DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! Here are the links we’re reading, right now:

Call Me a Fool for Love: I Heart Black Men “I don’t begrudge any Black woman for stepping beyond the boundaries of race to find her man. More power to those who have and will. It’s just not my twist. Experts may warn and studies may show that I should give up on the brothers. And even in my own experiences, I’ve had them pass me over for a white chick, but it hasn’t happened often enough to make me quit cheerleading for their team.” (Clutch)

Ward 8 Residents Split on Barry Re-election Bid “Barry is known as a seasoned, passionate legislator and one who does not hold his tongue when it comes to fighting for the issues that he cares about…there are some residents who say that he has not done much for the ward since his since his first re-election in 2004. Ward 8 has the highest unemployment rate in the city at approximately 25 percent according to D.C. Department of Employment Services and the lowest homeownership rate of any ward, 24 percent, according to city statistics.” (Washington Informer)

Montgomery County proposes flash-mob law “Mr. Rice, a Democrat, also refused to draw any conclusions from the fact that those involved in the Germantown incident were black. ‘This is not an African-American problem,’ he said. ‘This is a problem with youth and making sure they understand the repercussions and the seriousness of the crimes that were committed.’” (Washington Times)

Multicultural Marketing Dictionary Is Out of Date “I maintain that when most marketers call their work ‘multicultural,’ what they are really referencing is work that is ‘multi-color-all.’ Through the use of Benneton-like casting, they have convinced themselves that casting from a diverse talent pool endows their message with a cultural filter. Nothing wrong with diverse casting, but pigment alone doesn’t automatically equate to cultural relevance when all too often the behaviors and storylines that dominate are not culturally aligned in any meaningful way.” (Advertising Age)

D.C. schools see new faces — many of them white News flash: District of Columbia Public Schools are becoming integrated ?– with white people. In D.C. today, diversity means adding Caucasians. Numbers tell the story. A decade ago the District’s school population was about five percent white. The percentage climbed to seven percent in 2009; the latest statistics show the number is nine percent. ‘We may have broken into double digits,’ says Abigail Smith, chief of DCPS transformation management. ‘It’s a big deal.’” (Washington Examiner )