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The Politics of Fear and Loathing in 2016
Everywhere I turn, I find friends and acquaintances who are not merely concerned, but frightened. A kind of raw ugliness to our national politics, not really seen in the post-World War II era, seems to be in fashion. Nothing has brought this home more forcefully than the success of Donald Trump in recent Republican presidential…
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Sanders Beats Clinton 49-49: The Real Story Behind the Iowa Numbers
In 1968 the Harvard Crimson ran the poignant headline “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29!” Yale and Harvard were undefeated going into their matchup that year, with Yale a heavy favorite. As expected, Yale got out to an early 22-point lead. But in the last few minutes, Harvard scored 16 unanswered points and bested (tied) the prohibitive…
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The Power of the Obama Race Formula
(The Root) — Race is one of those subjects that can get you quick-flash-fried in American public life. Like a small drumstick dropped into a boiling cauldron of grease, a public figure can be burned to a crisp in seconds. From Al Campanis, Jesse Jackson and Don Imus to Trent Lott, Reverend Jeremiah Wright and…
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Why the Zimmerman Jury Failed Us
(The Root) — America is racist at its core. I used to doubt this simplistic claim. Today I cannot. The murder of Trayvon Martin demands total, simple, honesty. A jury in Florida failed us. We have not seen a moral failure this grave since a similarly all-white jury in Simi Valley, Calif., in 1992 acquitted…
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We Need a New Vision for the Brown Decision
(The Root) — One year from now, we will mark the diamond jubilee, or 60th anniversary, of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. I fear the celebration will be a muted, if not deeply ambivalent, moment. Brown enshrines some transcendently important principles. But at the same time, with almost 60 years of…
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When Terror Hits Home
(The Root) — Boston is a diverse, complicated and rugged city. As a transplant to Boston from Los Angeles, I will say honestly that one does not easily or quickly warm to this city and its ways. Boston makes you want and earn membership. Los Angeles will always be home for me with everything that…
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How America Built the Racial Wealth Gap
(The Root) — The cynic might say that except for a small number of exceptional figures like Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey or Michael Jordan, America is not much interested in truly full inclusion for African Americans. Any fair assessment must concede that the black road to full citizenship in America has been marked by a…
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Time to Remove Race From Gun Debate
(The Root) — Let’s face it, in America today black life is still not valued the same as white life. This is especially true when it comes to how we respond to and even discuss guns and violent crime. This is one of my key frustrations with the current gun-control debate and the question of…
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A Peek at America's Super-Diverse Future
(The Root) — Diversity works. Every now and again it is refreshing — indeed, profoundly rejuvenating — to get a reminder of that fact. And I don’t mean this as just another celebration of the political coalition that has twice elected Barack Obama. No, I mean this in terms of everyday experience and the real…
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Quiet Bias: The Racism of 2013
(The Root) — America is not yet done with the illness of racism, the electoral success of Barack Obama notwithstanding. Yet most white folks don’t want to talk about or hear about race anymore. And a good many black folks fret that it is strategically wiser for us to let it alone for now. I…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
