012, 7:30 p.m. ADMISSION: $50

Friday February 17th 2012
Rock Hal Celebrates Black History Month: Ladies First, Meshell Ndegeocello Live in Concert.

Friday February 18th 2012 at 7pm. Click HERE for tickets and more info.

Akron Civic Theatre: Greater Bethel Baptist Church presents Past Unforgotten III Black History and Awards Celebration!

Greater Bethel Baptist Church presents an amazing night of Gospel singing. 100 Voice Choir of Greater Akron. 7pm

Monday February 20th 2012

‘African-American Women Pioneers in Sports’

Dr. Leslie Heaphy highlights African-American women and their significant achievements in sports. Event is co-sponsored by Kent State Stark’s History Club. Click HERE for more information. Kent State University at Stark, Library Conference Room, 6000 Frank Avenue NW, North Canton, OH 44720. Monday, February 20, 2012, 12:30 p.m.- 2 p.m. Free to the public.

Wednesday February 22nd 2012

Rock and Roll Night School – ‘Ladies First: Women in Hip-Hop’

Event is part of the Rock Hall’s annual Black History Month celebration. Attendees will learn about the complicated and changing roles of female hip-hop artists, from early pioneers to today’s leading innovators. Class includes a presentation, music and video clips, and group discussions. Click HERE for more information. 7 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. Free to the public reservation required.

Thursday February 23rd 2012

Cleveland Public Theatre: ‘The Antebellum’

Antebellum unfolds against the backdrops of a southern American plantation, a German concentration camp, the world premiere of Gone With The Wind and 1930s Berlin cabarets. Two stories merge as a love affair between two men, one Jewish and the other African-American, bridges time, space and gender. Through juxtaposed realities of Nazi cruelty and Hollywood dreams, this sweeping romance challenges intolerance of race and religion and discrimination on both sides of the Atlantic.  February 23rd —March 10th. Click HERE for tickets.

Friday February 24th 2012

PlayhouseSquare :  ‘Slam U Spoken Word’

Slam U is PlayhouseSquare’s spoken word poetry program for teens. Find your voice and speak your mind. Meet other teen poets. Be on stage. Develop your skills. Eat some free pizza. And maybe earn a spot on the Cleveland Youth Poetry Slam Team and travel to the international Brave New Voices competition in July. Free admission.  Click HERE for more info.

Slam U is made possible by the philanthropic support of individual and corporate donors and foundations.

 Saturday February 25th 2012

Max’nOut Entertainment and Beechstree PR in collaboration with PBS presents  ‘Slavery By Another Name’ Dialgue Discussion.

Cleveland Public Library: Natural Hair Care in the 21st Century

In honor of African American History Month the Cleveland Public Library invites you to its first ever natural hair program, Natural Hair Care in the 21st Century. Find out about the history, science and beauty of African American hair. Learn what it truly means to “transition” and discover the beauty of natural hair styles worn by women throughout the world.

Featuring a “real talk” informative and interactive session with advice from the experts. Join the hottest natural hair experts, salon owners, and bloggers for an afternoon of learning about the natural hair care in the 21st century. 1:00 p.m. Main Library • Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium • East Sixth & Superior Ave. For more Cleveland Public Library events Click HERE

Tuesday February 28th 2012

PlayhouseSquare: ‘Memphis’

From the underground dance clubs of 1950s Memphis, Tennessee, comes a hot new Broadway musical that bursts off the stage with explosive dancing, irresistible songs and a thrilling tale of fame and forbidden love. Inspired by actual events, Memphis is about a white radio DJ who wants to change the world and a black club singer who is ready for her big break. Come along on their incredible journey to the ends of the airwaves — filled with laughter, soaring emotion and roof-raising rock ‘n’ roll. Winner of four 2010 Tony Awards® including Best Musical, Memphis , features a Tony®-winning book by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change) and a Tony®-winning original score with music by Bon Jovi founding member David Bryan. Directing is Tony® nominee Christopher Ashley (Xanadu), and choreography is by Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys). Get ready to experience Broadway’s most exciting new destination~ what AP calls “The very essence of what a Broadway musical should be.” Run of show: February 28th —March 11th. Click HERE for tickets.

By Michelle Simakis

Posted January 31st 2012

A year ago, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library added half a dozen or so eReaders to its collection at Lee Road Library.

Heights Libraries has decided to expand that program and now offers Nooks and Kindles at the Coventry Village, Noble Neighborhood and University Heights libraries.

The idea is that patrons can “try it before they buy it” and learn to use the devices.

