Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with race

Recommend some non-white kids' books

featherboa — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:24:41 -0800

Can you recommend some children's picture books that don't just feature white faces? I run a kids' bookshop and it's been bugging me that almost none of the picture books we stock feature a non-white child as the main character. I'm trying to remedy that.

I'll probably be getting My Two Grannies, but ideally the storyline wouldn't be particularly about race. I do stock Rastamouse and that's probably closer to what I'm looking for, except it's about a mouse.

The shop's in London, and I try to keep the books skewed more British than American, but if you have a favourite from anywhere in the world, please let me know.

Similarly if you want to recommend a kids' book without pictures that fits the theme, I'd love to know about that too.

I love asian girls

ChabonJabon — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:18:53 -0800

I love asian girls, and I feel guilty about it. How do I reconcile my sense of absolute non-discrimination with my preference for a certain type of people? When I was about 7 years old, I saw the first asian girl in my life. She was lovely, like a little angel, and I fell instantly in love with that girl. In my teens, I still was in love with her, but was never able to openly tell her. I left town, and a few years later, I heard she got sick and died.

Ever since I left town, I always preferred women of asian origin to every other race of woman. To be more specific, I like the korean look with the exaggerated slanting eyes, fair skin and angular face, even though the girl I was in love with earlier was filipino, and looked nothing like my current preference.

I'm 27 now, and I've dated women of all colors and many many countries, but the ones I still think about today have been from Indonesia, Filipines, China and Mongolia. I never had the opportunity to meet a Korean or Japanese girl.

When I'm walking on the street and I see pretty asian girls, my heart beats faster and I wish I could walk up to them and talk to them.

But at the same time, I think of all the other women around me, and I feel bad. I feel as if I am just looking at the outside of a person, and I am very strongly against any form of discrimination, being of mixed racial origin myself.

What's the right thing here? Should I go into therapy to cure myself of this preference for asian women? Should I just accept that this is the way I am, and simply chase after asian women only? Both solutions seem wrong, and this problem is chewing me up, particularly at this stage in my life when I am thinking seriously about relationships and who I am in that respect.

It's urban scavenger hunt time!!

wile e — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 23:41:26 -0800

Bored on a lazy Sunday afternoon? How about helping me come up with ideas/suggestions on how I should plan an urban scavenger hunt? We're planning an urban scavenger hunt for a major city and was looking for some ideas/tips on what we should do. I've searched a bit online looking for help with planning, but have been coming up a bit short. It'll be for teams of 2-4ppl, and 10-20 teams.

The group will be mostly in the 20s and 30s age groups so it doesn't need to be aimed at younger crowds. I have found a lot of family/children ones though.

There will be the standard clues of finding historical places and taking photos of this or that, but I want this to be fun, crazy and maybe a little over the top! Ideas can include things that need to be accomplished. Or done with proof. We're open to all ideas, as this is not for an organized group. We're just looking for a fun adventure.

So has anybody done a really fun one? Have any crazy ideas? Are there any guidelines? Some book of rules that is published somewhere?

Not looking for city specific ideas, we have that covered. But for those curious, it will be held in Helsinki, Finland. A smaller city, that has great public transportation.

Any and all ideas/thoughts welcome!

Thanks!

What's the best place to view the Red Bull Air Race in London?

ajp — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:39:49 -0800

What's the best place to view the Red Bull Air Race in London? Buying tickets to the London Red Bull Air Race is apparently daft, since it gets totally crowded and the view isn't great. I'd like to see it clearly, from an uncrowded spot. It can be from a distance, as long as I can see most of the course.

One possibility I'm considering is renting a hotel room for one of the days. It would need a good view of the river. If anyone knows of such a hotel, that would be great.

Help me, in the naaaaame of love!

GrooveStix — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:40:19 -0800

Help me find a video/article about a race experiment. I swear I watched this video on Youtube, but for the life of me I can't find it. It was about students in a racially diverse classroom that were encouraged to pick classmates that were presumably their most similar match - genetically. Then they (possibly) did a DNA analysis and it turned out that they were all wrong, because all kids chose their similar classmate on a basis on their skin color.

Does anyone know about this, or am I hallucinating about me watching it?

