James Watson retires after racist remarks
October 26, 2007
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James Watson, the Nobel Prize wining scientist who basically said that black folks are inferior, retired today as chancellor of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Long Island - and says something else that can be perceived as controversial.
From the New York Times:
He also referred to his Scots and Irish forebears, saying their lives were guided by faith in reason and social justice, “especially the need for those on top to help care for the less fortunate.”
Hmm… sounds like he is alluding to the “White Man’s Burden“.
His retirement comes on the heels of the uproar resulting from his black inferiority comments, which are not new by no means.
Supreme Court to free Genarlow Wilson
October 26, 2007
Well about time. This should have been done a LONG time ago.
A quick recap, Genarlow Wilson was convicted under an archaic Georgia Law that was supposed to protect children from abuse by adults. Wilson’s conviction was a result of having consensual oral sex with a 15-year old, he was 17 at the time. At the time, the mandatory sentence was 10 years, as a result, he went to prison, lost a scholarship to college (he was a great student), and was to be registered as a sex offender.
Georgia legislators recognized the law was, frankly, retarded and changed it. However, they did not make it retroactive - so Wilson’s conviction was upheld and he remained in prison.
Now, after two years spent in prison and multiple appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court has brought down a ruling stating that Wilson’s teen sex conviction was cruel and unusual punishment:
“Although society has a significant interest in protecting children from premature sexual activity, we must acknowledge that Wilson’s crime does not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children. For the law to punish Wilson as it would an adult, with the extraordinarily harsh punishment of 10 years in prison without the possibility of probation or parole, appears to be grossly disproportionate to his crime.”
The decision was made on a 4-3 vote and upheld a lower court’s ruling that Wilson’s conviction was cruel and unusual punishment and thus his sentence should be reduced to a year and that he should not be placed on the sex offender registration.
For more background, feel free to check out the information Wikipedia has on Genarlow Wilson.
Wilson can be released as soon as a Monroe County judge issues a new order and serves it to the state attorney general.
Black inferiority claims are not new
October 24, 2007
Recently, a Nobel Prize winning scientist made the claim that people of African descent are intellectually inferior than Westerners, aka, white people. James Watson, a Nobel Prize winner for his part in the unraveling of DNA who now runs one of America’s leading scientific research institutions, had this to say in regards to his “gloomy” outlook for Africa:
“all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really”. He said there was a natural desire that all human beings should be equal but “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true” Read more
Resources page added and the future of Nubian Waves
October 23, 2007
As of yesterday, I have added a Resources page to the site. It contains links to any resources that are primarily targeted to African Americans. The list will be every changing, sometimes it will be large, sometimes it will be small. Some items will be removed and some will never be removed (like John Hope Franklin’s book - From Slavery to Freedom). Right now the list is composed mainly of books, but it will definitely include resources utilizing other media (like videos, podcasts, websites, etc.).
A note about Nubian Waves
When I started BlackintheCity.net as a blog, I admit, my writing was all over the place. This was due to the fact that I had no idea what I really wanted to focus on. It was a combination of writing and provide functions on the site that would bring readers mixed with my own interests.
That will not happen with Nubian Waves.
I have a focus and know exactly what I want with this site. As such, new functions and content will only be added that fall within this focus.
With that said, here is the focus/purpose of Nubian Waves:
To provide informative content that seeks to entertain and educate at the same time - “edutainment”, in the hope that Nubian Waves can do its part in uplifting and empowering the African American community.
Think of this site as your personal coach and consultant in regards to numerous subjects from an African American perspective.
So how will this be done?
- The blog articles - The content will follow the purpose outlined above. Though there is an Entertainment & Celebrity Gossip category, posts will rarely fall under that banner unless they meet the purpose of the site or I just feel like posting something I think is funny. Make sure to subscribe to the RSS feed.
- The Resources Page (already explained above)
- Link love - The “afrosphere“, as it is beginning to be called, is quite large and there is no way I can read all of the blogs being written. Feel free to submit links to interesting articles because I will start creating posts that will solely list links to said articles. To submit, use the contact form and make sure the links are relevant to Nubian Waves content.
- Guest Contributors - If you would like to submit an article you have written, email it to contributors at nubianwaves dot com. Make sure to include a short bio (2 or 3 sentences) that contains a link to your blog (if you have one).
- The Empowerment Institute - Sorry, I can’t provide any info, it will be a surprise once launched.
- Events - I will finally be offering events and seminars in the New York City area, I will also be available for speaking engagements. More information on this coming soon.
I am pretty excited about the future of Nubian Waves and hope that you are as well. With that said, what do you think and do you have any ideas on what you would like to see on the site?
Time for me to update the “About” page.
Slavery continued until 1961 for Wall family
October 17, 2007
I just got finished reading about this and did some research myself to make sure it was true - and true it is.
I always knew slavery continued following the formal abolition during the Civil War. Some have said it continued in some areas 20-30 years afterward, into the 20th century.
Enter the Wall family. They were enslaved until 1961. Yes, read that again - 1961.
There are so many people (race deflectors) that argue that slavery has no effect on today’s society, which is crap of course. However, what will some of those people say about this family that was actually enslaved until 1961?
I first found out about Cain Wall and his family via the blog entry, They Didn’t Get The Memo That Slavery Was Over, which recounted the story told in the March issue of People Magazine.
So I got the original article from People Magazine. Read more