“Our customers have been clamoring for more eReaders,” said Heights Libraries Deputy Director Kimberlee DeNero-Ackroyd in a press release. “Circulating these devices serves several purposes: It gives customers an opportunity to try these products and make more informed purchasing decisions, it provides library customers an opportunity to try a different reading experience, and it also allows us to experiment with new ways of serving our customers.”

Coventry, University Heights and Noble branches will circulate three eReaders and offer both Nooks and Kindles, and the Lee Road Library now has nine eReaders. Popular books are already downloaded on the devices, including Bossypants by Tina Fey, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

By Stefanos Chen

Posted January 22nd 2012

Twenty-six years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was first honored with a holiday, his legacy has flourished — and not just in the annals of history. Today, there are more than an estimated 900 streets in America that bear the civil rights leader’s name.

But even as the memory of King remains at the heart of American discourse, many of his namesake streets are drifting further to the social and economic periphery.

“There tends to be a marginalization of King’s name,” Derek Alderman, professor of geography at East Carolina University, told AOL Real Estate. Alderman, who has spent the better part of a decade chronicling the number of streets named after the slain civil rights leader, has encountered the paradox many times before — beloved as the man may be, in real estate, some homebuyers and store owners ascribe a kind of stigma to the name.

Using Realtor.com’s database of homes on the market, an analysis of properties on Martin Luther King Jr. streets lends some credence to that view. In 2010, the median list price for homes with “Martin Luther King Jr.” in the address was $79,900. By 2011, it had fallen to $69,900, a 12.5 percent decrease. The U.S. median list price was more than twice that last year, at $170,000, and saw only a 4.7 percent drop in the same period, according to the National Association of Realtors. (In the gallery below, see a random sampling of homes on MLK streets.)
In many ways, Alderman said, it’s a case of perception becoming reality. Residents and business owners oppose the renaming of thriving streets because of an unfounded fear that the civil rights leader’s name may hurt property value. Instead, the commemorations of King, who was assassinated in 1968, are often quite literally pushed to the margins of town, on streets of communities that are already economically challenged.

“When a street’s name means something [to property value] it’s because of the location,” said Alice Palmisano, executive director of Brown Harris Stevens Appraisal & Consulting Co. in New York City. “Park Avenue means something because it’s in a great neighborhood,” not because the name has some intrinsic real estate value.

Compounding the problem for many of these predominantly African-American communities was the rampant predatory lending that plagued poorer neighborhoods during the sub-prime mortgage run-up. In fact, the Justice Department is now seeking to repay more than 200,000 minority borrowers who were steered toward high-interest subprime loans when many qualified for better terms. The search is part of a historic $335 million discriminatory lending settlement levied against Bank of America’s Countrywide Financial unit.

But to write off the more than 900 streets that pay homage to King as “struggling” would be wide of the mark, said the Rev. Terence Dicks, project director of the “Claiming a Street Named King” program in Augusta, Ga.

There are several prominent examples of MLK streets with healthy economies and rich cultural legacies, such as the ones in New York City, Austin and, of course, King’s hometown of Atlanta. But Dicks’ project aims to take an accounting of the problems faced by MLK throughways that continue to face economic hardship.

“I want to see an area meant for bad, used for good,” he said, referring to the stigma accompanying many of the streets — especially when King’s legacy is at stake. “Young people do not remember Dr. King as well as they should,” and the negativity being attributed to the streets named in his honor is not helping matters.

Alderman, who has collaborated with the grassroots project, echoes his sentiment.

“There’s just no way that Martin Luther King’s name causes poverty.”

By Reverend Jesse Jackson

Posted January 14th 2012

New Hampshire’s primary grabs headlines today, but if history is any guide, the Jan. 21 South Carolina primary will play a far greater role in determining the Republican winner.

Of that state’s population, 28 percent are African American, and could be a major factor in the primary. But Republican candidates have made little effort to reach out to the black community. Republican South Carolina voters are likely to be nearly as white as they were in Iowa and New Hampshire. All the Republican candidates will pay tribute to Dr. King on his birthday next week, but they seem oblivious to one of his greatest contributions: the creation of the New South.

In a time of growing inequality, we forget the scope of Dr. King’s victory. When I was growing up in Greenville, S.C., segregation was the law of the land. Blacks and whites attended separate and unequal schools. My friends and I were locked out of public institutions like the public library. We still rode in the back of the bus. Greenville was the home of Bob Jones University, which Africans could attend (if they didn’t fraternize with white women) while African Americans could not. If we wanted to play college sports, we either attended a historically black institution or went to schools in the North or West.