What else is in this invisible backpack?

twirlypen — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:19:25 -0800

I'm a straight, white, upper middle class male. I'm aware that this automatically means I generally have an easier time than people with a different sexuality/race/class/gender. That said, I'm probably unaware of what these benefits are. What does this 'privileged' status do for me that I don't even notice? I've read Peggy McIntosh's 'Invisible Backpack', which was actually the reason for asking this question. It opened my eyes to a lot of the things my race does for me that I never realised, and led me to wonder what else I benefit from without realising. Hopefully, by being aware of these things, I can be more able to notice when they don't happen for other people.

I know the broad things- I can get married because I'm straight, on average I'll earn more because I'm male, etc. I'm interested in the smaller, daily things that go on without my noticing.

Y'know how Jim Fixx died? A heart attack, while he was jogging!

Lucinda — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:22:06 -0800

I will be jogging in my first 5K race in a week and a half. What can I do in the upcoming days to ensure I don't crash and burn? I am not expecting to win any awards or break any records - at my pace and my rate I will call finishing under 40:00 a major, major victory (I have been doing the Couch to 5K program.) But I'm excited (because I never thought I'd actually *be* at this point), and want to make sure I have the best experience possible.

Any advice y'all have, I'd appreciate. How should I spend the next week and a half? I jog every other day, on the course that the 5K will take (it goes right past my house). What should I eat the morning of the race? (It starts at 9am). What should I eat the night before?

Must I disclose my race?

notswedish — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:41:26 -0800

Is it legal for an employer to require that an employee indicate his or her race? I am in Chicago, Illinois. I'm being told that an employee MUST check one and only one of five boxes (white, black, Native American, Hispanic, or Asian) on his/her employment form in order for his/her work assignment to begin. This employee has already been hired, but cannot start work until he/she indicates which of those five above races he/she 'is.' In case it matters, the (future?) employee in question is a student at a university, and the employer is that same university. This is a part-time, college-type job, though not part of the federal work-study program.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Scientific formulas for happy, healthy, wise children

scottreynen — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:22:22 -0800

What are some (at least somewhat) objective studies on healthy children demographics? I'm specifically interested in single vs. multiple children, and for multiple children, differences in age, gender, relationship to parent (adoption vs. biological), and race. I often hear people say things like "I want to have multiple children so they have good social skills," or "I don't want to have children too far apart, or they won't like each other." But is any of this backed up (or contradicted) by formal studies?

I'd like something less anecdotal and more quantitative evaluating these assumptions. For example, are suicide rates higher among only children? Are girls with much older sisters more often treated for depression? Do mixed-race siblings typically make more or less money than same-race siblings? Please point me to such studies. Yes, I realize every family is different; I'm nonetheless interested in trends.

It's because I'm brown, isn't it?

liquorice — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:35:01 -0800

Am I reading too much into assumptions made by strangers or are they the ones at fault? I was introduced by a friend to a friend of hers recently, whose first question after the pleasantries where exchanged was, "Are you guys related?". We really look nothing alike. At all. The only thing we share in common is a similar cultural ancestry (different shades of brown). Now, I usually wouldn't think much of it (and I shrugged it off at the time) but this has happened to me a few times and not with the same friend. It has always been with someone else who shared similar background, i.e, the only thing we actually have in common is that we're both brown! I wouldn't go so far as claiming these people were racist, but more likely, ignorant? We do live in a white-majority suburb but not overwhelmingly so particularly not on campus where this most recent incident occurred.

Do you think I'm right in assuming that they just think we're related because we share the same colour rather than the off chance that we might actually look related? (Let me stress again that we really don't. Really. And I haven't with the other people this has been asked of, either.)

Would it have been off-colour (ha!) to call them out over it? I did want to say jokingly at the time "You only think that because we're brown, don't you?" Too inappropriate or just enough to make them realise where they have mis-stepped?

If you feel that that would be too rude to say to someone you've just met, what do you recommend be done about it instead? I don't want to let it slide, to be honest. It is obviously not malice on their part but I am sick of assumptions like this being made about because I'm an Other race.

Finally, am I just way off-base? Do I need to dial down my sensitivity levels when it comes to issues of race?

Google Gurus, the Hour of Need Has Arisen

Lieber Frau — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:25:57 -0800

Can someone help me find a comprehensive map detailing Chicago racial demographic percentages by neighborhood? I found a really nice, simple one that was included as part of a UIC student or faculty member's page. It was color-coded and measured racial percentage by neighborhood/ward. I believe the image changed slightly on rollover. Now I can't find the darn thing!

It doesn't seem like this would be a difficult map to locate, given the explosive nature of the topic. But it is. Or perhaps I'm a schmuck. Please help.

Thank you Hive Mind!

