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In 1980, Cable News Network made its debut.

Reese Schonfeld, President of Cable News Network and Reynelda Nuse, weekend anchorwoman for CNN, stand at one of the many sets at the broadcast center in Atlanta on May 31, 1980. The network, owned by Ted Turner, will begin its 24-hour-a-day news broadcasts on Sunday in afternoon. (AP Photo/Joe Holloway)

Today is Thursday, June 1, the 152nd day of 2017. There are 213 days left in the year.

Todays Highlights in History:

It was 50 years ago today June 1, 1967 that the Beatles album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band was released, as was David Bowies debut album, eponymously titled David Bowie.

On this date:

In 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state.

In 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state.

In 1813, the mortally wounded commander of the USS Chesapeake, Capt. James Lawrence, gave the order, Dont give up the ship during a losing battle with the British frigate HMS Shannon in the War of 1812.

In 1868, James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, died near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at age 77.

In 1917, the song Over There by George M. Cohan was published by William Jerome Publishing Corp. of New York.

In 1927, Lizzie Borden, accused but acquitted of the 1892 ax murders of her father, Andrew, and her stepmother, Abby, died in Fall River, Massachusetts, at age 66.

In 1943, a civilian flight from Portugal to England was shot down by Germany during World War II, killing all 17 people aboard, including actor Leslie Howard.

In 1957, Don Bowden, a student at the University of California at Berkeley, became the first American to break the four-minute mile during a meet in Stockton, California, in a time of 3:58.7.

In 1977, the Soviet Union formally charged Jewish human rights activist Anatoly Shcharansky with treason. (Shcharansky was imprisoned, then released in 1986; hes now known by the name Natan Sharansky.)

In 1980, Cable News Network made its debut.

In 1997, Betty Shabazz, the widow of Malcolm X, was severely burned in a fire set by her 12-year-old grandson in her Yonkers, New York, apartment (she died three weeks later). The Chicago Tribune published a make-believe commencement speech by columnist Mary Schmich, which urged graduates to, among other things, wear sunscreen (the essay ended up being wrongly attributed online to author Kurt Vonnegut).

In 2009, Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330 carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of everyone on board.

Ten years ago: The FDA warned consumers to avoid using toothpaste made in China because it might contain a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze. Kidnapped British journalist Alan Johnston appeared in a videotape posted on an Islamic website, the first time he was seen since being abducted nearly three months earlier in Gaza. (Johnston was freed July 4, 2007.) Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian walked out of a Michigan prison, where hed spent eight years for ending the life of a man suffering from Lou Gehrigs disease.

Five years ago: A judge in Sanford, Florida, revoked the bond of the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with murdering Trayvon Martin and ordered him returned to jail within 48 hours, saying George Zimmerman and his wife had misled the court about how much money they had available when his bond was set at $150,000. (George Zimmerman was ultimately acquitted of the murder charge; Shellie Zimmerman pleaded guilty to perjury and was sentenced to a years probation and community service.) The U.N.s top human rights body voted overwhelmingly to condemn Syria over the slaughter of more than 100 civilians; Syrias most important ally and protector, Russia, voted against the measure by the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in New York Mets history in an 8-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

One year ago: After killing his estranged wife in a Minneapolis suburb, a former UCLA student drove from Minnesota to Los Angeles, where he shot and killed his former professor before taking his own life. Ken Starr resigned as Baylor Universitys chancellor, a week after the former prosecutor whod led the investigation of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal was removed as the schools president over its handling of sexual assault complaints against football players.

2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Originally posted here:
Today in History: June 1 - WTOP

One of the biggest young adult novels in the country having sold more than 63,000 copies since its debut in February deals with a young girl facing off against an institutional conspiracy to oppress her people. The teenage heroine gets dragged into a cultural rebellion and does her best to find her voice and her place within this rebellion to save and protect her family and community all while negotiating the typical dramas of high school (boyfriends, friends, dances and varsity sports).

But The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas isnt set in a dystopian future, parallel universe, sci-fi realm or fantasy world. The Hate U Give takes place in the contemporary inner cities and urban war zones of our own country. Although, to be fair, given the stratification of our cities, for some out in the suburbs, the urban centers may as well be Mars.

