Race Inquiry Digest (February 8) – Important Current Stories On Race In America

Feature – They considered themselves white, but DNA tests told a more complex story. As more Americans take advantage of genetic testing to pinpoint the makeup of their DNA, the technology is coming head to head with the country’s deep-rooted obsession with race and racial myths. This is perhaps no more true than for the growing number of self-identified European Americans who learn they are actually part African. Read more 
DNA Tests on an Ancient Skeleton Reveal the First Briton Was Black, Not White. ‘It really shows up that these imaginary racial categories we have… are not applicable to the past at all,’ said one project worker. Read more 

The Latino Flight to Whiteness. Based upon trends in racial self-classification, one has to be skeptical about the emergence of “majority-minority” America. Read more 

Uncovering the roots of racist ideas in America. My persisting research question was not merely what racist ideas influential Americans produced, but why they produced those racist ideas at a particular time and how those ideas impacted America. Read more 

Black history is U.S. history — but some of my students don’t want to hear it. Whether at the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, Duquesne, George Washington or University of Maryland University College, the refrain from this small but vocal minority has been the same. Read more 

The corrupt, racist proposal from the State of the Union address that everyone missed. “I call on the Congress to empower every Cabinet secretary with the authority to reward good workers — and to remove federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people,” he said. Read more 

Eric Holder’s Group Targets All-G.O.P. States to Attack Gerrymandering. Because of the broad authority Republicans hold in many states, and the favorable maps many Republican lawmakers have drawn for themselves, Mr. Holder said his group would spend money wherever Republicans appear to be vulnerable. Read more 

Black Americans mostly left behind by progress since Dr. King’s death. How much has really improved for black people in the U.S. since 1968?  African-Americans were only beginning to move into neighborhoods, colleges and careers once reserved for whites only. Read more 

Chadwick Boseman Reflects On Past Experiences With Racism. The “Black Panther” star said he knows what it’s like to confront racism in the American South. “Going to high school, I’d see Confederate flags on trucks,” Boseman said. Read more 

It’s Time We Stop Ignoring Afro-Latino Health Disparities In The U.S. Afro-Latino Americans (also sometimes referred to as black Hispanics) are often left out of social equity discussions entirely and out of discussions about health equity in particular.  A 2016 study found health disparities between Afro-Latinos and white Latinos that closely resembled those between non-Latino black and white Americans. Read more 

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