The 44 Percent: new Baldwin interview, climate gentrification and Trick Daddy
There’s something about James Baldwin’s prescience that has always stuck with me.
I can still remember the first time I cracked open “The Fire Next Time,” curled up poolside in a plastic chaise lounge at a New Orleans hotel, hanging on every word and repeatedly checking the year of publication because there was no way Baldwin could have written it in 1963. His critiques of America seemed just too relevant during those mid-August 2017 nights. I sat there speechless, totally in shock that his words still resonated, especially in the days following Charlottesville’s violent Unite the Right rally.
Fast forward roughly four years and again Baldwin emerges, seemingly out of thin air, as an entire sect of the country is hellbent on eliminating the teaching of institutional racism from classrooms. This time, Baldwin, in a shelved 1979 ABC interview, confronts white fragility in a way that suggests he still walks among us – granted in a spiritual, Ben Kenobi-like fashion.
“White people go around, it seems to me, with a very carefully suppressed terror of Black people—a tremendous uneasiness,” Baldwin said. “They don’t know what the Black face hides. They’re sure it’s hiding something. What it’s hiding is American history. What it’s hiding is what white people know they have done, and what they like doing. White people know very well one thing; it’s the only thing they have to know. They know this; everything else, they’ll say, is a lie. They know they would not like to be Black here. They know that, and they’re telling me lies. They’re telling me and my children nothing but lies.”
Later in the interview, the late Sylvia Chase asks Baldwin if he believes slavery put a curse on America. It’s a pointed question, one that requires the Harlem-born novelist to expound on the specific period of American history that terrifies the slipping White majority. And Baldwin, as compelling as ever, delivers:
“The American sense of reality is dictated by what Americans are trying to avoid,” Baldwin said. “And if you’re trying to avoid it then how can you face it?”
That continues to be the trillion-dollar question. As much work as it takes to commit to a certain version of history, America’s reconciliation with slavery could’ve been completed. Everything else — from acknowledging Juneteenth as a federal holiday to removing Aunt Jemima from a syrup bottle — is just performative.
INSIDE THE 305
Another study finds climate gentrification in Miami, this time in the rental market:
The rental market could offer more insight into the effects of climate change, according to a new study.
By analyzing evictions and rising rental rates, researchers created a map that details the areas most susceptible to climate gentrification, a phenomenon used to explain the displacement that occurs when higher ground – usually in historically Black and Hispanic communities – becomes more valuable due to rising sea level.
Using the rental market rather than property sales gives policy makers and housing advocates a more current look at the issues in Miami-Dade, according to activist Annie Lord.
“The selling is the story of the last decade. The homes are all bought out. It’s all LLC-owned anyway,” said Lord, the head of affordable housing advocacy group Homes For All. “The story here is eviction threat; that’s what’s going to displace people now.”
Although Miami became the first city to study the effects of climate gentrification in 2018, little to no solutions have been posited. Helping to protect these at-risk neighborhoods was at the heart of lead author Marco Tedesco’s decision to study the link between climate change and gentrification, though he’s careful not say all gentrification can be deemed climate-related.
“We cannot claim that every time we see a red block it’s only because of climate, but differently from more classical gentrification tools, it does account for climate aspects and, in this case, flooding,” Tedesco said. He added that if governments wait for undeniable proof that solely climate change was behind the gentrification laid out in his findings, the displacement will be irreversible.
“That’s the same excuse you’ve heard about climate change in the past,” he said.
Related Stories:
Climate gentrification: Is sea rise turning Miami high ground into a hot commodity?
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As seas rise, your coastal home in Florida could lose value. One report says 15% by 2030
Hospitality workers begin ‘Freedom Ride’ to D.C. to protest restrictive voting laws
More than 30 UNITE HERE Local 355 hospitality workers and allies will make the two-day bus trip to Washington D.C. in an effort to combat restrictive voting laws. Billed as the “Freedom Ride for Voting Rights,” the South Florida-based union will be among the 1,500 hospitality workers and Black Voters Matter advocates from across the country who plan to march Saturday to pressure Congress into passing election reform legislation.
“For many many years, our ancestors have fought really, really hard to get us to where we at,” said Kandiz Lamb, the vice president of UNITE HERE 355, “and we refuse to let these politicians take us backwards.”
