Hopelessness and hope in urban America
Regular readers know I’m closely following the New Haven Independent, among the most journalistically substantial of the non-profit community news sites.
This morning I want to share with you an astonishing story from the Independent on the state of urban America — a feature by Melissa Bailey on community volunteers who cleaned up the dried blood left behind in a three-family home after a recent murder.
Not to indulge in clichés, but it’s a story that quite literally combines hopelessness and hope. And the comments actually cohere into a worthwhile conversation.
Closer to home, if you missed Boston Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham’s Sunday piece on Maria Dickerson, a Springfield woman raising the four children left behind by her murdered friend, it’s not too late.
Good call running it on page one and giving Abraham the space she needed to tell the story properly.
These stories are so touching . . .
It’s nice to spend some time pointing out whats right with the media.
It is exhausting constantly griping about the misguided value of balance that equates to giving opposing (and not equally qualified) sides a quote and a central place in the report’s narrative.
Ditto what Neil said, especially since this is domestic violence awareness month. Thanks Dan!
Wasn’t sure where to call attention to this, but the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette is following a story that has distinct echoes of the issue that embroiled Prof. Gates earlier this year. In this case, a 15 year old male (do I even have to mention that he was black?) was shot to death by police in broad daylight while apparently trying to get into the very house that he lived. Naturally, someone called the police to report a burglary in progress.
Shoot first, ask questions later?