The Obama administration has decided not to attend the second international conference on racism in April. Many organizers and activists are disappointed, to say the least. The marriage may not be over, says Kimberle Crenshaw, but the honeymoon certainly is. We talk to Gerald LeMelle, Executive Director of Africa Action about the significance of the decision and what it says about the Obama administration’s commitment to addressing issues of race and discrimination throughout the world.
Then, Rev. Patricia Watkins, Executive Director of Target Area Awakening the Spirit of Leadership, Rami Nashashibi, Executive Director of the Inner City Muslim Network, Marcy Westerling, Executive Director of the Rural Organizing Project, and Kimberle W. Crenshaw, Executive Director of the African-American Policy Forum discuss what the implications will be here at home.
Finally, an Interview with Susie Orbach, the author of Fat is a Feminist Issue and most recently, Bodies. Our fixation on attaining the perfect body has come at a very high cost. Orbach discusses the role of the dieting and cosmetics industries in creating what is now a public health crisis.
Very refreshing commentary. Laura Flanders, you are so forthright and damn smart!
I was most intrigued by Susie Orbach’s views…she is still right on after 20 years! There needs to be a hypnosis-type program available to counteract all the negative-body messages and ridiculous images of women AND men which are so unreal. Capitalism-aly-speaking (for me, C-ism sucks), let’s switch-out the diet industry with the reality industry…eh? Let’s talk about the genetics passed down from generation to generation, usually a source of family pride…it includes physical attributes which cannot be morphed into anything (without surgery)that is for sale as uber desirable. It is part of who we all are…where we came from and how we look like Grandma Dempster…head to toe, that’s the wonder of belonging in a family that recognizes itself!
By GAH57 on March 10th, 2009 at 11:32 pm