Starr Carter navigates both the suburbs and her neighborhood well, code-switching her language and demeanor to fit in where necessary, learning to speak with two different voices. Shes 16, on the basketball team and attending a private high school that requires a commute away from her neighborhood and childhood friends. Starr has a lot on her plate: a growing chasm with a best friend, a white boyfriend to hide from her father, all while balancing school with her job at her fathers store.

When she runs into an old friend, Khalil, Starr regrets the way her new school takes her away from the neighborhood. But the neighborhood isnt safe, and its not just the gangs, crime and poverty. A night of talking nostalgia with a childhood buddy quickly turns into tragedy, after a traffic stop results in police shooting an unarmed Khalil, with Starr as the only witness. The Hate U Give follows Starr as she wakes up to the realities of race, privilege and fear.

Critics are calling The Hate U Give a Black Lives Matter novel, since the system that the young and plucky Starr seeks to dismantle is the institutional oppression of black people. The Hate U Give is, yes, a novel about race but it is also a dystopian young adult novel that happens to be set in reality.

I once taught a class in which my students discussed dystopian young adult fiction. Over the course of a semester, a theme emerged: a teenager trying to understand the limits of adult authority, transitioning into maturity, and trying to negotiate the violence of imposed social order. We talked Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Divergent.

Nick Smart, an English professor at the College of New Rochelle in New York, explained the common themes to me. YA has been dominated by dystopias in which there have been heroines attempting the overthrow of seemingly undefeatable obstacles. Katniss, Tris from Divergent or even Hazel in The Fault in Our Stars. In Hazels case, the obstacle was a very real cancer, yet the comparison can be made between these characters young girls out against the world in various ways, Smart added. In The Hate U Give, theres also a girl who happens to be a black girl being sent out against the system, against the world, against an entrenched opposition.

Thats a matter of perspective; for some, that Starr happens to be a black girl is everything.

A student in my class, Nicole, stood up one day and asked why Katniss was white. She made the point that right now, the people she knows most like Katniss are the black girls in her neighborhood. Where I grew up, its always The Hunger Games.

The Hate U Give is a novel for Nicole. But in touching on the traditional tropes of dystopian young adult fiction, Thomas novel uses a familiar structure to prepare all readers for the nightmare Starr lives through. Which is to say: Starrs story is familiar to us all. The politics of Black Lives Matter inform the story but do not define it; what defines the story is Starr Carter, a teenage girl fighting the system.

On the cover of The Hate U Give, a black girl (presumably Starr) holds a placard bearing the title. I think about Nicole how many books have been written with her in mind? With a face like hers on the cover? I think about the small miracle that placed Starrs voice which like Nicoles, rarely gets to be front and center in bestseller territory, in our hands.

In the reality we live in, Starrs story wouldnt be in our hands. It would be filtered through talking heads on television, reporters, critics and lawyers. Remember Rachel Jeantel, friend and aural witness to the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin? After Jeantel took the stand in the trial of accused shooter George Zimmerman, articles appeared across the Internet and newspapers dissecting her speech, her behavior, her blackness. What she heard and the material value of her witness became secondary to the politics contained in her body.

By giving us Starrs story, Thomas uses fiction to make a black girls story important. Our access to Starrs thoughts and feelings have much larger stakes for our world than whatever doubts run through Katniss mind. Starr Carters story matters to our world. Starrs frustrations and fears echo those of my students, friends and colleagues across races.

Poet and scholar Sheila Carter-Jones agrees: I think this book is particularly good for young adult literature, because it allows youth to see for themselves, as literature opens a dialogue or a discussion about the things that they actually experience in their own neighborhoods or just watching on the news. So its more than a book in that regard.

But what kind of action are we going to take as a result of reading this kind of literature?

The villain in the book isnt the police officer, or police officers in general. Starr refers to the policeman only by his badge number, pointing to a cog in a larger machine, rather than an individual act. The villain in The Hate U Give is racism, embodied by a cops trigger finger, a friends casual joke and the failure of the court system. The villain in this novel looks a lot like our reality.

