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Saturday, September 15, 2018
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[Residents are evacuated out of New Hanover County ahead of Hurricane Florence in Wilmington, N.C., on Wednesday.](
Residents are evacuated out of New Hanover County ahead of Hurricane Florence in Wilmington, N.C., on Wednesday. Eric Thayer for The New York Times
[Lauretta Charlton]
Lauretta Charlton
As Hurricane Florence made landfall this week, I was reminded of the film âDaughters of the Dust,â Julie Dashâs 1991Â [masterpiece]( about a Gullah community that lives on the Sea Islands off the South Carolina coast.
The narrative of the film, which is set in 1902, is centered on one familyâs decision to migrate to the American mainland, and the spiritual and emotional costs of leaving their home on the island.
Gullah communities still exist along the Carolina, Georgia and Florida coasts. Today, on St. Helena Island, in South Carolina, there are about 5,000 Gullah people, the descendants of slaves who worked on rice plantations before the Civil War.
This week, many members of these remaining Gullah communities [chose to stay]( rather than evacuate their homes as Hurricane Florence approached, a decision that [they say]( was influenced by both economics and tradition.
I canât help but wonder if it was also influenced by the fear that if they were to leave, they would not be allowed to return.
While the family members in Ms. Dashâs film have different opinions on whether to stay, it hasnât always been a choice for the black Americans along the coast who âhave seen their land and way of life threatened by rising property values,â as my colleague John Eligon [wrote]( in February.
As youâll see below, the history is both disturbing and fascinating.
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[Some of the Wealthiest Towns in Hurricane Florenceâs Path Were Once Home to African-Americans](
[A group of freed slaves on a plantation in Hilton Head, S.C., in about 1864. Left to former slaves after the Civil War, the area until the 1950s was predominantly African-American.](
A group of freed slaves on a plantation in Hilton Head, S.C., in about 1864. Left to former slaves after the Civil War, the area until the 1950s was predominantly African-American. CreditCreditCorbis, via Getty Images
[Adeel Hassan]
Adeel Hassan
The places that are most threatened by Hurricane Florence this week, especially along the coast of the Carolinas, were heavily and, in some areas, almost entirely populated and owned by African-Americans a century ago.
While many of these black residents have since moved elsewhere, those in pockets like Princeville, N.C., remain. One of the oldest towns incorporated by African-Americans in the United States, Princeville was devastated by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, but many residents chose to stay, hoping to avoid â[another lost colony](
Regina Cobb, 50, and her family have lived in Princeville for generations. âIf it floods this time, I think my family is out,â she said this week. âThis is Godâs way of saying: âItâs time to do something different.ââ
African-Americans have been driven from their homes in the region for decades, but the decision to leave has not always been theirs to make. In 1950, African-Americans were about a quarter of North Carolinaâs population, according to census data. Today, blacks are roughly one-fifth of the total population.
Andrew W. Kahrl is a professor of history and African-American studies at the University of Virginia and the author of â[The Land Was Ours: African-American Beaches from Jim Crow to the Sunbelt South]( Here we discuss race and the displacement of black coastal communities on the Atlantic.
[[Read the full interview](
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[The Republican Obsession With Antonio Delgadoâs Brief Career as a Rapper](
[Democratic candidate for New Yorkâs 19th congressional district, Antonio Delgado.](
Democratic candidate for New Yorkâs 19th congressional district, Antonio Delgado. Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times
[Astead W. Herndon]
Astead W. Herndon
Iâve been covering the midterms for four months, and by far one of the most compelling house races has been New Yorkâs 19th Congressional District, where Antonio Delgado, a former Rhodes Scholar and Harvard Law graduate, is running against the Republican incumbent, John Faso.
Mr. Delgado is running on a platform of expanding health care access. But Republicans have been fixated on his short career as a fledgling rapper named AD the Voice.
This week, the National Republican Campaign Committee released [a new television ad]( attacking Mr. Delgado for his former rap career. The ad juxtaposes AD the Voice lyrics against video footage from Mr. Delgadoâs campaign speeches.
