MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The statue of Confederate fighter Nathan Bedford Forrest astride a horse towers above the Memphis park bearing his name. It's a larger-than-life tribute to the warrior still admired by many for fiercely defending the South in the Civil War - and scorned by others for a slave-trading past and ties to the Ku Klux Klan.
ROME (AP) - Last week it was Silvio Berlusconi, who got into hot water for praising Benito Mussolini. This week it's the former premier's younger brother who sparked outrage - by calling an Italian superstar soccer player of African descent the family's "little black boy."
In a much-viewed video clip, Paolo Berlusconi told a crowd of supporters Sunday that he was off to the soccer stadium to see Mario Balotelli, a prolific striker recently acquired by his brother's AC Milan soccer team - calling him by an insulting and patronizing term for black people.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Washington Redskins' team name has been the subject of legal battles, political debate, and now will be part of a scholarly discussion at the Smithsonian about the use of Native American mascots and nicknames in American sports.
The National Museum of the American Indian will host a daylong symposium today entitled "Racist Stereotypes and Cultural Appropriation in American Sports." Scholars, sports writers, and Native Americans will gather for the public discussion.
NEW YORK (AP) - Civil rights lawyers urged a judge Monday to stop the New York Police Department (NYPD) from routinely observing Muslims in restaurants, bookstores, and mosques, saying the practice violates a landmark 1985 court settlement that restricted the kind of surveillance used against war protesters in the 1960s and '70s.
The city responded by saying it follows the law, but some legal experts say it might be time to look more closely at police practices as the Sept. 11 attacks fade into history.
