-
The Latest Othering of Barack Obama
Many people have a hard time understanding the concept of “othering.” Perhaps it’s the way an adjective becomes a verb, or perhaps they’ve forgotten their Hegel. Either way, a nice refresher on the term is Forbes magazine’s latest cover story, “How He Thinks,” an utterly racist tirade penned by neocon Evangelical Christian Dinesh D’Souza. First,…
-
President Obama Ushers in 30th National HBCU Week
Barack Obama today issued a proclamation declaring next week, September 12 through September 18, 2010, National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week. Ever since President Jimmy Carter signed Executive Order 12232 in 1980, saying he sought to “strengthen and expand the capacity of historically black colleges and universities,” all other presidents have continued honoring HBCU…
-
Obama Pins Lagging Economy on Obstructionist GOP
On the day before the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, President Obama’s first major news conference in months resulted in him shifting a lot of blame to obstructionist Republicans — and Republicans immediately firing right back. Beginning just after 11:00 a.m., the president wasted no time in attacking the GOP, saying in his…
-
Dr. Laura: America's Turning Into a 'Not Offended Zone'
Early last month, syndicated radio host Laura Schlessinger caused a stir by saying the word “nigger” several times on her radio program. At the time, I wrote that what she said, while trite, was not racist. Nevertheless, a hail of criticism in the immediate wake of the incident caused Schlessinger to apologize and resign, saying…
-
Is There Less Anti-Islamic Sentiment Among Blacks?
It goes without saying that Americans have had a turbulent relationship with Islam in recent decades. Not only have African-American converts faced direct anti-Islamic sentiment for many years, but in the days following Sept. 11, many in the U.S. — including elected leaders — seemed to reflexively adopt an outright disdain for Arab Muslims (see…
-
Why Oil Spills Are a Racial Issue
Less than a month after the closure of the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, a new oil rig explosion just west of BP’s failed well has injured one man. Early this morning, Vermilion Oil Platform 380, a rig operated by the Houston-based Mariner Energy, exploded, sending 13 workers into the…
-
Can Nonviolence Change the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict?
Analyzing the relative dearth of monetary aid to the victims of recent flooding in Pakistan, experts theorized that Americans were being tight with donations partly because the crisis was so distant — both literally and culturally. It’s a fact of life that if people can’t empathize with a problem on a very visceral level, it’s…
-
Obama's Iraq Speech: Expect It to Be Sober and Low Key
At the beginning of Manderlay, Lars von Trier’s underrated 2005 film about the legacy of American slavery, the audience is given a brief glimpse at the gates of fictional Alabama plantation Manderlay. Atop the wrought iron fence, which overlooks a modest but healthy cotton crop, is a short passage from Alabama’s eponymous state song: “Little,…
-
Glenn Beck's Small Rally, 'Big Fat Mouth'
Two notable things in the wake of Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally this weekend, at which the Fox News host declared that America needs to reject hate and “turn back to God”: 1. While official crowd estimates are notoriously tricky—and subsequently inaccurate—a nonpartisan approximation commissioned by CBS News puts the rally’s attendance at 87,000, about…
-
Not Much Talk About MLK at Glenn Beck Rally
The true story of Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor rally at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial today is one of cognitive dissonance. In the weeks leading up to the event, Beck, perhaps fearing left-wing backlash, chose to speak only vaguely about his intentions, saying that he hoped Restoring Honor would “restore the values that founded…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
