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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
Orange county regional history center
How U.S. law enforcement failed to see the threat of white nationalism
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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
36 hours in Tucson
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By Elaine Glusac The New York Times Sat., Nov. 3, 2018 TUCSON, ARIZ.—As Austin is to Texas, Tucson is to Arizona. In this outspoken university town, artists, intellectuals and athletes share their passions for good food and outdoor fun. In Tucson’s case, its location in the southern Sonoran Desert divides two sections of scenic Saguaro National Park where cactuses reside in multi-limbed groves. Two years ago, UNESCO cited Tucson as the nation’s first City of Gastronomy, highlighting its mix of Native American, colonial Spanish and border Mexican influences. That recognition seems only to have lit the fuse on new and adventurous breweries and distilleries as well as restaurants. With challenging urban hikes, other, more remote, trails nearby, and a new bike share system, Tucson makes for a calorically balanced weekend. Friday 1) 1:30 p.m. Tour de Tucson Reliably dry weather and a variety of terrain have made Tucson, newly home to a bike share … [Read more...] about 36 hours in Tucson
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
Facebook and Amazon are so big they’re creating their own company towns — here’s the 200-year evolution
caption Richard Suchanuk cuts grass in front of one of his rental properties in Marktown section — a former company town — of East Chicago, Indiana, April 16, 2013. source Getty Images Mega-corporations – from Facebook to Amazon – are creating modern-day company towns. In Menlo Park, California, Facebook plans to build a new campus with 1,500 residences, a walkable retail district, a grocery store, and a hotel for its employees. Meanwhile, Amazon recently announced that it will build a second headquarters that could effectively turn the chosen city into a company town – much like what happened to Seattle when the online retail giant came to Seattle in the late 1990s. Dubbed HQ2, approximately 50,000 employees will work there. Since the 19th century, companies have built company towns across the United States – municipalities where they own large percentages of the housing, stores, schools, churches, roads, and parks. In these … [Read more...] about Facebook and Amazon are so big they’re creating their own company towns — here’s the 200-year evolution