The strength of this piece is in its writing, its supporting links and its purpose - inviting the reader to consider the African American contribution to Mardi Gras tradition in New Orleans. The writer's photo gallery supports her argument that Mardi Gras is a family affair.
This is a well sourced, thoughtfully told story of one man's effort to chronicle a community's African American history on the web. Great story. Great writing.
Even at a student newspaper, when an article states that "About 80 percent of the University's faculty are white and less than five percent are black" and that the school has "low retention rates among the black population, particularly among males," the article must also present the university's point of view either through an interview or statement. This article presents the voices of Black students who feel isolated very well, but does not balance that with the university's side.
The article offers facts about African American's relationship with the Republican Party, but without attribution. The only support for statements like "A widely-held belief is that the Republican strategy is now to glean from the Obama euphoria in order to win back defected Republicans and African-American votes in four years" comes from the lone voice who is critical of Steele, which happens to be a National Newspaper Publishers Association columnist. Finally, the writing switches between present and past tense.
Solid piece on how America's cultural divide impacts the career of Tyler Perry and the success of his films. The article balances Perry's success as a producer/director with the limited reach of his films.
The questions were self-conscious and didn't probe Wilmore for his insights into Black humor as the set-up suggested. The show's callers asked more pointed questions, inviting Wilmore to discuss why there seems to be a double standard for the content that can be taken up by White versus Black comedians and where Wilmore thinks comedians should draw the P.C. line in their acts.
Useful article with good statistics on African American women and health. The four tips on boosting health for African American women, however, were pulled directly from "The Black Women's Guide to Healthy Living." It would have been useful if experts unrelated to the book were also called upon to back up the book's advice.
Sound reporting. An informative profile of Ben Jealous. The profile is particularly good at using Jealous to situate the NAACP in a 21st Century context.
I'm surprised that Voice of America published this article. It is a one-source story. I do not doubt that the Nigerian university professor cited in this article is well-versed in global politics and economics. But he cannot speak for all Africans. And that's exactly what this article and its title would have you believe. The article reads as if the professor's insights are shared by all Africans. If there was additional reporting, it is not reflected in the article.
One of the reasons that there is so much interest among African Americans in the type of DNA tests mentioned in this article is that the reporter often covers a famous African American person (in this case, Isaiah Washington) who takes a DNA test to find out which African nation his/her ancestors inhabited. The problem with this article and with others is that very little care is given in explaining that the DNA results are not necessarily accurate. Just one paragraph out of this ... More »
from Mark Steele
| 02/26/2009
I would have liked to have seen some sources who were closer to Jealous personally and professionally, but there is a lot to learn about the man in this piece.