The Voice newspaper...
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 11:21 pm
I was reading back some of mine and other people's comments on the thread I started about Keith Blakelock and I re-read my comment where I mentioned The Voice newspaper. Having The Voice newspaper now in my head I thought I'd go on their website, something I've not done before, just out of curiousity. Have a look at this article. Just when you thought journalism couldn't get any more stupid (for those who don't know The Voice is "...is aimed at the British African-Caribbean community.") An article about the royal baby they have to turn into a feature about historical race issues and mistreatment. Here it is:
(STARTS)
The name George was a 'racial slur'
A look at the African American story behind the royal baby's name
Written by Tanika Cato
ROYAL NAME: Prince William and wife called their first child George
THE NAME George is set for a popularity boost after Prince William and his wife chose it for their new son, but what some may not know is that it has been common among African Americans for hundreds of years. Yesterday the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced to the world that their son would be called George Alexander Louis, to be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge. During the slave trade many black men were referred to as George, after George Pullman, the engineer and industrialist who was known for hiring them shortly before the Civil Rights Movement began.
However, it was used as a racial slur.
High class passengers who were travelling on Pullman trains called them all 'George' so they did not have to learn their names. And this historical quirk was documented in the 2002 film 10,000 Black Men Named George. The movie dramatises the struggle of two black men, one political activist Asa Phillip and railway car porter Ashley Totten who organise railway porters to challenge the head of the Pullman railway company. A number of prominent African American figures were named George including Black Panther George Jackson and George W Johnson who became the first African American to record music commercially.
There is also George Alcorn who is credited with creating over 20 different inventions including the X-ray spectrometer. Also prominent in US history is George Washington Carver, a famed scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor, whose work helped poor farmers grow alternative crops. Not to leave Britain out, one of the hottest spoken word acts in London George the Poet whose poetry that can be seen on YouTube and various other outlets, mixes social and political comment with humour. In sport, George Weah is known as one of the greatest African footballers of all time and has played for English, French and Italian teams.
(ENDS)
Here are four comments people posted under the article:
"I am black and proud but I have this question to ask: Just how do these silly articles pass through the editor's desk at The Voice? By George! Are all the writers this silly? If this is what the British education system is producing... may God save us! If you were desperate for a story to give "the black point of view" on the name George you could have looked into the figure of St George in Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. The Church of St. George (Amharic: Bete Giyorgis?) in Lalibela, Ethiopia, is one of the wonders of the world."
"Chip on all your shoulders."
"Oh grow up you completely pathetic moaning morons... IT'S 2013 quit your whining you all get treated far better than white people these days who have become 2nd class citizens... I'm so bored of hearing you lot complain. Enough already!"
"Get a grip"
----I don't know much about The Voice, but it seems like a rather odd newspaper. Anyone on here read it, and what do you think of it? It "..is aimed at the British African-Caribbean community" as stated, but some white and Asian people read it too I'm sure.
(STARTS)
The name George was a 'racial slur'
A look at the African American story behind the royal baby's name
Written by Tanika Cato
ROYAL NAME: Prince William and wife called their first child George
THE NAME George is set for a popularity boost after Prince William and his wife chose it for their new son, but what some may not know is that it has been common among African Americans for hundreds of years. Yesterday the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced to the world that their son would be called George Alexander Louis, to be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge. During the slave trade many black men were referred to as George, after George Pullman, the engineer and industrialist who was known for hiring them shortly before the Civil Rights Movement began.
However, it was used as a racial slur.
High class passengers who were travelling on Pullman trains called them all 'George' so they did not have to learn their names. And this historical quirk was documented in the 2002 film 10,000 Black Men Named George. The movie dramatises the struggle of two black men, one political activist Asa Phillip and railway car porter Ashley Totten who organise railway porters to challenge the head of the Pullman railway company. A number of prominent African American figures were named George including Black Panther George Jackson and George W Johnson who became the first African American to record music commercially.
There is also George Alcorn who is credited with creating over 20 different inventions including the X-ray spectrometer. Also prominent in US history is George Washington Carver, a famed scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor, whose work helped poor farmers grow alternative crops. Not to leave Britain out, one of the hottest spoken word acts in London George the Poet whose poetry that can be seen on YouTube and various other outlets, mixes social and political comment with humour. In sport, George Weah is known as one of the greatest African footballers of all time and has played for English, French and Italian teams.
(ENDS)
Here are four comments people posted under the article:
"I am black and proud but I have this question to ask: Just how do these silly articles pass through the editor's desk at The Voice? By George! Are all the writers this silly? If this is what the British education system is producing... may God save us! If you were desperate for a story to give "the black point of view" on the name George you could have looked into the figure of St George in Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. The Church of St. George (Amharic: Bete Giyorgis?) in Lalibela, Ethiopia, is one of the wonders of the world."
"Chip on all your shoulders."
"Oh grow up you completely pathetic moaning morons... IT'S 2013 quit your whining you all get treated far better than white people these days who have become 2nd class citizens... I'm so bored of hearing you lot complain. Enough already!"
"Get a grip"
----I don't know much about The Voice, but it seems like a rather odd newspaper. Anyone on here read it, and what do you think of it? It "..is aimed at the British African-Caribbean community" as stated, but some white and Asian people read it too I'm sure.