Critiques of The Black Community

Rykey — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:40:09 -0800

Canofwormsfilter: Help me find fair, well-reasoned books that critique "The Black Community." I've found lots of good books that highlight the "positives" of black culture and achievement, or that focus on the detrimental effects that racism, white privilege, and class structure have had on the black community.

Now I'm looking for books that fairly critique the black community in terms of problematic aspects of "blackness," failed community leadership, the psychology of victimhood/learned helplessness, etc.

This might be a useful criterion for what I'm looking for: in discussions of race relations, you often hear people say, "While it's true that X and Y are problems for the black community, what's really at the bottom of it is (racism, white privilege, class, etc.)." I'm looking for books that focus on the X and Y. Bonus points for books written by black authors.

My intent is not to be an apologist for racism. I'm honestly trying to round out my readings in race relations, and from my perspective it's only fair to consider the black community "warts and all," as I would any other community. I realize this touches a nerve with many well-meaning white folks, but it's what I'm after nonetheless.

Finally, a plea for civility in this thread. Race and racism are hot-button topics here on MeFi (god knows), as well as in society, and we're going to have some disagreements here about what constitutes "fair" and "well-reasoned" writing, or the line between a critique and an attack. So please keep in mind that I want to build a bibliography, not start a snark-fest.

Where can I shower in Memphis?

middleclasstool — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:00:20 -0800

I feel like a moron for asking this: Where can I take a shower in Memphis on Saturday? No, I'm not asking to use yours. So here's the thing my dumb ass did: I'm signed up to run my first-ever marathon in Memphis on the 1st. I got a sweet deal on a room right near the course for Friday night. Plan is spend the night Friday, run the race Saturday, get cleaned up and go home, kiss my fat baby and put him to bed, then open that bottle of red we bought in Tuscany to celebrate my Shaft-esqueness.

What I didn't realize until it was too late was that (1) the hotel won't let me check out later than 1:30 on Saturday, and (2) I don't run that fast, so I won't be able to make it back in time to shower at the hotel room after the race, not after all the snacks and rub-downs and mylar blankies and stuff. My only option, it appears, is to drive home after the race without showering -- smelly, caked in salt, and longing for the sweet pulsing showerhead reward.

Now, we only live two hours away, so it wouldn't be that long of a wait, but I stink like hell after even a short run, so I'd like to have mercy on my wife and get cleaned up so she doesn't have to spend two hours in close quarters with my ripe undercarriage. Is there anywhere nearby we can stop off and use shower facilities, like a university gym or something where I could slip in quietly for a quick delousing? I'm honestly not fishing for an invite to someone's home here.

My wife thanks you in advance and requests that you heap mocking upon me.

A Majority for the Minority?

thewittyname — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:34:17 -0800

Has any democracy, in a free, fair and open election, ever chosen a racial minority as a head of state or head of government? Obviously, next year presents the chance of the United States electing either a female (Clinton) or a racial minority (Obama) as President. While there have been many elected female leaders around the world, has any democracy ever elected a racial minority?

The only example I could think of is Manmohan Singh, the current Prime Minister of India. However, I'm not sure if he really counts because he wasn't directly elected and it was widely assumed at the time of the election that Sonia Ghandi would become Prime Minister. Also, while he is Sikh, I'm more interested in examples of racial, rather than religious, minorities. (Of course, in India, he may well be considered a racial minority as well - feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

Also, I'm not interested in examples from countries, like apartheid South Africa, where the racial minority kept power through disenfranchisement.

when should I say 'african american' and when 'black' ?

krautland — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:48:44 -0800

when should I say 'african american' and when 'black' ? when I use "african-american" I feel as if I am being overly politically correct and when I use "black" I fear I'm just being rude. to me, a non-native speaker, this whole area feels murky and based on an implied understanding that I just haven't picked up on.

so when is it appropriate to use which term in a verbal conversation and/or writing?

for the record: krautland is not looking to offend. krautland is seeking information so he doesn't accidentally do so.

This is a very specific, and probably dumb quesiton, about John Bell

carpyful — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 11:40:01 -0800

WHTZ Z100 filter: What ethnicity is John Bell of the radio station, Z100, in New York? My girlfriend and I have this small bet on what ethnicity John Bell of Z100 is.

I don't know from where, but I've always heard that he was African-American. However, if you were to just look at his picture, it can be questionable.

I've searched and I can't find any hard evidence of his ethnicity.

Can anyone help clear this cheesy bet up?

