Skip to main content
Tag

Race

Bill Clinton golfing with his wealthy friends on August 5, 2000, in Martha's Vineyard, MA.

The Racial Wealth Gap Is About the Upper Classes

By Commentaries/Opinions

By Matt Bruenig, Jacobin — In light of the recent resurgence of Black Lives Matter protests, there has been renewed discussion of the racial wealth gap and how to close it (Nikole Hannah-Jones, Annie Lowrey). I have written on this topic many times in the past (I, II, III, IV). One thing I have tried to emphasize over the years, which I will do again here in a different way, is that due to…

Read More
‘Jacob’s Dream’ by Salvador Rosa (c. 1665).

How did ‘white’ become a metaphor for all things good?

By Commentaries/Opinions

We want to be whitelisted and not blacklisted for jobs. White lies make stretching the truth okay, but you don’t want to receive a black mark on your record. By Aradhna Krishna — Shortly after George Floyd’s death, one of my friends texted me that Floyd wasn’t necessarily a bad person, but, pointing to his prior stints in prison, added that “he wasn’t lily-white either.” Soon thereafter, I read an article in…

Read More
The grand buildings of Bordeaux, France, were financed, in part, by the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The city has moved to address that past.

George Floyd’s Killing Forces Wider Debate on France’s Slave-Trading Past

By Editors' Choice

Rather than tear down statues, some argue that the past should not be obliterated, but remembered and explained. By Norimitsu Onishi, The New York Times — BORDEAUX, France — At a bend in the river, a succession of stately stone buildings, each more imposing than the last, stretches along the left bank. Their elegant 18th-century facades had helped Bordeaux, already famous for its wineries, become a UNESCO World Heritage site.…

Read More
Protesters chant “Say His Name — George Floyd!” near a memorial for George Floyd in Minneapolis on June 2.

Poll: Black Americans outraged by George Floyd’s death, but optimistic about change after nationwide protests

By News & Current Affairs

More than a third of black Americans say there was an occasion when they feared being hurt by a police officer. By Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Scott Clement and Emily Guskin, The Washington Post — Jackie Beckley believes the video of the final moments of George Floyd’s life may finally help white friends and colleagues understand what she has labored to tell them about her experience as a black woman:…

Read More
Former slaves harvesting for their own profit.

Land loss has plagued black America since emancipation – is it time to look again at ‘black commons’ and collective ownership?

By Reparations

Black farmers own far less land than they did in 1910 and the racial gap in homeownership is at the highest level for 50 years. By Julian Agyeman and Kofi Boone — Underlying the recent unrest sweeping U.S. cities over police brutality is a fundamental inequity in wealth, land and power that has circumscribed black lives since the end of slavery in the U.S. The “40 acres and a mule” promised to…

Read More
Protests in Spain

Racism, Xenophobia and Police Brutality on the Rise in Spain

By News & Current Affairs

By Youssef Ouled, Rights International Spain — Rights International Spain and the Implementation Team of the International Decade for People of African Descent in Spain have published a report on racism and xenophobia during the COVID-19 state of alarm in Spain. The report examines manifestations of racism and xenophobia between March 15 and May 2 during the COVID-19 state of alarm in Spain. The investigation includes more than 70 racist…

Read More
A California bill proposes a reparations committee to redress the nation's past on slavery. Protesters march on East Santa Clara Street in San Jose on May 29, 2020, after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

What happens after George Floyd? California looks to reparations

By Reparations

By Adria Watson, CalMatters — The anger and frustration that flooded more than 20 cities in recent days will likely put pressure on the state to conduct a thorough examination of historic and continued discrimination of African Americans — even as civil unrest continues. Although racism — both institutional and cultural — is a national stain that bleeds hundreds of years deep, some suggest California should account for its share of mistreatment….

Read More