As the pandemic exposes massive historical cracks in the U.S. along class and race lines, it also exposes what state universities have been dealing with for a few decades – and it’s causing serious crises. “How does one advertise an education, or the quality of a school’s faculty? Most students are, almost by definition, not in a position to assess a professor’s expertise. … What a school can advertise, through glossy pamphlets, professionally produced websites, and those iconic tours, are campus amenities: rock-climbing walls, state-of-the-art gyms, and ample dining options. University leadership, looking to compete for students, promises a fun student life, in place of an educational one.” And that’s not something one find on Zoom. – The Atlantic
Tag: 08.23.20
Mercedes Barcha, Vital To The Publication Of Her Husband’s One Hundred Years Of Solitude, 87
Barcha held the landlord off while Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote the book, and when he emerged with the manuscript, “pawned her hair dryer and the couple’s blender so she could pay the postage to send the manuscript to his Argentine editor.” – The New York Times
Black Artists In Portland Create A New Map For Cities Confronting Their Past, And Present
Portland doesn’t exactly have the best history with its Black populations, including forced gentrification after decades of intense redlining. A 69-year-old artist says, “They tried to scoop us out of the city. … Now there are generations of Black artists working in Portland to create historical artifacts around our own existence to show that we have always been here.” – The New York Times
Placido Domingo Wants To Clear His Name, But Won’t Answer Direct Questions About Sexual Harassment
“Two of Domingo’s managers and a spokesperson briefly cut off the interview when the singer was asked to respond to the fact that both investigations had found the sexual harassment accusations credible and that one had found a pattern of abuse.” – Baltimore Sun (AP)
The Artistic Legacy Of LA’s Chicano Moratorium Against The Vietnam War
Police tear-gassed the gathering before the march began, killing L.A. Times columnist and KMEX news director Ruben Salazar (two others also died during the tear-gassing and shooting). “The Moratorium shifted creative paths for those who were present and those who heard about it on the news or from friends. It fueled an urgency to make visible the Chicano experience, one that had largely been left out of the history books — an urgency that remains resonant.” – Los Angeles Times
Minnesota Finally Recognizes A Native Author With Its State Literary Award
And what an author – Marcie Rendon, an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation, is an “award-winning poet, playwright, author of children’s books, short stories and the popular Cash Blackbear mystery series.” – St. Paul Pioneer Press