“The civics teacher from Massey Hill Classical High School in Fayetteville, N.C., was giving a lesson last week about the Bill of Rights that touched on Texas v. Johnson, the Supreme Court case upholding the constitutional right to burn the American flag. To illustrate the landmark decision, Francis pulled out a full-size Star-Spangled Banner and laid it on the classroom floor. ‘Does anybody have a lighter,’ he asked the class. When no one responded, Francis stepped on the flag several times.”
Category: issues
Fifty Prominent Museum Directors Sign Letter Supporting North Dakota Indian Treaty Rights
“The letter was initiated by the Natural History Museum, a project of the New York-based art collective Not An Alternative, which has sought to politicize science and natural history museums around issues of climate change.”
How The Alt-Right Pepe The Frog Trolls Punked The ‘Normie’ Media
“So how the hell did they gain so much notoriety the Hillary Clinton campaign felt a need to respond to their memes? What happened? It all stems from an interesting collision between those trolls and another group of people – political journalists and operatives – who have very different incentive systems.”
In The Age Of Trump, Can The New African-American Museum Reach The People Who Need To Hear Its Message?
Philip Kennicott: “The basic conservatism of the new museum, its Smithsonian look and feel, and all the trust that name inspires, will help many visitors grapple with the obvious, ugly and manifest truths of racism and its impact on black culture. But … in the years since the museum was authorized by Congress, perhaps the biggest change in American society is how many people have become comfortable with staring at the unpleasant and undeniable and saying, ‘That’s not what I see.'”
The Long Arguments And Hard Work Behind An American Girl’s First Black Doll
“In 1993, the doll company set out to introduce its first black character. All she had to do was represent the entire history of black America.”
I No Longer Get Typecast As A Muslim Radical Terrorist – Except At The Airport
“To begin with, auditions taught me to get through airports. In the end, it was the other way around.” Actor Riz Ahmed’s career may be flourishing, but his experiences with immigration officials, in both the US and his native UK, have gone from frightening (and illegal) to tedious to humorous.
Businesses Stress Culture In Hiring (And Here’s Where It Can Get Tricky)
“Agencies’ only asset is their people, so it makes sense to put a premium on the the multitude of intangibles that make up “culture.” After all, it’s hard to get through an issue of Harvard Business Review without coming across an article related to corporate culture. But for some, the focus on culture is often a way to keep out people not like those hiring.”
Fierce Grief: Pulse Nightclub, Activism, And The Ways That Gay Folks Mourn
“If there is a distinctive power to queer grief, it lies in the styles of mourning that have emerged from queer cultures over time. These styles set the shape and tone of the activism that comes out of grief – and activism, of course, is itself a type of mourning. To address Polgreen’s question, we must examine how queerness behaves when it is at a loss. How a community grieves can tell us a lot about who they are.”
London Has A Plan For ‘Artist Zones’ To Shield Creatives From Ever-Rising Rents
“Dedicated ‘artist zones’ could be created in areas such as Hackney Wick and Peckham to offer protection against developers and soaring rents, under proposals being worked on by the deputy mayor for culture.”
The Latest Hotel Amenity? Artists In Residence
“As hotels work harder to distinguish themselves in the age of Airbnb, many have focused on using local art to give their décor a one-of-a-kind look. But with artist-in-residence programs, some hotels in the United States and abroad are going further, aiming to make the art experience even more immersive for guests.”