Albuquerque Newsdesk

ABQ restaurant removes ‘Black Olives Matter’ sign after backlash

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One week after police shootings and death of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota rocked the country and led to nationwide protests, an Albuquerque restaurant wrote “Black Olives Matter” on its outdoor sign to promote its weekly special. The message is a not-so-subtle reference to the Black Lives Matter movement that began in 2013, following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the controversial killing of Trayvon Martin. The loosely-organized movement has focused on killings of African-Americans, including shootings by police. Paisano’s, an Italian eatery located in a northeast neighborhood on the Eubank Boulevard and Indian School Road intersection, also wrote “try our tapenade” below “Black Olives Matter” and posted the message on its Facebook page Wednesday. Tapenade is a spread made primarily from olives.

Community Voices

Everywhere is a Gila

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Hakim Bellamy is the Inaugural Poet Laureate of Albuquerque, a position which he held from 2012 to 2014. Originating in America’s first designated wilderness area — a protection inspired by Aldo Leopold — New Mexico’s Gila River is a mainstay for the region’s recreation economy and a biological gem whose riparian forests boast one of the highest concentrations of breeding birds in the country. But it’s now at risk from a billion-dollar diversion project. After three failed attempts to dam and divert this still-wild river, developers are hoping the fourth time’s a charm. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has until November 23 to decide whether to allow the project to go through.

Community Voices

Test Anxiety (a poem)

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Test Anxiety by Hakim Bellamy
You know,they might be rightabout these tests. I mean,they’ve never slept with students.Never called out sick.Never went on strike. The test doesn’t gettoo attached to the students.Never shows uplate for work.Never forgets a student’s name.Never tells inappropriate jokesor shows a moviewhen it doesn’t feel like testing. The test always has the right answer,but it never says the right thing. The test never bringsanything to the faculty potluck.Never stays late to helpstudents who are having a hard time.