By Miriam Jordan The New York Times Thu., Dec. 6, 2018 BEDMINSTER, N.J.—During more than five years as a housekeeper at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Victorina Morales has made Donald Trump’s bed, cleaned his toilet and dusted his crystal golf trophies. When he visited as president, she was directed to wear a pin in the shape of the American flag adorned with a Secret Service logo. Because of the “outstanding” support she has provided during Trump’s visits, Morales in July was given a certificate from the White House Communications Agency inscribed with her name. Quite an achievement for an immigrant housekeeper living in the country without legal permission. Morales’ journey from cultivating corn in rural Guatemala to fluffing pillows at an exclusive golf resort took her from the southwest border, where she said she crossed illegally in 1999, to the horse country of New Jersey, where she was hired at the Trump … [Read more...] about Immigrant woman worked at Trump’s golf club without proper documents — she wasn’t the only one
Orange county department of education
The Freedom Trail in Mississippi is a chronicle of outrage and courage
By Richard Rubin The New York Times Fri., Nov. 16, 2018 A lot of people could have said “The past is never dead — it’s not even past,” but it was Faulkner who actually said it, which makes sense when you consider that Faulkner was from Mississippi, and in no place is the past less dead than Mississippi. I’ve never seen as many roadside historical markers anywhere as I have here, and I live in New England. Mississippi still celebrates Confederate Heritage Month and Confederate Memorial Day, and retains the Stars and Bars in its state flag, but in recent years it has taken care to celebrate other parts of its history, as well. In the past, all those roadside markers were put up by the state, and terse; but lately other groups and organizations have undertaken their own projects, like the Mississippi Country Music Trail and the nascent Mississippi Writers Trail, that feature information-rich markers with text covering both sides, and even … [Read more...] about The Freedom Trail in Mississippi is a chronicle of outrage and courage
How U.S. law enforcement failed to see the threat of white nationalism
By Janet Reitman The New York Times Tues., Nov. 6, 2018 The first indication to Lt. Dan Stout that law enforcement’s handling of white supremacy was broken came in September 2017, as he was sitting in an emergency-operations centre in Gainesville, Fla., preparing for the onslaught of Hurricane Irma and watching what felt like his thousandth YouTube video of the recent violence in Charlottesville, Va. Jesus Christ, he thought, studying the footage in which crowds of angry men, who had gathered to attend or protest the Unite the Right rally, set upon one another with sticks and flagpole spears and flame throwers and God knows what else. A black man held an aerosol can, igniting the spray, and in retaliation, a white man picked up his gun, pointed it toward the black man and fired it at the ground. The Virginia state troopers, inexplicably, stood by and watched. Stout fixated on this image, wondering what kind of organizational failure had led to the debacle. He had … [Read more...] about How U.S. law enforcement failed to see the threat of white nationalism
Billionaire Dan Gilbert has already bet $5.6 billion on Detroit’s future, but money can’t solve his biggest challenge
Dan Gilbert moved his mortgage company Quicken Loans to downtown Detroit in 2010 and founded his real-estate company Bedrock a year later, when the city was just a few years from bankruptcy. Bedrock has invested or allocated a total of $5.6 billion across 100 or so properties in downtown Detroit and nearby neighborhoods, and said it has 98% occupancy of office and residential properties. Gilbert’s family of companies employs 17,000 people and is the largest employer and taxpayer in Detroit. Its level of influence on a major American city is unprecedented. With this influence comes critics skeptical of Gilbert’s ability or desire to transform the city in a way that is inclusive of its majority black and working-class populations – a criticism he’s responded to with increased outreach and partnerships. Getting the lasting support of the local community is an ongoing challenge for Gilbert, and one that will take much … [Read more...] about Billionaire Dan Gilbert has already bet $5.6 billion on Detroit’s future, but money can’t solve his biggest challenge