South Carolina’s political leadership fiercely resisted the movement for civil rights. My first arrest came from trying to use the public library. It took years of struggle, demonstrations, sit-ins, bloodshed and sacrifice, but in the end, Dr. King had a more powerful vision of the future than all of the politicians, sheriffs and elites who stood in the way.

The victory of the civil rights movement helped to forge a new South. In South Carolina, public schools and public accommodations are open to all. Colleges are integrated. Students from Clemson or South Carolina root for their teams, loyalties divided by the color of the uniform, not the color of the players. With the ending of legal segregation, the economy started to modernize. Foreign investors opened plants that would not have come to the Old South. African Americans gained the right to vote. Now the Republican governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, is of South Asian descent. The New South has come a long way, but has a long way yet to go. In South Carolina, the Republican Party consolidated its power through a poisonous race-bait politics, as it did throughout the South. The inequality rooted in 150 years of slavery and 100 years of legal apartheid has not been overcome. African Americans in the New South have less wealth, more poverty and worse unemployment than whites. In South Carolina, 37 percent of African Americans live in poverty, compared with 15 percent of whites.

Dr. King understood that the civil rights movement, having ended segregation and gained the right to vote, had to challenge poverty and economic inequality. In his final days, he was building a poor people’s campaign, planning to bring people to the nation’s capital across lines of race, religion and region to create a Resurrection City and demand economic justice. He was the true precursor of Occupy Wall Street.

It is fitting that we celebrate Dr. King’s birthday the week before the first Southern primary. Republicans still tout Reagan’s vision, but it was King, not Reagan or Thurmond who forged the New South. And it is King’s unfinished agenda — how to guarantee equal opportunity and economic justice for all — that they must address.

Over time, Republicans may just find that a party of white sanctuary and trickle-down economics has less and less appeal in a South where race concerns people less and economic opportunity worries them more.

By Andrew Welsh Huggins

Posted January 13th 2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A Cincinnati landlord who claimed a black girl’s hair products clouded an apartment complex’s swimming pool discriminated against the child by posting a poolside “White Only” sign, an Ohio civil rights panel said Thursday in upholding a previous finding.

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission voted 4-0 against reconsidering its finding from last fall. There was no discussion.

The group found on Sept. 29 that Jamie Hein, who is white, violated the Ohio Civil Rights Act by posting the sign at a pool at the duplex where the teenage girl was visiting her parents.

The parents filed a discrimination charge with the commission and moved out of the duplex in the racially diverse city to “avoid subjecting their family to further humiliating treatment,” the commission said in a release announcing its finding.

An investigation revealed that Hein in May posted on the gated entrance to the pool an iron sign that stated “Public Swimming Pool, White Only,” the commission statement said.

Several witnesses confirmed that the sign was posted, and the landlord indicated that she posted it because the girl used chemicals in her hair that would make the pool “cloudy,” according to the commission.

Hein told the commission she received the sign from a friend, and Ronnell Tomlinson, the commission’s housing enforcement director, said at Thursday’s hearing it was an antique. The sign says “Selma, Ala.,” at the bottom, followed by the date “14 July 31.”

The girl’s father, Michael Gunn, in brief comments Thursday, described his shock last spring when venturing out for a lunch break by the pool.

“My initial reaction to seeing the sign was of shock, disgust and outrage,” Gunn said. He also told the commission that his daughter was saddened months later to learn the reason they moved from the apartment complex “was in a way related to the color of her skin.” Gunn declined to speak with reporters.

Hein’s attorney, who informed the commission by email Wednesday that Hein would not attend the hearing, did not return phone and email messages Wednesday and Thursday from The Associated Press. A recording on Thursday said Hein’s voicemail was full and could not accept messages.

“I was trying to protect my assets,” she told the commission’s housing enforcement director in a Sept. 27 interview.

Racial discrimination has particular resonance in Cincinnati, whose population is 45 percent black, far higher than the rest of Ohio, which is about 12 percent black. Surrounding Hamilton County is 26 percent black.

Cincinnati was the scene of race riots in April 2001 when police and demonstrators clashed in a blighted neighborhood following the shooting of a black suspect by police.

The commission’s statement said that its investigation concluded that the posting of such a sign “restricts the social interaction between Caucasians and African-Americans and reinforces discriminatory actions aimed at oppressing people of color.”

It still would be possible for the parties to reach a settlement overseen by the commission before any legal action is taken.

If those discussions don’t bear fruit, the commission would issue a formal complaint and refer the matter to the Ohio attorney general’s office, which would represent the commission’s findings before an administrative law judge. That judge would determine any penalties, which could include a cease-and-desist order and punitive damages.

