Race

Review: The Price of the Ticket by Frederick Harris

By Marc Comtois | June 17, 2012 |

Fredrick C. Harris is a Professor of Political Science and the Director of Columbia University’s Center on African-American Politics and Society. In the world of academia, his racial/political bona fides are beyond reproach. so when he proposes that our first African-American President hasn’t adequately addressed racial inequality, it’s worth a read. In his Price of…

The Value of Resembling the President

By Justin Katz | March 25, 2012 |

I wonder if Melissa’s Coon son looked like Pres. Obama. That’s the 13-year-old Kansas City boy who may have been set on fire because “You get what you deserve, white boy.” As Robert Wargas notes, the story appears not to rate national attention in the eyes of the national media. Wargas’s post, linked by Instapundit,…

Race Stats on School Suspensions: Be Careful Jumping to Conclusions

By Marc Comtois | March 13, 2012 |

RI NPR Education blogger Elisabeth Harrison reports on newly released data (collected for 2009) from the federal Office of Civil Rights showing that, when it comes to school discipline, “African-American students are more likely to face harsh discipline than their peers.” Harrison reports that for Rhode Island, it “depends on the school district.” Plenty of…

Personal Accountability

By Patrick Laverty | February 11, 2012 |

Earlier in the week, Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, a former major league pitcher, began his press tour to promote a book that he wrote. A couple curious quotes came from one of the interviews, with Nick Cafardo, first [he] admitted he was under the influence of cocaine two-thirds of the time he was on the…

All in the Judiciary’s Hands

By Justin Katz | July 4, 2011 |

The precedent that this ruling out of Michigan, related to a constitutionally created ban on affirmative action, sets is astonishing: The 2-1 decision upends a sweeping law that forced the University of Michigan and other public schools to change admission policies. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law, approved by voters in…

If Not for the People, RI Would Have Fewer People

By Justin Katz | March 25, 2011 |

Perhaps it’s a function of idealism, but the continual penchant for racism in our country wearies me. By racism, I mean the division of people into racial groups and inclination to treat them as separate communities: Without the 39,835 additional residents who identified themselves as Hispanic, Rhode Island would have lost 35,587 people from 2000…

Debating Blackness: Duke and the Fab Five

By Marc Comtois | March 16, 2011 |

Back in the ’90’s, when given the choice, I preferred Duke (though I wasn’t exactly a “fan”) to the much-hyped Fab Five of Michigan (who actually won, well, nothing and lost 3 out of 3 to the same Duke Blue Devils). Duke had a bunch of white guys who seemed sorta privileged (and won…always it…

On the Way to Extraordinary

By Justin Katz | February 23, 2011 |

A recent review, by Charlotte Allen, of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s memoir of her family, Extraordinary, Ordinary People, is unfortunately not online except by subscription. (It appeared in the February 7 National Review.) It does give some of the feel for the path to success of a black woman who grew up during…

Roach: “Being Black in the 21st Century”

By Marc Comtois | February 9, 2011 |

Former Anchor Rising contributor and GoLocalProv MINDSETTER(tm) Don Roach takes the occasion of Black History Month to speak about what it means to be black in the 21st century: [T]he main “problem” facing black people in 2011 is a lack of identity. For centuries we were defined by others and defined ourselves by what was…

Family and Race

By Justin Katz | October 16, 2010 |

It’s hardly a new conclusion, but this, from a book review by Roger Clegg (subscription required), of Acting White by Stuart Buck, bears repeating: Suppose your twelve-year-old son came home and announced that it would compromise his racial authenticity were he to study hard and get good grades, and that he will therefore concentrate on…