Feature – White People Are Noticing Something New: Their Own Whiteness. Being white in America has long been treated, at least by white people, as too familiar to be of much interest. It’s been the default identity, the cultural wallpaper — something described, when described at all, using bland metaphors like milk and vanilla and codes like “cornfed” and “all-American.” Read more
How Much Can Democrats Count on Suburban Liberals? In the mid-to-late twentieth century, Enos writes, “whites — spurred by forces including their own racism — abandoned the inner cities.” But, he goes on, that “is not where the story ends. Attitudes do not remain static.” In practice, the very fact of being segregated creates an environment in which hostile views “become even more negative and their political consequences even more severe.” Read more
WHAT TRUTH SOUNDS LIKE by Michael Eric Dyson. Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America. A social and political analyst reflects on racial tensions in contemporary America. A Kirkus book review. Read more
#SummerReading: Recommended New Books on the Black Experience by Ibram X. Kendi author of the national best seller, “Stamped from the Beginning.” With summer quickly approaching, I have compiled a list of recommended new non-fiction books. All of these books, which were published as early as February or will be published this summer, offer valuable insights on the Black experience in the United States and across the globe. Collectively, these books deepen our understanding of race and racism, and provide the necessary tools for antiracism work. The list is organized alphabetically. See the list with summaries.
The United States’ Long History Of Separating Families Of Color. America has been a place where children are torn from the arms of their parents since the time of slavery. Later, the U.S. decided to pursue a similar approach with Native American children, sending them to government-run boarding schools en masse in the late 19th century. Trump’s policy, it seems, is just the latest iteration of American leaders invoking government authority to keep families of color physically apart. Read more
Sally Hemings Takes Center Stage. Sally Hemings takes center stage in Monticello on Saturday when the Thomas Jefferson Foundation opens an exhibit in a space where she is said to have lived for some time. Her story is told through the recollections of her son Madison Hemings. Read more
Why black women’s experiences of #MeToo are different. In April, a 25-year-old black woman named Chikesia Clemons was violently arrested by police at a Waffle House restaurant in Alabama. Clemons’ experience is not unique. In the U.S., black women are not afforded the same regard for bodily privacy as white women. Read more
Three Years After Dylann Roof, Neo-Confederates Are Back. Three years ago today, a Confederate enthusiast murdered nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, provoking a national reckoning with the symbols of the Old South. And yet, despite that reckoning, it is clear that neo-Confederate ideology remains alive and well in America. In some quarters, it is flourishing. Read more
San Francisco’s First Black Female Mayor Defies the Liberal Litmus Test. Her turbulent election proves there’s still a gap between African American voters and the progressive movement. Read more
It Shouldn’t Have Taken a Lawsuit to Find Out Harvard Was Biased Against Asian Americans. Blum is exploiting these fears for the benefit of white applicants. If he succeeds in outlawing race-conscious factors, then people of color who are already dramatically underrepresented in higher education will further fall behind in an admissions game that often advances racial privilege. At the end of the day, it would be ruinous if Harvard lost the case and the courts banned affirmative action. Read more
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