We know that Francis Scott Key wrote the poem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” which eventually became the national anthem, and many of us know the first verse; however, the song has four verses. Few of us know about these other verses, especially the third verse, which supports slavery and is specifically hostile to slaves. This … [Read more…]
When I learned that a new version of the Roots television miniseries was being developed I wondered whether it was needed since 130 million people watched the excellent original series and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, had read the book. But that was a long time ago, and two recent events made me realize … [Read more…]
For about 20 years Donald Trump was a punchline in some of the undergraduate classes I taught. In teaching about social class I would introduce the classifications developed by W. Lloyd Warner in the 1930’s and 1940’s–upper, middle, and lower classes, each divided into upper and lower. In distinguishing the upper upper class from the … [Read more…]
When I learned of Muhammad Ali’s death I shed a tear as I reflected on the life and times of a real hero. I have never quite understood the practice of labelling sport stars as heroes; however, describing Ali as a hero is quite proper. It helps to define the term. Sports Illustrated and the … [Read more…]
Since this blog is mostly about race, racism, and social policy, I need to insure that we are speaking the same language and discussing the same phenomenon. Please see my ten minute TEDx talk from 2014 at the following URL for background on my future discussions.
Last September, 107-year-old Mamie Kirkland returned to Ellisville, Mississippi, a town she left at seven years of age in 1915. Fleeing a lynch mob, Mamie’s father, Edward Lang, a laborer and aspiring minister, left town abruptly in the middle of the night with instructions for his wife to catch the train with their five children … [Read more…]
In the words of the late Maya Angelou, “when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” It is about time for African Americans to believe who former president Bill Clinton really is. In an encounter last month with Black Lives Matter activists in Philadelphia, Mr. Clinton refused to acknowledge the harm … [Read more…]
As the NCAA basketball tournaments drew to a close, ESPN presented a 90-minute special on the 1966 NCAA championship game between Kentucky and Texas Western. Texas Western, now the University of Texas at El Paso, started five black players and upset the highly favored Kentucky team. Since Texas Western started five blacks and their only … [Read more…]
Sports fans are in the midst of March Madness, the time of year of the exciting college basketball playoffs. So many games it is a mad time. Please excuse me while I discuss another particularly mad aspect of March Madness. March Madness is big business and everybody gets paid but the stars–the players, an economic … [Read more…]
One of the few Miss Americas that I paid attention to died last month at 87 years of age. She was Yolande Betbeze, who won the crown in 1950 and immediately stepped out of the box. She shocked the Miss America organizers when she refused to appear in a bathing suit for cheesecake photos, she … [Read more…]