Writing at Salon, Roxane Gay explores modern-day racism and dismisses exhortations by whites that blacks simply “get over” it. She asks how this implausible request can be accomplished when racism is flourishing and silently condoned by some whites. A couple of weeks ago, I was in the Dallas Fort Worth airport with a long layover.…

Roxane Gay at Salon dismisses Russell Simmons’ apology tour in the aftermath of the “Harriet Tubman Sex Tape” scandal, calling it pro forma. The media and fans need to demand more of celebrities, including Tyler Perry and Quentin Tarantino, whose denigrating depictions of African Americans, especially women, have reaped them millions. I initially thought I was…

Roxane Gay, in a trenchant piece at Salon, breaks down the varying ways in which Trayvon Martin, a victim, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, an alleged terrorist, have been racially profiled by the media and Americans in general. She points out that the light reflects a kinder glow on Tsarnaev, who is white, than on Martin, who was…

In her piece for Salon, Roxane Gay argues that racism hurts everyone. She explores the racism that led to the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. A young and unarmed black man was walking home from a convenience store and was murdered by a man with a gun who claimed he was defending himself.…

Roxane Gay’s piece at Salon declares that it’s wrong that American culture allows men to control and objectify women, from pop culture to legislative fights over reproductive rights. She cites Robin Thicke’s latest single, “Blurred Lines,” which promotes  “the age-old belief that sometimes when a woman says no, she really means yes.” In his single…