Fringe elements on social media have called The Hate U Give a dangerous book for humanizing the victims of police brutality. Ive seen articles shared widely on the Internet about the false reality depicted in the book, or saying that police brutality is exaggerated. As if an officer had never shot an unarmed man without cause. As if a black girl being right warrants an apology. As if its all a dystopian nightmare.

And it is. The one we live in.

Ramrez, one of The Times critics at large, is the author of the memoir Dead Boys; her book The Violence is forthcoming from Scribner.

See the article here:
Adriana E. Ramirez on why readers love 'The Hate U Give' - Los Angeles Times

New York Times

Colleges Celebrate Diversity With Separate 'Commencements' New York Times You began college just weeks after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the callous killing of Trayvon Martin, Professor Terry, an assistant professor of African and African-American studies and social studies, said in his address. Advertisement ... and more »

Continue reading here:
Colleges Celebrate Diversity With Separate 'Commencements' - New York Times

Singer and songwriter Elijah Blakepleads for release from deadly racism on his new song "Hanging Tree." The video for the track debuted today (June 1) via Harry Belafonte's social justice organization Sankofa.org.

"Everybody's praying for peace, but who's gonna protect us from the police?" he sings ahead of the song's chorus: "Keep these chains off me, 'cause I don't wanna be another seed underneath the hanging tree."

The song invokes lynching imagery, and the music video reaches further into the painful history of anti-Black violence. In it, Blake sheds his tuxedo to reveal crimson whipping wounds on his upper body. He then appears with his wrists bound in chained cuffs, which he breaks at the video's conclusion.

"I wrote 'Hanging Tree'as a way to use my voice for equal rights, especially Black rights, in the aftermath of tragedies like Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice and so many others whose voices have been silenced," Blake told The Fader. "When I recorded this song, I wanted to have a way to express my feelings, despite at the time not having an album to attach this to."

"Hanging Tree" eventually found a home on "17," a visual EP released by Sankofa.org and Tidal in February. "17"takes its title from Trayvon Martin's age when vigilante George Zimmerman killed him. The 17-minute project stars singerJordan Grizzleas Jacobi Nelson, a 17-year-old who rides his American flag-adorned bike around town while considering a scholarship opportunity until he encounters a cop car's blue-and-red lights.

Watch "Hanging Tree" above and "17" on YouTube.

Read this article:
Singer Elijah Blake's 'Hanging Tree' Mourns Black Casualties of Racism Through the Generations - ColorLines magazine

By Eric Levenson CNN

(CNN) -- After a racial slur was found spray-painted at LeBron James' Los Angeles home, the NBA's most prominent player sat down before a roomful of reporters and let out a sigh.

"Hate in America, especially for African Americans, is living every day," he said Wednesday on the eve of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. "It's alive every single day."

It marked just the latest time James has spoken out on hot-button racial issues. Unlike Michael Jordan, the NBA superstar who avoided politics publicly throughout his career, James has repeatedly offered his thoughts on racism, unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest and other related topics.

Here's a look at some of LeBron's statements over the years, from his tribute to Trayvon Martin to his comments this week about the vandalism at his home.

On Trayvon Martin

After Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman in February 2012, James joined his Miami Heat teammates in wearing hoodies in solidarity with the unarmed Florida teen.

"#WeAreTrayvonMartin #Hoodies #Stereotyped #WeWantJustice" James wrote then in a tweet.

In a follow-up tweet, he said he was "proud of my teammates" for their stance and signed a petition calling for the prosecution of Zimmerman.

James also took the floor for a game against the Detroit Pistons wearing sneakers with "RIP Trayvon Martin" written on them.

On Donald Sterling

In April 2014 TMZ released an audio clip of Donald Sterling, then the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, telling a woman that he didn't want her to bring any black people to Clippers games.

The comments caused an uproar in the predominantly black NBA. James was unequivocally clear on his stance.

"There is no room for Donald Sterling in our league," he told ESPN. "There is no room for him."

James said he would consider sitting out a playoff game in protest if his owner ever made comments like that.

"I've wavered back and forth if I would actually sit out, if our owner came out and said the things that [Sterling] said," James said. "I would really have to sit down with my teammates, talk to my family, because at the end of the day, our family and our teammates are way more important than that."