âCriticize â itâs what a patriot does,â reads one of the lyrics used in the N.R.C.C. attack ad. âGod bless Iraq,â reads another. (For context, the full lyric is âGod Bless America. God Bless Iraq. God Bless Everyone.â)
In a [tweet]( a spokesman for the organization called Mr. Delgadoâs rap lyrics âanti-American.â
Back in July, Republicans released a similar ad on the radio, which IÂ [wrote]( about. During the subsequent backlash, clergy members from throughout the state wrote a letter saying, âThis tactic should be called out for what it is, a thinly-veiled, racist attack for the purpose of insinuating fear in the voters in our district.â
But the Republican Party has forged ahead with the same line of attack.
The tone of the new ad plays into larger attempts by Republicans to paint Democrats as unpatriotic and un-American. Part of the Democratsâ comeback strategy for the House this year has been to nominate a historically diverse slate of candidates intended to inspire a disparate coalition of voters.
Republicans have responded by maligning these nominees as out of touch, pointing to policy issues, or when it seems more convenient, the personal or ethnic background of the candidates.
With whites making up more than 80 percent of voters in the 19th, which stretches throughout the Catskills region of New York, the district is one of the whitest in the country. In July, Mr. Delgado told me he found the ad to be a bigoted deflection from more important issues, and said he still considers rap a guiding light for his political advocacy.
Who are his favorite rappers? J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and [Lauryn Hill](.
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A cartoon depicting the tennis star Serena Williams at the U.S. Open has ignited [controversy]( around the world. Was it racist? The Australian cartoonist says it wasnât. Many of her fans say it was. We went [live]( with Damien Cave, the Times Australia bureau chief, to discuss. Be sure to join our live conversations every Wednesday at 9 p.m. Eastern as we examine topics related to race and culture on The Timesâs [Facebook page](.
Join us on Sept. 20 in Portland, Ore., for an event with the activist DeRay Mckesson in conversation with Lauretta Charlton, editor of the Race/Related newsletter. Lauretta and DeRay will discuss his new book, âOn the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope,â as well as inclusion, communities, empowerment and more. Use promo code NYTIMES for $5 off the ticket price. [[Tickets](
If you have experienced, witnessed or read about a hate crime or incident of bias or harassment, you can use [this form]( to send information about the incident to [Race/Related]( and our partners in the [Documenting Hate project](.
Editorâs Picks
We publish many articles that touch on race. Here are a few you shouldnât miss.
[Derek Black and his father, Don, recording their radio show in 2011.](
Jason Henry for The New York Times
[Renouncing Hate: What Happens When a White Nationalist Repents](
By WES ENZINNA
Wes Enzinna considers âRising Out of Hatred,â by Eli Saslow, in the context of other recent narratives about extremists who changed their minds.
[The actress says her activism âcreates this impression of seriousness or that I wonât make mistakes, and thatâs daunting, because Iâm not always serious, and of course Iâll make mistakes.â](
Joyce Kim for The New York Times
[The Education of Amandla Stenberg](
By REGGIE UGWU
This 19-year-old actress and star of âThe Hate U Giveâ has become synonymous with a volatile strain of youthful, social-media-fueled, hyper-progressive celebrity.
[Elizabeth Catlettâs 1968 mahogany sculpture âBlack Unityâ and Faith Ringgoldâs 1967 painting âAmerican People Series #18: The Flag Is Bleedingâ in the new Brooklyn Museum exhibition âSoul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power.â](
2018 Catlett Mora Family Trust/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY; George Etheredge for The New York Times
[Radiant and Radical: 20 Years of Defining the Soul of Black Art](
By HOLLAND COTTER
âSoul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Powerâ at the Brooklyn Museum shows how black artists were galvanized during a time of social and political unrest.
[Botham Shem Jean speaking at Harding University in Searcy, Ark., in 2014. He was shot and killed by a white off-duty police officer in his apartment last week.](
Jeff Montgomery/Harding University, via Associated Press
[A Dallas Police Officer Shot Her Neighbor, and a City Is Full of Questions](
By MANNY FERNANDEZ AND MARINA TRAHAN MARTINEZ
The shooting of an unarmed black man by a police officer who entered his apartment has polarized Dallas and inflamed racial tensions.
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