3.
4A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY OF DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2009
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Presentation discusses black women in the media
BY DAVID UGARTE
dugarte@kansan.com
In an effort to uncover and dispel stereotypes about black women in the media, the Black Student Union and a group of students will hold a presentation and open discussion tonight as a part of Black History Month.
Rayshawn Holland, Kansas City, Kan., sophomore, said she thought the issue was important because many people overlooked it. As a black woman, Holland said she thought it was important for people to see there was more to black women than the negative
stereotypes shown in media, such as the portrayal of black women as being loud and vulgar.
"I grew up seeing these things on BET, but it's important to show positive aspects," Holland said. "Students only see what is on TV and movies, but there is more than that in black women."
Cameron Johnson, Kansas City. Kan., sophomore, is coordinating tonight's event.
Johnson said he was interested to hear what different people thought of the media's portrayal of black women.
The event will explore themes such as misogyny. Johnson will use
TV shows, movies, news articles and music videos to show how the media affects public opinion of minorities, especially black women.
"Black women are looked down on and I think we need to address that," Johnson said.
LeAndrea Wilson, Kansas City, Kan., sophomore, helped Johnson create the presentation and will help lead the discussion. She said the presentation would focus on positive and negative portrayals of black women because not all portrayals were detrimental. There are some television shows, music videos and movies, such as "Soul
Food," that show black women supporting each other and not being degraded as sex objects, Wilson said.
"Watching hip hop music videos or degrading shows like "Flavor of Love" as a younger person made me think that's how black women are supposed to act," Wilson said. "But coming to college and seeing a new aspect of how woman act and carry themselves has matured me."
Wilson said the issue was important for undergraduates to discuss because they were in a transitional period from high school to college. She said it was
BLACK WOMEN IN MEDIA
HOSTED BY: The Black Student Union, Cameron Johnson, Rayshawn Holland and LeAndrea Wilson
TIME: 7 p.m. today
LOCATION: Olympian Room in the Burge Union
DESCRIPTION: A presentation and discussion about how black women are portrayed in both negative and positive ways in movies, on the radio, TV and cartoons. The event is free and open to the public.
good for students to see that being a responsible, mature woman could make someone a positive role model for younger black girls.
"It has always been an important issue, but we feel that it should be addressed head-on." Wilson said.
— Edited by Carly Halvorson
Illinois senator could face impeachment, perjury charge
POLITICS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Embattled U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, D-III.) speaks at the City Club of Chicago Public Policy Forum on Wednesday.
BY DEANNA BELLANDI
Associated Press
CHICAGO — Should he resign?
Can he be forced out? Will he face criminal charges?
Illinoisans who thought they had put one big mess behind them with the ousting of Gov. Rod Loebgievich are getting that queasy, here we-go-again feeling from Sen. Roland Burris, who has given shifting accounts of how he came to be appointed to the Senate.
"I think he should resign," Ian Treptow, 58, a registered nurse in Chicago, said Wednesday. "He seems to have lied. We've got enough dishonesty."
A preliminary U.S. Senate Ethics Committee inquiry is under way. Illinois lawmakers have asked local prosecutors to look into perjury charges. And the chorus of calls for his resignation grows, even from his own party.
"Our state and its citizens deserve the whole truth, not bits and pieces only when it is convenient," Rep. Phil Hare, (D-Ill), said Wednesday in calling on Burris to step down.
Blagojevich was arrested on
Dec. 9 on charges he plotted to sell President Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat for campaign cash or a plum job for himself. Before he could be impeached and removed from office, he defied lawmakers by appointing Burris to the Senate.
Now Burris is accused of lying to an Illinois House committee back in January when he testified that he hadn't had contact with key Blagojevich staffers or offered anything in return for the seat.
Last weekend, Burris released an affidavit saying he had spoken to several Blagojevich advisers, including Robert Blagojevich, the former governor's brother and finance chairman, who Burris said called three times last fall asking for fundraising help. This week, Burris admitted trying, unsuccessfully, to raise money for Blagojevich.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the U.S. Senate's No. 2 Democrat, said Wednesday that Burris' statements "need to be looked at very carefully."
"His sworn testimony in Springfield did not satisfy our requirement in that it was not complete and we need to have the complete story before the final conclusion that we reach," Durbin said.
At a City Club of Chicago luncheon Wednesday, a fiery Burris asked guests to stop the rush to judgment.
"If I had done the things I been accused of, I would be too embarrassed to stand up here in front of you because you all are my friends," Burris said, adding that during his decades of public service there was "never a hint of a scandal."
Burris then said he would no longer speak with the media.
The Senate Ethics Committee could recommend disciplinary action up to and including expulsion, though the final decision would rest with the Senate as a whole.
That may be the only way, short of resignation, to remove Burris, whose seat would be up at the next regular election in November 2010.
There has been some talk of holding a special election sooner to fill the seat, but the constitutionality of that is questionable. And a special election would give the GOP a chance to snatch the seat away.
University of Illinois in Springfield.
That leaves Democrats with no good options, said Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the
"Blagojevich really hung them out to dry," Redfield said. "So the Democrats are going to make the best of a bad situation and Republicans are going to milk it for all it's worth."
In an editorial Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune called resignation the only honorable action left for Burris. And in Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Burris needed to explain the circumstances surrounding his appointment.
"If you don't like him, throw him out at the election," said 77-year-old retiree John Fussell, as he waited for a burger at the Kerner Kafe in the St. Louis suburb of Cahokia. "I think everyone should just shut the hell up and let it run. How much damage can he do in less than two years?"
Some Illinoisans said Burris should be allowed to serve until the next election.
Fussell figured Burris "wasn't as straight as he could be" when he testified before the state panel. But he said he was willing to give the 71-year-old Burris a pass, because "his memory may not be what it should be."