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“The above photo was taken in the fall of 1941 at the University of Washington before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. At the time, they were UW’s single largest ethnic group. But by spring, they were gone, shipped away and incarcerated in internment
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“Walker’s success as a campaigner was to her detriment as a mother…America’s icon often went to feminist meetings and rallies and left Rebecca to fend for herself. Her daughter experimented with drugs and became pregnant at 14.”
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“Why is there so much violence in the Niger delta? And why should we care?”
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“The Economist’s bid to appeal to more youthful readers seems to be paying off after two 17-year-olds created a rap about the business title, while a Facebook fan group created by a teenage schoolgirl has enjoyed a surge in popularity”.
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“This child is being abused and is clearly being groomed for much worse. This girl is clearly indicating that she is not consenting to be on video tape so tell me why YouTube has left this up for 5 months, and 75,000 people have viewed this?”
macintyre wrote:
Wow – that picture of the former internees is very powerful to me, because it makes me imagine what it must have been like to be non-Japanese at that university and see that whole group of people just disappear overnight… I wonder how many of their classmates knew it was wrong? How many said something?
Posted 07 May 2008 at 9:07 am ¶
gatamala wrote:
The marriage did not last but it produced Rebecca: a living, breathing, mixed-race embodiment of the new America that they were trying to forge. The problem was that, during her childhood, Rebecca felt precisely that — a political symbol rather than a cherished daughter
kids are not a social experiment or a panacea for racism….Walker should have known better and done better
I just can’t see someone this callous as a political icon.
Posted 07 May 2008 at 9:14 am ¶
Mouses08 wrote:
Every child is allowed their opinion, but I’m a little sick of Rebecca Walker’s mother bashing. I’ve read both of her books and she comes off as a little self-absored and ungrateful. At some point you need to stop blaming your mother and take responsibility for your own life. While her mother may be a tyrant and not so friendly, Rebecca should give her credit for at least giving her the name recognition that makes what she has to say worthy of a book.
Posted 07 May 2008 at 2:58 pm ¶
vodalus wrote:
While her mother may be a tyrant and not so friendly, Rebecca should give her credit for at least giving her the name recognition that makes what she has to say worthy of a book.
As an woman who grew up with an emotionally distant mother who constantly undermined my self-worth in order to push me to succeed–I would trade all the outside accolades for her to have loved me as I was when I was a child. Rebecca was pregnant at 14; I tried to kill myself. I still have a highly biased and negative view of myself as a result of my mother’s treatment. I think Rebecca would make that trade too.
I’m not saying that it’s the same thing, but I can definitely identify with feeling wholly unlovable and I can definitely identify with the life-long struggles that can emerge in response. I definitely wouldn’t be the same success without her “pushing” me, but I would probably be happier with myself. What good is success or fame if you can’t imagine anyone loving you?
Posted 07 May 2008 at 5:33 pm ¶