Help Me Train for a 300 Meter and 1.5 Mile Run

metawabbit — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 14:51:03 -0800

What is the best training plan to improve my performance in a 300 meter and 1.5 mile run in 6 weeks? I am applying for a job that requires me to take a physical fitness test in about 6 weeks, which includes a 300 meter and 1.5 mile run. I am a 32 year-old male, 6 feet tall, 185 lbs. and I am fairly muscular, but mostly in my upper body. I don't have any formal background in running, but I usually jog about 4 miles once a week. I tried the 300 meter run this past weekend and was very discouraged with my time of about 50 seconds. I need to shave about 4 seconds off that time. I think my form is a large part of the problem. My wife was watching me and said that I looked too stiff and upright while running. Also, my forearms, around my elbows, were really sore right afterwards. Anyway, bottom line, is it realistic to expect that I can decrease my time by 4 seconds in 6 weeks? What is the best training plan for this? Should I do squats, lunges? Will a 10 lb. drop in my weight make much of a difference (this should be doable if I stop lifting upper body)? Should I be eating anything in particular? I've look at instructional videos online, but is there a better way to improve my form?

Teaching resources about racial concepts: their biological validity and various cultural expressions

LobsterMitten — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:22:51 -0800

I need teaching resources about race: the biology of human "races"; why "race" is not biological but social; how racial categories have shifted over time and place; and related questions on teaching about race? This is as a supplement to reading The Mismeasure of Man in a university "Critical Thinking" class. I need more science and verifiable cross-cultural examples to back up my "there are no biological races" claim. Give me your best clear, scientific teaching resources (websites, books, examples) about why the idea that humans belong to different biological races has been discredited.

Two objections I'm especially interested in answers to:
1. Sickle cell anemia, Tay Sachs disease etc. Some groups do have biological characteristics in common (eg susceptibility to certain diseases). Why not then say that race has some usefulness in making biological predictions?

2. "Why are blacks such great athletes? I heard they have extra tendons in their legs, and more ATP." (!!!) I have a student who is very attached to racial categories. What do scientists make of the observation that, for example, many Kenyans seem extra well-suited to be long distance runners? Is there any good science on this?

Another request - evidence that race categories are arbitrary and shifting.

3. Pictures and info on different racial categorization systems that have been used in different places and times -- the more different from present-day USA, the better.

4. Sources of quotes etc on past racial categorizations (eg, the filthy Irish) that would discriminate against people who would now be considered "white".

Why were there more black experts in 1980's "Free to Choose" than there typically are in today's TV?

The Toad — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 04:35:00 -0800

When watching Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose" (PBS, 1980), I was (pleasantly) surprised at the high number of black experts (and women) who were guests in the show. Not the usually array of exclusively old, white guys one would have expected. To be honest, I've never seen *any* public/TV appearances of black economists/social scientists outside of this program, e.g. in contemporary TV. I would have expected the opposite, since racial equality in the U.S. seems to have made some progress since the 70s/80s (or has it?)

Could it be that there there more blacks in this field (or in science, in general) in the 80s than today? Or did PBS have some kind of "quota"?

Disclaimer: I'm not from the U.S., so I may be missing something here.

It's a long walk. But I will walk hard.

toaster — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:26:50 -0800

How much should I tip (if at all) for a 10-minute massage after running in a race? I saw this thread, but I was not sure if it applies.

How integrated is Little Rock 50 years after Eisenhower sent in the Screaming Eagles?

anotherpanacea — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:57:31 -0800

What is the current racial composition of Little Rock Central High School? I'm most interested in public records and scholarly studies of the degree of integration and de facto segregation in Little Rock, but I'd also be interested in any anecdotal reports.

Getting from Mountain View to San Jose without Caltrain

epugachev — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:40:17 -0800

If you don't have a car, what's the best way to get from Mountain View to San Jose when Caltrain isn't running? I am staying near the Mountain View Caltrain station on Saturday night. I need to get to Santa Clara and Almaden in San Jose on Sunday morning for the start of this race. The race starts at 8, so I probably want to be there around 7. How should I get there?

Unfortunately, the first southbound Caltrain doesn't leave SF until 8 a.m., so that's out of the question. I have no experience with VTA--is it crazy to rely on it for a trip of that distance at an off hour? Is a cab my best option?

Cheech and Chong need not apply.

dhartung — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 07:23:57 -0800

How can I get inside the drug trade? Er, through movies (or books)? I'd like to check out movies about the retail end of drug dealing. I've seen Traffic (well, the US one). I'm waiting for Clockers. I've even seen Spun.

