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NPR News and Notes With Farai Chideya

Archive for the 'Economics' Category

31 Mar

How Racism Blunts American Generosity

As frequent readers of this blog already know, I have long held that our inability to openly discuss and resolve racial issues limits what Americans will do for each other even as we claim the common, seemingly unifying objective of wanting our country to be as prosperous and as ideal a place that it could [...]

27 Mar

Education - America’s “Defective Product”

As the presidential candidates clamor for the return of living wage jobs now outsourced to other countries, AT&T seeks to bring back 5,000 customer service jobs from India. And you know what? They are having a hard time finding Americans with the skills and education needed to fill those jobs.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - The [...]

23 Mar

The Topsoil: Power to the Peeps

Contributor Andrew Padula has been in situations throughout his life where he’s felt compelled to address racial issues from his unusual perspective. Andrew is a white, politically conservative, blues musician who’s been teaching and touring the U.S. and Europe since 1993. He can be seen with blues legend Bobby Parker on B.E.T. Jazz Central as [...]

30 Nov

Disney does Dumb

Dumbfounded? So was I when I first saw this. My next clear thought was that the late Walt Disney, a reported Nazi sympathizer, is probably doing a little jig somewhere having a good belly laugh.

Lead paint isn’t the only element that can make our children’s playthings harmful or destructive. Teaching young people that a [...]

16 Aug

The Dunbar Village Horror

This case reads like an incomprehensible headline out of the poorest and most isolated war torn regions of another country. But it happened in Florida, about two months ago. Here are the details:
After dark on June 18, the police say, as many as 10 armed assailants repeatedly raped a Haitian immigrant in her apartment [...]

06 Aug

The Racial Reset Button

Recently, I’ve been asked both directly and in roundabout ways, “When do we get to press the racial reset button?” The people who’ve asked this question seem to feel tired of dealing with racial issues and in particular are frustrated by the level of “black anger” they encounter. Those who ask this question want to [...]

05 Jun

Blog for Domestic Workers

 
Today is blog for Domestic Workers Day. This idea was ignited by Salty Femme, but I found out about it at The Anti Essentialist Conundrum, a blog I frequently read.
My grandmother Rosa Belle and my mom Dorothy spent years scrubbing crud out of other people’s toilets in homes and hotel rooms and taking care of [...]

31 May

Quantifying Racism

Harvard Professor Roland Fryer is someone you should know about. He works to quantify the impact of race and inequality on American society. An Economics professor, Fryer applies the tools of economic modelling and analysis to investigate situations that are often discussed without a framework for evaluation. His studies include:
‘The Causes and Consequences of Distinctly Black Names’
‘Acting white: [...]

11 Mar

The Black Tax

It was one of those perky, sunny mornings that introduce spring to New York City. I was waiting at a crosswalk and blammo; a freckle faced young man plowed his bike right into me. He didn’t look crazy, so as I recovered from my stumble I met his eyes, presuming an, “Oh, excuse me” would [...]