The Body Cam Trade-Off
Challenging police violence shouldn’t require black Americans to sacrifice their privacy. Read my piece on this topic at Jacobin.
Blacked Out: Black Marginality and American Politics
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for two cases that could have major ramifications for black and brown Americans. One, Fisher vs. University of Texas, is a more-or-less standard “affirmative action is reverse racism” case that could potentially bar or severely restrict colleges and universities from considering race in the application process. The…
My Slave Name (Part 2)
If there’s one thing that blacks of the diaspora share, it’s that our people’s history is obscure. We know general trends: the regions in Africa from which most slaves were extracted, the busiest slave ship routes, the typical routines on various types of plantations, etc… But we lack specifics. I don’t know from which African…
Racism killed my cousin twice: How more than a cop’s bullets ended Charles’ life
Both individual and institutional racism killed my cousin. Learn how in my piece on Salon here.
My Cousin Was Shot Dead by a Police Officer. Here’s What It Means for the New Economy Movement
Many opportunities exist for collaboration between the movements for racial justice and for an economy that works for everyone. Read my piece for YES! Magazine here.
Cops just shot my cousin dead: Here’s why talking about it is quietly destructive
My cousin Charles, an unarmed black man, was recently shot and killed by an off-duty police officer. Read my piece about it on Salon here.
Voting is Not Enough: An Analysis of “True South” and Black American Electoral Politics
Ben Jealous and The Center for American Progress recently released True South: Unleashing Democracy in the Black Belt 50 Years After Freedom Summer,a report on politics in the Black Belt. True South demonstrates that an effective voter registration drive in the South could shift the balance of power in some states from Republican to Democrat.…
Justin Bieber is racist, and I don’t care: More on the TMZification of Racial Politics
Justin Bieber is racist (twice), and I don’t care. Donald Sterling is racist, and I don’t care. The supervisor at an industrial cotton gin is racist, and I don’t care. Some lady in a parking lot is racist, and I don’t care.
Donald Sterling and the TMZification of Racial Politics
I don’t even know where to start with this Donald Sterling thing… If you’re reading this you probably already heard the first and/or second recording of what is alleged to be Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling having a racist argument with his girlfriend. His statements, but more so the reaction to them, are extremely illustrative…
Chris Christie and the Media’s Race and Class Bias
If you follow mainstream American news media, chances are that you’ve heard about Bridgegate. Basically, 2 of the 3 lanes which connect Fort Lee, New Jersey to the George Washington Bridge were closed for 4 days in September. While the closure was explained as a “traffic study,” it has since been revealed that the lanes…
