DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! Here are the links we’re perusing today:

Omega Psi Phi brothers celebrate centennial at D.C. birthplace “Indeed, the next four days are a time of fraternity for the brothers, much as it was a hundred years ago when three Howard University students and their faculty adviser established the first black fraternity at an all-black university. The two other all-black fraternities at the time had been founded at white institutions.” (The Washington Post)

His parents said, ‘Not with a white girl’ “I couldn’t fathom that my race could make me the ‘wrong kind of girl’ for anyone. Yes, it was white privilege that blinded me to the fact I might be the bottom of the barrel on someone else’s race card.” (CNN)

Mayor Gray’s Interfaith Council has a Scientologist on it “Guess how many Buddhists, Mormons, Hindus, and Jehovah’s Witnesses there are? Zero.” (TBD.com)

Everybody Loves D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier “A poll released by Clarus Research Group in March puts her approval rating at a cosmic 84 percent…’Who else has an approval rating like that?’ asks political consultant Chuck Thies. ‘Just the Dalai Lama.’” (Washington City Paper)

Black professionals leading the charge of gentrification across Anacostia “Just who is a gentrifier?…Although gentrification in much of the city means an influx of young white professionals, in communities east of the river it’s overwhelmingly young black professionals who are moving in — or, in some cases, moving back.” (The Washington Post)

Will the recession hurt immigrants’ move up the economic ladder? Immigrants may be the among the last to recover from the recession. (Multi-American)

Alt-Weeklies: Dancing Around Diversity? The newsrooms of alternative weekly newspapers tend to be much less diverse than their mainstream and daily counterparts. Some editors are talking about ways to change that by recruiting a more diverse workforce. (Maynard Institute)

McDonald’s Revamps Happy Meal To Include Fruit, Reduce Fries Serving Size Happy meals will have 20 percent less calories now. The fast food chain has come under fire for offering kids unhealthy food while a childhood obesity epidemic rages on. (Slate)

Ethiopian heritage camp in Va. offers togetherness to adopted kids, families White families who have adopted children from Ethiopia converge yearly for a camp in the outskirts of D.C. Parents learn Ethiopian culture basics. One adopted child says, “I don’t see brown people very often where I live. And now, I see all these other kids and families that look like mine… I know I’m not alone. It’s not just me.” (The Washington Post)

Facebook and Twitter used to plan ‘flashrob’ raid of Victoria’s Secret store A group coordinated a raid of a high-end lingerie store in Georgetown on Facebook and Twitter. “Flashrobs” have taken place elsewhere in the neighborhood. (Daily Mail)

After Discovery, State Quietly Moves to Scrub N-word From Official Documents New York environmental regulations, written many years ago, still include a racial slur. (Wall Street Journal)

H Street gentrification and revitalization is an old story Local, national and international news outlets have been writing the H Street gentrification story for more than a decade. (TBD)

Blaming the Capital instead of the Capitol D.C. gets a bad name when federal budget negotiations go awry, but the people who live here don’t even have a voting representative in Congress. (We Love DC)

Captain America’s Fictitious, Integrated 1940s America Comic books may address segregation in America’s history, but cinematic adaptions seem to dodge the issue almost entirely. (The American Prospect)

‘Can I touch it?’ The fascination with natural, African-American hair Despite the fact that for years many black women choose not to process their hair, some still ask to touch their tresses. (CNN)