National Civil Rights Museum To Open Lorraine Motel Balcony Where Dr. King Was Shot

The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee will be opening the Lorraine Motel balcony where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968. Until now, the balcony has been closed off from the public. After the renovations are complete in a few weeks, museum patrons will be able to go out onto the balcony. More here. 

'Pull 'Em Up' Campaign Collects Belts For Young People

A few weeks ago, while frequenting the classy establishment that is the Red Lobster, I sat by the lobster tank awaiting my shrimp platter.

Enter stage left -   

A man my age, Black, under thirty, with pants on the ground. Well, they were slightly above the ground but not by much. My mom, the elderly Black people in the lobby, and I gave him 'the look.'


One of the elderly patrons told him to pull up his pants and cover his drawers.

He apologized and I went off for my Cheddar Bay Biscuits. 

Not to sound like an old twenty-something but times have changed. I know it was Red Lobster but when I was growing up, we knew better than to expose our underpants in public. And if that even happened, a parent, grandparent, or stranger would remind us and demand that we get it together. (I even had a teacher who would make the boys wear hot pink string in lieu of belts if they wore their pants below their waists. It worked.)  

Unfortunately, the grandparents who grew up during the 30s and 40s won't be there to tell Millennials to "pull 'em up." 

What's going to happen then?

Cut to -

The Take Charge Foundation's 'Pull 'Em Up' campaign seeks to encourage young men to pull up their pants and take pride in their appearance. Based in Prince George's County, Maryland, it is holding a month-long belt drive with a goal of collecting 500 by November so that it can pass them out to high school students in the county schools.

Executive Director Jerrod Mustaf says, "We're trying to change the culture, step by step. The first step is to get the attention of young people and their parents. We're not going to accept or tolerate young men with their pants sagging. It's disrespectful, and they're not going to be hired for any jobs. We want to modify the culture of young people who believe it's cool to wear sagging pants."  

But this program is more than just a belt donation project.

The Foundation serves young people adjudicated through the Prince George's County court system. Most youth in the program are between age 14 and 18. It offers mentoring, life-skills, job readiness, parenting enhancement, crisis intervention, and gang prevention classes. 

Legislators in some states have taken efforts to criminalize sagging pants, including those in Alabama, Indiana, Florida, and Tennessee. Penalties that range from fines and jail time up to 6 months are on the books.  And yes, they have enforced these policies.

A little ridiculous if you ask us. We're sure these legislators have no better things to do except to legislate low-slung pants. Programs like 'Pull 'Em Up' actually seek to teach and reform instead of criminalize. Maybe this is asking too much of legislators who are elected by being "tough on crime" but we expect better. 

More here.

Revisionist History at its Best: Tennessee Tea Party Says 'take the slavery out of American History textbooks'

American History without slavery? Say what?

A school board in Texas succeeded in whitewashing slavery in students' textbooks last year.  

[Among other revisions were the replacement of the term 'trans-Atlantic slave trade' with 'Atlantic triangular trade.']  

Now, Tea Partyers in Tennessee are attempting to accomplish the same goal.  The group wants to remove references to slavery altogether and, you know, the fact that the 'founding fathers' owned slaves.  

Spokesperson for the group, Hal Rounds, says that textbooks should focus more on the 'revolutionary' nature of the founders instead of any hypocrisy that might have taken place. 

The Tennessee group handed out leaflets that said:

Neglect and outright ill will have distorted the teaching of the history and character of the United States.  We seek to compel the teaching of students in Tennessee the truth regarding the history of our nation and the nature of its government.

'Truth regarding the history of our nation' includes mass murder, smallpox blankets, and, oh yeah, slavery.  There's no need to clean it up or make it more appealing.   

I think that's impossible.  When I was in secondary school, the pictures of slaves in books featured them smiling and dancing in colorful garb.  Textbooks have progressed a bit in less than 10 years and now is not the time to take steps back.  

More on the nonsense here.