A reader, Charlton McIlwain wrote in to ask me to let y’all know about a survey he’s conducting.
Mcllwain says, “I am a professor of media, culture & communication at New York University and co-director of the Project on Race in Political Communication (RaceProject.org).
I am interested in the ways that children and parents talk about issues of race, ethnicity, racism, etc. and am conducting a survey primarily geared to collecting funny, interesting, alarming, or challenging anecdotes that parents have about a time when their child, themselves or other children they …

As I read Andrew’s second essay, I begin to accept that we live in mutually exclusive social realities. And that’s a painful recognition for me. As friends we share revulsion at the exploding deficit, clarity about keeping government out of our bedrooms and the belief that it is an inalienable right to keep guns in our homes. Further, we both do our best to accept each person we encounter as an individual without slathering on layers preconceived notions and expectations of stereotypical behavior.
But on the broader political plane, we’re …

By Andrew Padula
The Democratic party has been very effective at painting Republicans with the label of “racists”. I can understand why we are an easy target and vulnerable to racial persecution. Much has happened culturally in the past half century. Imagine the reaction that people would have today to the uncut images portrayed in Disney’s “Song of the South” or the language of “Blazing Saddles”. Try to visualize the images of urban ghetto life as portrayed in the police shows of the 70’s or …

One of the most interesting black conservative blogs around is Booker Rising. I recommend it. Shay Riley and I don’t agree on everything, but I almost always understand her point of view and I don’t recall her reflexively calling black people who disagree with her one derogatory name or another. I admit I figured folks over at Booker Rising would all be doing back flips of joy over the Black Conservative Town Hall Glenn Beck show. [Click Here for Full Show Transcript]
Not exactly.
A number of Booker Rising readers and other …

A Black conservative town hall filled the studio audience of Glenn Beck’s Friday the 13th show. I wouldn’t characterize it as a horror story, far from it. Solid points about the need to instill more black urban kids with a love for education and learning were made. But I will say right off that it was frightening to observe the monstrous delusions of many who spoke during the show. And what had me gasping in cynical laughter, was that every time a ‘black conservative’ stood up and said anything that …

I’ve been on the road since last Saturday, so I apologize for the light posting. By the weekend I’ll be back in the saddle, with regular posting starting tomorrow.
But in the meantime, I can’t say I’m surprised by the hard right calling Judge Sotomayor a “racist” for a statement she made regarding “making better decisions than a white male.” Personally, I want to hear her explain more fully what she meant. It is certainly clear that in her judicial rulings she has not been overtly “empathetic” to people of color. …

Double Click the link to read Paulo Serodio “Africa 102: A more colorful view than black and white”
Since my first post on Paulo Serodio’s lawsuit against the New Jersey Medical School, related to allegations that Serodio was harassed and unfairly suspended for calling himself a “white African American”, the comments section has been very active. The discussion caught Mr. Serodio’s attention and he has submitted the article, that at least a couple of commenters, cited to justify Serodio’s suspension. I appreciate that Mr. Serodio submitted the article here. We …

A white seventh grade Kansas middle school student finds himself punished because of his teacher’s inability to fully explain the horrors of Jim Crow and the deadly history of the domestic terrorist group known as the Ku Klux Klan.
An Andover family has contacted the Wichita Branch NAACP about a board game created by a Andover seventh-grader that centered on the Ku Klux Klan. Dante and Terica Davis, who are African-American and who filed the complaint, said they’re not against students learning about the KKK.
The offense, Terica Davis said, stems from …

People of Primary Colors (POPC) have launched a media attack against plain old POC (people of color) stating that the term ‘POC’ rightfully belongs only to the purples, the reds, the azures, the neon yellows and the greens. The People of Primary Colors assert that everybody else is simply a shade on one very broad spectrum.
“Whine, whine, whine. That’s all THEY do,” said Violet in an oft heard refrain, “You wanna know hard? MY life is hard. Try walkin’ around the color of Prince’s favorite satin bedsheets. Yeah, I’m mixed …

Its Tis grew up in rural upstate New York, and with her sister, integrated the Head Start program and later the public school they attended. This was the late sixties. It was really, really hard. At 13 she went to a racially mixed boarding school where she was teased for “acting white.” This was the late seventies. It was really, really hard. Because of these experiences, she has learned to dance with understanding between different races and cultures; learning, periodically stepping in it, and …

During the Presidential campaign, I hammered away at our individual responsibility to engage in critical analysis and offer constructive criticism if Barack Obama should become President. Well, here we are. And I am concerned that in many circles, even questioning Obama’s strategies is seen as some kind of “betrayal.” On a news show this morning, Jack Welch spoke of how his “trust fund” daughters refused to hear even the slightest concern or critique of Obama. Welch said that he was treated like a “pariah” if he even raised a question.
I …

High profile, racially offensive attempts at humor and satire seem to have increased since President Barack Obama became the front-running candidate last summer.
And although the way white artists, satirists and cartoonists have portrayed President and Michelle Obama snatched the most headlines, no racial group is immune from bearing the brunt of cloddish and racially offensive attempts at clever political or social observation.
The most annoying and head shaking aspect of this increasingly apparent pattern, is that once the group which is the subject of the "satire," and its allies, point …

Ah ‘the race card.’ That phrase pops up in almost e-v-e-r-y thread having anything to do with racial discussion these days. I have some very strong ideas about the way it is being used, but I will hold those for a future post.
In the meantime, I am asking YOU who use the phrase or have very strong reactions to the phrase ‘race card’ to share your interpretation of what it means exactly.
Please speak up and as always please speak freely on this one. This issue is very important to …

So, I’ve just accepted it. Holidays would barely be noticed these days if not for time off and the now expected store sales that go with them. Throwaway, over-sized, newspaper pages bark up the bargains to be found at after Thanksgiving sales, after Christmas sales, Independence Day sales, Presidents Day sales and now, in a true nod to equality, Black History Month sales!
But…erm…this latest effort highlighted by Gawker, was not exactly what I was expecting from a grocery store. Here it is:

Now I want to say right off the bat …

Here’s my beef. If you equate every perceived transgression in the world with the worst of the Nazis or the Klan then we can easily become desensitized to the horror of the acts actually committed by these organizations. As a dog lover, and proud Mama to two rescued, mixed breed, furry children, PETA sure as heck has ‘harshed’ my mellow when all I was trying to do was enjoy a little canine shenanigans. Here’s what happened:
The animal rights group, which every year stages a protest at the Westminster Kennel Club …