Since October 2015, Cal State San Bernardino has been mentioned in The New York Times, the nation’s de facto newspaper of record, seven times — and twice more on two consecutive days this past weekend.
The university’s role the Smithsonian National Museum of American History collection initiative, “Latinos and Baseball: In the Barrios and the Big Leagues,” was highlighted in an article on Sept. 18.
And the day before, Sept. 17, a new study by the CSUSB Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism on crimes against Muslim Americans was explored.
In the article about the Smithsonian collection initiative, The New York Times interviewed Cesar Caballero, dean of the university’s John M. Pfau Library, home to the Latino Baseball History Project, which has contributed to the Smithsonian’s effort and has been collecting items locally since 2004. In fact, the university hosted the first national collection event Feb. 19-20, led by Caballero.
He told The Times that the Smithsonian’s national prestige and expertise heightened the local project’s profile and helped to uncover important stories of Mexican-American teams that played in the area.
“The stories that are resurfacing as a result of this project are prime examples of its importance,” Caballero told the newspaper. “Without regional projects and a strong national project, such as the Smithsonian’s ‘Latinos and Baseball’ project, most of these stories, as well as the history of their communities, would not be documented for current and future generations.”
Not mentioned in the article, however, is that Pfau Library’s Latino Baseball History Project has published a series of books on how Latinos and the sport have impacted communities.
The Smithsonian and its 10 partners in nine states have held four collection events this year — at CSUSB, Kansas City, Mo., Los Angeles and Syracuse — with more planned, including one in Alamosa, Colo., this month.
The entire article can be read online at “Smithsonian highlights Latino players as part of baseball’s racial history.”
In the article about the latest study on hate crimes against Muslim Americans, The Times interviewed Brian Levin, professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.
The center’s study found that hate crimes against American Muslims were up 78 percent over the course of 2015, the newspaper reported. Attacks on those perceived as Arab rose even more sharply.
“We’re seeing these stereotypes and derogative statements become part of the political discourse,” Levin told the newspaper. “The bottom line is we’re talking about a significant increase in these types of hate crimes.”
The study, “Hate Crime in the United States,” has since been cited by news media internationally.
The entire article can be read online at “Hate crimes against American Muslims most since post-9/11 era.”