THE COLOR INITIATIVE
The 'Color Initiative'
In the 'Color Initiative' series Phillip Martin examines complex global issues of politics, culture, history and society through the framework of human perceptions and experiences related to color.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
COLOR INITIATIVE REPORT 8: PUERTO RICO'S RAINBOW
THE COLOR INITIATIVE - Puerto Rico's RAINBOW
Color identity in Puerto Rico is nuanced. Its large historic mix of African, indigenous and Spanish is why some over the decades have referred to Puerto Ricans as the “rainbow people”. But how do Puerto Ricans see themselves and how wide, diverse and enduring is the rainbow, really? A new report challenges the notion of racial harmony in Puerto Rico. The latest in my series of reports on color around the globe.
Racial attitudes in Puerto Rico (8:30)
August 20, 2008 | download | permalink | email | Yahoo! Buzz
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http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/20318
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COLOR INITIATIVE REPORT 7: BROWN
July 14, 2008BROWN: What's in an ethnic name? (6:00) PRI's The World
How do Mexican Americans (among other Latinos/Hispanics) see themselves? And why is this significant in the discussion of color, race and the question of what it means to be Latino? The writer Richard Rodriquez sees contemporary Mexican-American identity symbolized by the color "Brown". But while this self-identification may resonate for many Chicanos, how is "brown-ness" viewed by Mexicans on the other side of the border? Reporter Philip Martin explores how Mexican-Americans see themselves today.
http://www.theworld.org/node/19450
LUZ GONZALEZ, dean of the School of Social Sciences, California State University at Fresno:
Mexicans have no clue what we go through in this country to defend our rights. They have no clue. In Mexico they deal with their own issues. See, their issues there are among Indians and themselves and Mesticos. They deal with social status, so you’re not going to get this brownness, cause it doesn’t mean anything to them over there.
A shop keeper named Geraldo says he never hears Mexicans refer to each other as brown – even if he says he's open to the idea.
GERALDO IN MEXICO: The actual word brown says a lot by itself. REPORTER—HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT YOURSELF AS BROWN? Actually, yes, because even though I’m not that brown. I know that I have half-Indian and half Spaniard, the blood running through my veins.
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The Color Initiative is funded by the Ford Foundation, with additional resources provided by the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities and the Funding Exchange (Paul Robeson Fund).
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Georgia: The Logical Conclusion of Un-checked Neo-Nazism in Russia
Read my full analysis on The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phillip-martin/neo-nazism-in-russia-was_b_119509.html
Thursday, August 14, 2008
EVEN THE WEALTHY ARE HAVING WOES
MARKETPLACE RADIO
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Stacey Vanek-Smith: We've heard a lot about people struggling in the current housing market having trouble making ends meet. But what about the monied masses? New York's upper-east side was recently named the most privileged area in the U.S. But even there, concerns about the economy abound. We sent Philip Martin to caviar country to check it out.
AUDIO: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/08/14/wealthy_woes/
ALSO SEE: http://measureofamerica.org/