systemic racism
The political right and the myth of color-blind capitalism
By any fair assessment, the United States has come a long way over the last century and a half in overcoming its original sins of slavery and institutionalized racism. A century and a half ago – the span of just two lifetimes – millions of Black Americans were held in bondage by force of law and treated as chattel property because of their skin color.
‘Must read’ report: The deep racial and ethnic disparities in state prisons
When former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck in 2020, the world witnessed the most racist elements of the U.S. criminal legal system on broad display. The uprisings that followed Floyd’s death articulated a vision for transforming public safety practices and investments.
Who’s kidding who? Setting the record straight on the political ancestry of modern American racism
“Why do you pick on Republicans so much? Don’t you know it was the Democrats who were the authors of Jim Crow?” That's one the gripes frequently voiced by my conservative correspondents these days when I write about race and racism – especially when it comes to barbs directed at GOP leaders over racially-charged policy decisions like making it harder to vote, punishing protesters, or denying access to healthcare.
State superintendent’s email documents political right’s concerted effort to influence K-12 curricula
If culturally responsive teaching is promulgated in North Carolina's public schools, students will learn that math is racist. Students who are Black, LGBTQ or of minority ethnic backgrounds will be taught that teachers are bigots. And educators will be allowed to engage in "age-inappropriate promotion" of homosexuality.
August 5 Crucial Conversation: Theodore Johnson on his new book, “When the Stars Begin to Fall”
Join us Thursday, August 5 at 2:00 p.m. for a very special (and virtual) Crucial Conversation: Author, scholar, and former U.S. Navy Commander Theodore Johnson, discusses his new book, "When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America"
Law professor and civil rights activist Geeta N. Kapur discusses systemic racism in higher education and her new book: To Drink from the Well
Click here to order a copy of the book.
State GOP leaders decry Durham City Council’s support of critical race theory
Two top-ranked state Republicans issued a statement Friday condemning the Durham City Council for adopting a resolution that supports the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. Senate Leader Phil Berger, (R-Rockingham) and Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican from Greensboro, said critical race theory is dangerous and divisive. The controversial academic discipline examines how […]
PW special report: The right’s coordinated assault on Critical Race Theory in North Carolina
Conservatives warn of a conspiracy to indoctrinate schoolchildren, but critics dismiss claims as cynical political theater A well-orchestrated and growing movement to ban Critical Race Theory from America’s classrooms has taken root in North Carolina, even though many educators say the concept is not taught in public schools.
Some simple truths about critical race theory and the cynical campaign to distort it
The late historian John Henrik Clarke explained the dominant subculture’s preoccupation with manipulating history. Europeans “began manipulating history in the 15th century to justify the slave trade,” said Clarke, a pioneer in Pan-African studies, during an interview with Tony Brown on Brown’s eponymous show in the 1970s. Modern racism incubated during this period, Clarke said.
Heartbreaking stories of Black maternal deaths, pregnancy complications, racism related at congressional hearing
WASHINGTON — When U.S. Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri was pregnant with her first child, Zion, she saw a sign in her doctor’s office encouraging her to speak up about anything unusual she was feeling. She did so, telling her physician that she was having severe pains, but her concerns were swiftly dismissed. The doctor told Bush, who is African American, that she was fine and sent her home — and one week later, Bush went into early labor.
PW special report – The battle for Alamance part 2: The modern day struggle for political representation
Decades after the enactment of civil rights laws, people of color remain largely excluded from the county's political power structure To go to Alamance County is to step back in time, to the days of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. More than a half-century later, law enforcement officers pepper-sprayed and arrested anti-racist protesters.