As of Monday, 21 states, including Florida, have enacted laws that will make voting more difficult, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.
“We as a country, as a nation, as a people have gone through this for so many years,” said Duane Thwaites, a concession stand manager. “... That’s kind of disappointing [but] I think it’s good that we’re still fighting and we haven’t been discouraged.”
Two of the 36 people making the journey were 9-year-olds, one of whom, Blessing Decius, even shared her illustration of the bus. Marie Gilles, Decius’ grandmother, brought her along so that she could learn “everything about the right to vote.”
“When grandma dies, she’s supposed to replace grandma,” Gilles said just before leading Decius onto the bus.
Related Stories:
Mail ballots, drop boxes targeted in voting bill passed by Legislature
DeSantis signs voting bill before pro-Trump audience. Election supervisors concerned
Another legal challenge filed against new restrictions on voting by mail in Florida
OUTSIDE THE 305
Las Vegas Raiders’ Carl Nassib becomes first openly, active gay male athlete:
In the 101-year history of the NFL, there has never been an active, openly gay player. Carl Nassib changed that when he came out Monday.
“I just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest,” the Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman said via Instagram. “I really have the best life, I’ve got the best family, friends and job a guy could ask for. I’m a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I’m really not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important.”
Accompanying Nassib’s announcement was his $100,000 donation to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit dedicated to suicide prevention in LGBTQ youth. An outpouring of support soon followed with everyone from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to John Collins, a former NBA player who, in 2013, became the first male athlete to come out as gay, congratulating Nassib.
“Very proud of Carl Nassib!” Collins tweeted. “Incredibly happy for him and can’t wait to watch him play this upcoming season!”
Apparently Collins isn’t the only person excited to watch the Raiders in the Fall, either. Nassib’s jersey was Fanatics’ top-selling NFL jersey on Monday and Tuesday, according ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Black World War II veteran finally receives Purple Heart:
Talk about long overdue.
Osceola “Ozzie” Fletcher, 99, was awarded the Purple Heart Friday for his service in World War II, an honor that he and others believe would’ve been bestowed years ago if it weren’t for racism.
“It’s about time,” said Fletcher during Friday’s festivities. “You will remember the Fletcher name now.”
Fletcher, then a 22-year-old Army private, was wounded on D-Day, June 6, 1944, after a German missile struck his vehicle. He had been on his way to deliver supplies to Allied forces in Normandy, a type of menial labor commonly relegated to Black soldiers at the time.
“Black soldiers didn’t get the Purple Heart. They got injured, damaged, hurt. But they never got wounded,” Fletcher told Our Time Press in late 2020. “Only the white men who were wounded got Purple Hearts.”
Led by his daughter Jacqueline Streets, the fight for Fletcher’s recognition took seven years – in part hindered by a fire that erased his service records, according to the New York Daily News. Streets, however, praised the laborious process during a ceremony held at the Fort Hamilton Community Club in Brooklyn.
“My dad’s a pit bull, and he did not teach his puppy to give up,” said Streets. “Most said this wasn’t possible, which honestly makes it that much sweeter. But that pit bull and his puppy were not giving up.”
HIGH CULTURE
Beyhive goes to work after Trick Daddy shades Beyoncé, Jay-Z:
If you play with the Beyhive, don’t be surprised when you get stung.
Trick Daddy took to Clubhouse on Monday where he shared a rather unpopular opinion of Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z.
“Beyoncé don’t write music and barely can sing her motherf--kin’ self,” Trick said, later adding Jay-Z has never been consider “the greatest rapper alive.”
The Beyhive — Beyoncé’s army of superfans — came to their namesake’s defense almost immediately, jumping on Yelp to drive down the rating of Trick’s Miami Gardens-based restaurant Sunday’s Eatery. By Wednesday morning, Yelp had disabled comments on Trick’s restaurant page but not before a post blasting the cooking and praising the drinks won my “Most Creative Shade” award.
“The food was appalling! I’ve never in my life tasted such filth,” someone wrote before referencing Beyonce’s critically acclaimed sixth studio album: “The Lemonade, on the other hand, was divine.”
Where does “The 44 Percent” name come from? Click here to find out how Miami history influenced the newsletter’s title.
This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 3:30 PM.
