17 Jan, 2019
The Annual Whitewashing of Martin Luther King Jr.
“Every year I ask myself questions about the shameful exploitation of Martin Luther King Jr.–why do Americans love to disgrace...
10 Jan, 2019
Combating Racism With Exposure
“When I started volunteering at a youth detention center, whose incarcerated population was entirely African American and Latino, I was...
8 Nov, 2018
Myths on Race and Invasion of the ‘Caravan Horde’
“Now comes the mid-term elections. Perhaps what is most astonishing for me, as both an anthropologist and educator, is the...
18 Jul, 2018
Mixing guns and racism
“In Illinois, as in all the rest of the states, it’s legal to carry a concealed handgun, unless you’re at...
8 Jul, 2018
Coarse culture resurgent racism
“From calling Mexicans rapists and animals to calling the one African American at one of his rallies “my African American,”...
18 May, 2018
Two Prongs of a Pitchfork
“Such gentle abhorrence! It almost doesn’t seem like racism. “But they’re also not people that would easily assimilate into the...
15 Mar, 2018
Breaking the ice
“Perhaps the best political news of the Trump era has been the emergence of sanctuary cities — city governments valuing...
14 Jan, 2018
Trump’s Comments Recall a Racist Past in Immigration Policy
“The condemnation of Trump’s remarks on immigration has been swift and widespread. Most of the denunciations cast his ideas as...
28 Jun, 2017
The fire burns, the cauldron bubbles
“America serves up its news in a cauldron from hell, or so it sometimes seems. The fragments are all simmering...
2 Feb, 2017
‘White privilege’ makes some uncomfortable
“Years ago, I visited our state’s former black mental hospital and fell into conversation with a witty, friendly, black psychiatrist.He...
30 Dec, 2016
Cops Copping Out
““I wasn’t trying to offend anyone.” This seriously has to be among the most ludicrous cop-outs of all time. These...
9 Dec, 2016
One Black Woman’s View
“What is the root of racism, the cause of conflict, the answer to anger? As we transition from our nation’s...
27 Nov, 2016
Bending the Arc
“Maybe this much is true. Donald Trump, pseudo-president-elect, loser of the real election, charismatic stump-speech populist whose actual ability…” Robert...
16 Nov, 2016
A Nation Up for Grabs
“And so we are a nation up for grabs. Racist populism trounces . . . uh, trumps . . ....
21 Oct, 2016
“13th”
“Netflix’s new 100-minute documentary, “13th,” conceived and directed by Ava DuVernay, should be required viewing not only for high school...