Today marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the Tulsa Race Massacre. If you are unfamiliar with this tragic event in American history, start here. If you want to go deeper, here are some pieces from the last few […]
race in America
Some Catholic priests are conducting exorcisms to dispel the evil spirits left by racial justice activists
According to Audrey Clare Farley at The New Republic, some conservative Catholic priests believe they are engaged in a spiritual war against Black Lives Matter, Marxism, critical race theory, intersectionality, and wokeness. Here is a taste of her piece: Last […]
Are American conservatives advancing a new “Lost Cause?”
Paul Waldman writes: “Everywhere conservatives look, their view of America’s racial story is being challenged.” Most of our culture war debate right now seem to focus on school curriculum and race. Here is Waldman at The Washington Post: As conservatives […]
Texas is trying to whitewash its history
One of these days I will try to put together a list of state education boards trying to change their history curriculums so that students do not come face to face with the many sins of America’s past. Texas will […]
“Does teaching America it’s racist make it less racist?”
Here is a fascinating discussion between Jane Coaston, John McWhorter, and Michelle Goldberg. A taste: Jane Coaston: Critical race theory. It’s a concept that originated in academic circles in the mid-1970s, but one that only hit the mainstream in the […]
A 107-year-old survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre testified before Congress
Here is NPR’s “All Things Considered”: The day that a white mob came to Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, Okla., Viola Fletcher was just 7 years old. During emotional testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Fletcher, who is now 107, recalled […]
John Marshall Harlan: The lone dissenter in Plessy v. Ferguson
Here is Peter Canellos at The New York Times. His forthcoming book is titled The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, American Judicial Hero. A taste: The Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, announced 125 years ago Tuesday, […]
A Third Reconstruction?
Matt Ford gives us a lot to think about in this piece at The New Republic. titled “Our 250-Year Fight for Multiracial Democracy.” A taste: Some scholars and activists, by the same token, break down American history into presidencies or […]
No, the guy on “Jeopardy!” was not giving a white supremacist hand gesture
Have you been following this story? Apparently left-wing social media blew-up when it appeared “Jeopardy!” champion Kelly Donohue raised three fingers on his right hand. Watch: Here is Ben Smith at The New York Times on how the members of […]
Are you looking for an evangelical congregation not divided by race, Trump, or COVID-19? Good luck
Many evangelical Christians believe that racism is a problem in the church, Trump was bad for the church, and COVID-19 revealed selfishness in the church. Some are deciding to stay in their divided congregations and work toward reconciliation. Others are […]
Most critics of critical race theory have no idea what they are talking about
I linked to David Theo Goldberg‘s Boston Review piece on critical race theory in last weekend’s odds and ends, but I think the piece is worth a separate post. I am convinced that most of the conservatives afraid of critical […]
What did anti-1619 Project U.S. senators learn about race from their school textbooks?
The Root just published excerpts of U.S. history textbooks used in schools attended by the thirty-eight Republican senators, including majority leader Mitch McConnell, who recently signed a letter criticizing the New York Times 1619 Project and critical race theory. Here […]
A Texas state representative defends the phrase “purity of the ballot box.” It does not go well.
Watch: The Washington Post has it covered: Early on in a contentious night of debate over a bill that would create newvoting restrictions in Texas, state Rep. Rafael AnchĂa (D) zeroed in on what he called a “peculiar term.” The bill said […]
Oklahoma is trying to ban the teaching of critical race theory. What does this mean for how U.S. history is taught in the state?
Here is Janelle Stecklein at The Ada News: A bill attempting to ban the teaching of “critical race theory” in Oklahoma’s public schools cleared the Legislature Thursday. House Bill 1775, which also bans mandatory gender and sexual diversity training for […]
Nikole Hannah-Jones of 1619 Project fame joins the faculty of the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill
Here is the Associated Press: Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones will join the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s journalism school in July as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism. Hannah-Jones, who covers […]
The Wheaton College professor who teaches critical race theory
Over at Sojourners, Mitchell Atencio interviews Wheaton College (IL) philosophy professor Nathan Cartagena. Here is a taste of the interview: Mitchell Atencio, Sojourners: Because critical race theory has become such a hot-button issue, especially in white evangelical circles, do you […]
Mitch McConnell petitions Education Secretary to remove the 1619 Project from federal grant programs
The 1619 Project is in the news again. Here is Ryan Nobles at CNN: In a letter obtained by CNN, the Republican leader asks Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to abandon curriculum in American schools that McConnell argues tells a revisionist history of America’s […]
Chicago’s DuSable Museum is getting Kamala Harris and Barack Obama hate mail
Here is Patrick Elwood at WGN-TV: The president and CEO of the DuSable Museum of African American History went public Tuesday with news of a series of threatening letters that began after the Capitol insurrection and shortly before the Biden/Harris administration took […]
A conservative case for reparations
I spent a day with Washington Post contributor and Ohio journalist Gary Abernathy in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit. He was part of a group of students and teachers who visited Messiah University as part of a Georgetown […]
National politicians respond to the Chauvin verdict. Do you see a pattern here?
In case you still don’t know, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd. Here is how Twitter is responding: As of 8:43pm on Tuesday evening, April 20, 2021 the following national politicians […]