You’re tellin’ white lies You’re tellin’ white lies Well I can see right through that thin disguise Can’t you tell I can tell when you’re telling’ white lies? —Jason and the Scorchers, “White Lies” Forget so-called “political correctness.” In Arizona, there is a far greater threat to free speech and educational integrity — a new […]
Last week, Forbes Magazine’s small business reporter Gene Marks penned a column that has set the internet abuzz ever since. Therein, Marks, who quite accurately describes himself as “short, balding and mediocre,” proceeded to counsel poor black children as to how they might succeed in America, despite facing, by his own admission, longer odds than […]
Everywhere you turn, conservatives are bemoaning the so-called “mentality of entitlement.” To hear such folks tell it, the problem with America is that people think they’re owed something. Of course, income support programs, nutritional assistance, or housing subsidies have long been pilloried by the right for this reason — because they ostensibly encourage people to […]
I knew it was a conversation that at some point I would have to indulge; and last night, amid commemorative news coverage of the events of September 11, 2001, it became apparent that the time had come. Although I had previously discussed the events of that day and the aftermath of those events with our […]
Here is a three-part video of my presentation from a few months ago, at a Boston Public Health Commission Event, in which I discuss, mostly, racism and its connection to health. Part I Part II Part III
Here is an interview and full speech video from May at Edmonds Community College, in Lynwood, WA, conducted by Christine Hudyma. This interview was immediately following my lecture at the school, and explores issues ranging from my own upbringing and involvement in antiracist work, to larger matters of institutional racism, white racial resentment in the […]
Sometimes you just know it’s going to be a long day. Especially when the subject line of the first e-mail of the morning reads like this: “HEY NIGGER LOVING KIKE…” There are lots of things one can think upon reading such a well-crafted piece of prose. Among them: 1) Ya’ know, there really should be […]
Here is the link for my recent speech in Austin, Texas (2/24/11), at St. James Episcopal Church
This essay appeared on Colorlines, under a different title. _________ It’s been a rough year for Martin Luther King Jr., and for his legacy. First, as has become an annual ritual, politicians went to church or some other civic gathering for last year’s King Day celebration, even as they continued to support public policies that […]
There is an incredible new study out, which confirms the inherent weakness and actual dangers of colorblindness as a way to challenge racism. According to the researchers from Northwestern, Stanford and Tufts, taking a colorblind approach with young children — such as instructing them to “focus on what makes us similar” rather than dealing constructively […]