What I want is something that will portray, fairly realistically, drug dealing in a small city like my own. Here drugs are almost universally sold, at the most obvious level, by teams of small numbers of white women who hook up with large numbers of black guys. (I'm not just cherry-picking: one of them used to be a tenant of ours. She's now in the state pen.) How does this dynamic develop? How does it work? How much of it is love or getting free drugs or getting your apartment paid for?

I'm also just generally interested in resources which would give me a bit more about how the gangs work. Here the appearance is that there are two routes into town, one from Chicago via Rockford, and the other from Milwaukee. Regardless, there are a lot of Illinois license plates in our neighborhood.

At the next level down there are the teen gangs. There were never any real gangs here while I was growing up but it's pretty clear they're all over now. I'd like to have an idea how often, when I see a bunch of teenagers walking down the middle of the street wearing bright white t-shirts, they're following fashion or part of a gang. How much do racial lines matter? Mostly the kids here are white, with some Asians and Hispanics. Mostly these proto-gangs are black, but they have dealings with non-blacks too, and obviously plenty of the customers are white. (The gal up above whose black boyfriend was the dealer had a couple of mulleted white enforcers/mules who drove a Trans-Am and dressed like they were in an alternate universe Mukwonago Vice show.)

A second dynamic is, from scuttlebutt and interpretatin, a problem of big city minority parents sending their teenagers out of town for the summer. To get them away from gangs, or unsavory friends, or off their hands, who knows? They arrive here and suddenly the guy from Chicago is the Big Man. Bigger, tougher, scarier -- or just feels he has to be to live up to the rep, or establish one.

So. What we have right now is basically a drug house across the street. Quiet the first month, two white women, five kinda noisy kids, you'd think nothing was amiss. Then suddenly a passel of teenagers arrive, of various races, and take over the entire street for hours at a time. Trespassing, vandalism, noise until 2 a.m., all bad enough. It attracts regular friends and quasi-step-relatives, from what I can tell, then groups of teenagers walking by on the next street (a bit of a thoroughfare for that due to geography). Then, over a week or two, the crowd gets older and just as we're trying to drive back from dinner (me, my elderly parents, and my two nieces), we have a fistfight in our street, with about 15 guys egging everything on, setting my personal safety alarms ringing. Then the drug dealing starts, a thick-necked guy with a thick-necked pit bull selling pot right on the street corner in the middle of the day. The cops responded (on someone else's call, for once) and we saw plenty of communication and cooperation between our neighbors and the guys who were being picked up. (They took the dog inside, for one thing.)

Honestly, we've had this before, even on one of our own rentals. The neighborhood even had a handful of shootings. But we'd had a summer and a half of comparative quiet, then an absentee landlord lets this crew move in, and suddenly bedlam. (It grieves me to say I now understand viscerally how blockbusting works. Hint: the new family on the block is not the Cosbys.) The good news is that our new police chief got the city council to give him a nuisance eviction ordinance and we are told it is in the works for this address, but the wheels of justice move ever so slowly at times.

So, what I want is to learn more about this world and not feel like I'm doing so much guesswork. Obviously there are detrimental aspects to learning through entertainment but I do actually have access to some serious print stuff on the topic. None of it really addresses the human side. Obviously I learn a lot just looking out my front door, but I can't eavesdrop on conversations and such so I only get one face.

So, what movies can I rent that will get me inside this world? Dramatic movies are preferred. Medium-to-heavy realism, definitely. They can even be documentaries. I won't turn away book suggestions, though, fiction or non-fiction. I'm not averse to hardcore urban stuff, but stuff that doesn't fit that clichéd mold would be better.

Dire Straits song

zouhair — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 05:18:52 -0800

Dire Straits's song I can't recall, I remember the video of t was about a car race (nascar maybe) and the two guys trying to win to impress the same girl, and at the end the girl went with the loser Any bells ringin'?

Running Bay to Breakers

sweetkid — Tue, 15 May 2007 20:51:32 -0800

I'm running the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco next weekend. What to expect? This Sunday, I am flying from New York to SF to visit friends and run the Bay to Breakers. i've run a few races in NYC, but this is supposed to be crazy! What's it like? Is there actual running involved, or is it so crowded you have to walk a lot of the way (as Wikipedia says). Is it fun or just too crazy for words (or both?) If you've done it or know anyone who's done it, let me know.