Race Roundup

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Some quick news and information from around the way:

Racist remarks? Say stop!

When a relative recently made a disparaging remark about blacks to Arica Prejean in the presence of her children, Prejean immediately repudiated it. "There was no hesitation," said the 28-year-old, who is white and lives in Lafayette, La. She considers speaking out against racism part of her job as a parent.
New wave of pop culture humor turns tables on racists

But what happens when the target of jest is not the race, but the racist? We're finding out with a surge of ironic pop culture race humor that runs the gamut from television's 30 Rock and the Harold & Kumar movies to a handy little book bearing the loaded title A Practical Guide to Racism.
West High School freshman arrested

A West High School student was arrested by Tracy Police on Friday morning after he admitted to making "fear-provoking" and "racially charged" phone calls to the home of a local African-American family, police said. The 14-year-old freshman, whose name wasn't released because of his age, made upward of 11 prank phone calls late Thursday night and early Friday morning, including threatening to kill the family and burn a cross on their yard, Tracy police Detective Nate Cogburn said.