Race

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…

The Race to Preserve Racism

By Justin Katz | October 10, 2010 |

At least — many of us hoped — the United States could finally move past the racial divide. Yes, we expected opposition to President Obama to be quickly equated with racism, but it seemed the broader declarations of the United States as a racist country would be ridiculous on their face. It appears, though, that…

Hucksters Not Wasting the Crisis

By Justin Katz | July 9, 2010 |

Funny, I hadn’t heard insufficient involvement of “disadvantaged groups” included among the contributing factors to our the economic crisis that supposedly necessitates a stronger government hand in the finance industry. And yet: Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, and Barack Obama insist that the new financial regulation bill pending a vote in the Senate is a necessity…