Days later, the NBA banned Sterling for life and forced him to sell the team.

On his increasing outspokenness

In an interview with CNN's Rachel Nichols in September 2014, James was asked about his emerging role as a sports figure who speaks out on issues of racism and social justice.

"If I feel passionate about it and I feel something needs to be said or something needs to be done I'll voice my opinion," he said. "And I don't speak without knowledge. I educate myself first before I dive into a situation."

He also said the shootings in Ferguson and other related issues were personal for him because he has two sons, and he said he would continue to speak out as a role model.

"We know racism is still alive and the only thing I can do as a role model, I feel like I'm a leader in society, is to my kids and teach the people that follow me what the right way is," he said.

On Ferguson

In November 2014, a grand jury declined to indict a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old. James took to Instagram and posted an image of Brown and Trayvon Martin with arms around each other walking into the light.

"As a society how do we do better and stop things like this happening time after time!! I'm so sorry to these families. Violence is not the answer people. Retaliation isn't the solution as well," he wrote. "#PrayersUpToTheFamilies #WeHaveToDoBetter"

On Eric Garner

In December 2014, James and other NBA players wore "I can't breathe" shirts during pre-game warmups. The phrase was a reference to the final words of Eric Garner, an African American man who died when a New York police officer threw him to the ground using a department-banned chokehold, an incident caught on camera.

A grand jury in New York declined to indict any officers in Garner's death, sparking widespread criticism -- including from James.

President Barack Obama told People magazine that James "did the right thing" by raising awareness about the issue.

"We went through a long stretch there where [with] well-paid athletes the notion was, just be quiet and get your endorsements and don't make waves," Obama said. "LeBron is an example of a young man who has, in his own way and in a respectful way, tried to say, 'I'm part of this society, too' and focus attention.

"I'd like to see more athletes do that," Obama added. "Not just around this issue, but around a range of issues."

On Hillary Clinton

James, possibly the most influential person in the swing state of Ohio, endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, saying in an op-ed that "she will build on the legacy of my good friend, President Barack Obama."

"Only one person running truly understands the struggles of an Akron child born into poverty," James wrote. "And when I think about the kinds of policies and ideas the kids in my foundation need from our government, the choice is clear."

On Muhammad Ali's legacy

At the ESPY Awards in July 2016, James joined fellow NBA stars Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony in delivering a call to action on racial issues.

"Tonight we're honoring Muhammad Ali, the GOAT," James said, referring to the acronym for Greatest of All Time. "But to do his legacy any justice, let's use this moment as a call to action for all professional athletes to educate ourselves, explore these issues, speak up, use our influence and renounce all violence and, most importantly, go back to our communities, invest our time, our resources, help rebuild them, help strengthen them, help change them."

On Colin Kaepernick

Kaepernick, an NFL quarterback most recently with the San Francisco 49ers, decided last year to kneel during pre-game national anthems as part of a personal protest over police brutality and racism in America.

In an interview before the NBA season began, James said he would personally stand for the national anthem but added that he respected Kaepernick's position.

"I'm all in favor of anyone, athlete or non-athlete, being able to express what they believe in in a peaceful manner," he said. "That's exactly what Colin Kaepernick is doing, and I respect that. I think you guys know when I'm passionate about something, I speak up on it.

"Me standing for the national anthem is something I will do. That's who I am. That's what I believe in, but that doesn't mean I don't respect and don't agree with what Colin Kaepernick is doing. You have the right to voice your opinion, stand for your opinion, and he's doing it in the most peaceful way I've ever seen someone do something."

On this week's racist graffiti

Los Angeles police on Wednesday said a racist slur was found spray-painted on the front gate of James' home. The day before facing the Golden State Warriors in the first game of the NBA Finals, the star forward put the incident in historical context.

"I think back to Emmett Till's mom, actually," James said, referring to the black teen who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955. "That's one of the first things I thought of. The reason she had an open casket was that she wanted to show the world what her son went through as far as a hate crime, and being black in America.

"No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is tough," he said. "We got a long way to go for us as a society and for us as African Americans until we feel equal in America."

TM & 2017 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

Original post:
9 Times LeBron James has spoken out on race - KTVQ Billings News