Nov 3, 2022Kanye, we hardly knew Ye.We cannot ignore the Kanye train wreck. Here’s why. — In my house, when I was a kid, my parents cared deeply about everything related to race, politics, and justice. They talked race night and day. Morning, noon, and night. My father was what we used to call, in the parlance of the 1960s, a “race man.” He believed that…Kanye7 min readKanye7 min read
Oct 5, 2022The Bold and the Brilliant. Justice Brown Jackson in Action.But Why Are We Surprised? Much is being made this morning about the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson’s appearance this First week of October. And that is good, I suppose. I’m always happy to see a sister get some props. Yet, we should know by now that Justice Jackson is wickedly smart, with an academic record…SCOTUS3 min readSCOTUS3 min read
Aug 28, 2022The Ghost of Emmett TillWe think we know the story of Emmett Till, but do we? I am writing a book. It’s not about Emmett Till, yet every person I speak to about this book says his name. Every single one. They invoke the name of Emmett Till long before I get to the…Raceinamerica5 min readRaceinamerica5 min read
Jun 24, 2022Roe v. Wade. The End.Fifty years ago, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Roe v. Wade . The Court ruled in favor of the anonymous Jane Roe with a companion decision in Doe v. Bolton. Today a different Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, and with it 50 years of the legal precedent…Roe V Wade9 min readRoe V Wade9 min read
May 25, 2022George Floyd’s America. And Ours.Two years ago today, George Floyd pleaded for air, his mother, and his life. With tragic irony, he also breathed new energy into the movement for civil rights and Black lives. At that very moment, his fellow African Americans were also dying from COVID, at twice the national rate of…George Floyd4 min readGeorge Floyd4 min read
May 17, 2022Blood On Their HandsLaying the Blame for Buffalo Where it Belongs — In June 2015, President Barack Obama stood at the podium at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston and started to sing. Obama delivered the eulogy for the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, murdered with eight other Black members of his congregation, all gunned down by a white supremacist who…8 min read8 min read
May 5, 2022The War On WomenThe Fight for our Bodies, Our Voice, Our Lives — This country has never been for us. We were property sold by fathers to husbands, changing our surnames from one patriarch to the next. We could not inherit, own a house, or conduct business without a man by our side until the 19th Century. We couldn’t serve in the military…Roe V Wade5 min readRoe V Wade5 min read
Feb 9, 2022Slavery Days are Over. Why Isn’t Football?American football is a plantation industry. The majority-Black workforce sacrifices body and soul. The white owners and the league make billions. I love football. I grew up loving it. Because my father loved it. He loved it because it made it possible for him to go to college. For free. He also loved football because it taught him dignity and discipline, strength, and power. Football taught him to believe in himself…Sports6 min readSports6 min read
Jan 27, 2022My Pick for the Supreme CourtWith the resignation of Justice Breyer, President Biden has his first opportunity to name a justice to the United States Supreme Court. “I’m looking forward to making sure there’s a black woman on the Supreme Court,” Biden promised during the 2020 presidential campaign, “to make sure we, in fact…Supreme Court4 min readSupreme Court4 min read
Jan 24, 2022America’s Greatest Lawyer — Ever — Died Twenty-NineYears Ago Today.Thurgood Marshall Wants You To Get To Work A little girl is walking to school. She walks many blocks. Then she walks through the railroad yards. Eventually, she crosses a busy avenue, only to stand and wait. And wait. And wait, as the sun comes up, for the bus to arrive. The bus then carries her the mile…Raceinamerica8 min readRaceinamerica8 min read