Any decision by the administrative judge could be appealed to Hamilton County Common Pleas Court in Cincinnati.

___

Andrew Welsh-Huggins can be reached at http://twitter.com/awhcolumbus.

Posted January 12th 2012

CLEVELAND –  Mayor Frank G. Jackson, Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Eric Gordon and others will kicked off Financial Aid Awareness Month, a community-wide campaign to help students and families learn about financial aid options for college and complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Mayor Frank G. Jackson, City of Cleveland Eric Gordon, CEO, Cleveland Metropolitan School District Calvin Thomas, U.S. Department of Education Office of Financial Aid Patricia Skrha, Director of Undergraduate Admission, Baldwin-Wallace College Lee Friedman, CEO, College Now Greater Cleveland was held on January 11th at Cleveland City Hall.

By Lynette Holloway

Posted January 11th 2012

The New York Times is reporting that MSNBC will add a talk show next month that will be hosted by Melissa Harris-Perry, the outspoken Tulane University professor of political science.

The untitled program will begin on Feb. 4 and will be shown on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. until noon, MSNBC announced on Thursday.

MSNBC has pretty firmly established itself as a political channel on the weekdays, but it has lagged on the weekends. So it has been gradually replacing its weekend morning newscasts with political conversations. In September it started a roundtable show called “Up,” hosted by Chris Hayes, which has been well-received and has impressed people inside MSNBC with its political I.Q.

“Weekend mornings are a time when our audience wants intelligent political conversation, as the success of Chris Hayes has shown, in addition to coverage of all the headlines,” Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, said in a statement Thursday.

Once her morning show starts, Ms. Harris-Perry will be one of a small handful of African American women who have regular positions on cable news.

At Tulane, she is the founding director of the Anna Julia Cooper Project on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South. She said in a statement Thursday, “All I’ve ever wanted to be is a teacher. Phil Griffin and MSNBC are giving me the chance to have a much bigger classroom.”

She added on Twitter, “Best part of a weekend show? I don’t have to give up life in the academy. I’ll still live in NOLA & teach at Tulane during the week.”

Her colleague Lawrence O’Donnell, who lives in Los Angeles but flies to New York each week to anchor his prime time weekday show on MSNBC, replied, “Welcome to long distance commuting! MSNBC is lucky to have you.”

Viewers are lucky, too! Harris-Perry has shown herself to be a strong and important progressive voice. We wish her the best of luck.

By Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Posted January 10th 2012

(PHOTO: JUDGE ALISON L. FLOYD,  CUYAHOGA JUVENILE COURT)

COLUMBUS: A new report says the state should transfer mentally ill juvenile inmates to psychiatric facilities as soon as possible and find money for treatment.

The report on the status of Ohio’s youth prison system says the agency holds some of the most acutely mentally ill youth in the state. It says such youth would be transferred to more appropriate treatment facilities if they were hospitalized or in other settings outside detention.

The report filed in federal court Thursday also says repeatedly placing mentally ill youth in seclusion affects decisions about whether they should be held beyond the end of their sentences.

It is the third report by a court-appointed monitor reviewing Department of Youth Services efforts to make prisons safer following a 2004 lawsuit that alleged a culture of violence.

By Olivia Katrandjian

Posted January 10th 2012

Third graders in in Gwinnett County, Ga., were given math homework Wednesday that asked questions about slavery and beatings.

Christopher Braxton told ABC News affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta that he couldn’t believe the assignment his 8-year-old son brought home from of Beaver Ridge Elementary school in Norcross.

“It kind of blew me away,” Braxton said. “Do you see what I see? Do you really see what I see? He’s not answering this question.”

The question read, “Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?”

Another math problem read, “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?”

Another question asked how many baskets of cotton Frederick filled.

“I was furious at that point,” Braxton said.

“This outrages me because it just lets me know that there’s still racists,” said Stephanie Jones, whose child is a student at the school.

“Something like that shouldn’t be imbedded into a kid of the third, fourth, fifth, any grade,” parent Terrance Barnett told WSB-TV. “I’m having to explain to my 8-year-old why slavery or slaves or beatings are in a math problem. That hurts.”

“In this one, the teachers were trying to do a cross-curricular activity,” Gwinnett County school district spokeswoman Sloan Roach said.

Roach said the teachers were attempting to incorporate social studies into math problems.

“We understand that there are concerns about these questions, and we agree that these questions were not appropriate,” she said.

ABC News affiliate WSB-TV contributed to this report.