All content categorized with: Current Events
Filter
Post List
Trumping Trump
By Jason Raylesberg Associate Editor, Vol. 21 Contributing Editor, Vol. 22 It is a very real and terrifying possibility that Donald Trump will be our next president. Accepting that prospect means accepting that the hatred, divisiveness, and racism he has given voice to across America will continue to intensify along…The Future of Water Safety in Flint
By Javed Basu-Kesselman Associate Editor, Vol. 21 Executive Editor, Vol. 22 Many important pieces have documented what went wrong in Flint, Michigan and who should be held responsible for the water crisis. This post seeks to answer a related question: what steps need to be taken before…#MediaSoWhite
By Saeeda Joseph-Charles Associate Editor, Vol. 21 Managing Editor, Vol. 22 Jada and Will Smith boycotted the Oscars this year in what they said was an attempt to bring attention to the lack of diversity[1] in Hollywood. Other stars, like David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o, and George Clooney,…
Block the vote: North Carolina’s voting laws on trial
By Matt Johnson Associate Editor, Vol. 21 Contributing Editor, Vol. 22 Election season is upon us, and everything from stickers to lawn signs are meant to encourage the American people to get to the polls. However, there is a disturbing movement across the country, often codified by state…Reproductive Justice and Black Lives Matter: Remembering the roots of RJ
By Dana Ziegler Associate Editor, Vol. 21 Online Publications Editor, Vol. 22 On February 9, 2016, advocates from Black Lives Matter (BLM), New Voices for Reproductive Justice, and Trust Black Women held a conference call to reassert the connection between the BLM and reproductive justice movements while…The case of Tamir Rice: race, self-defense, and the objective reasonableness standard
By Emmanuela Jean-Etienne Associate Editor, Vol. 21 On a cold November afternoon in Cleveland, twelve-year-old Tamir Rice sat alone at a gazebo outside the Cudell Recreation Center, a place he frequented daily.[1] In his hand was an airsoft pistol and, according to the witness who would later…Eastern New York prisoners v. Harvard College
“We might not be as naturally rhetorically gifted, but we worked really hard.” – Alex Hall, 31, convicted of manslaughter By Saeeda Joseph-Charles Associate Editor, Vol. 21 In mid-September, three men, all incarcerated for violent crimes, shared a stage with Harvard College undergraduates, ready to debate.
Senator Elizabeth Warren delivers a rousing speech in Boston
By Thomas Topping Associate Editor, Vol. 21 On Sunday, September 27, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren delivered a speech at the Edward Kennedy Institute in Boston. The speech has been hailed by many observers as bold, splashy, and stirring. In her speech, Senator Warren discussed the…There Are No Racists Here: The Rise of Racial Extremism, When No One is Racist
At first glance hate murders appear wholly anachronistic in post-racial America. This Article suggests otherwise. The Article begins by analyzing the periodic expansions of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the protection for racist expression in First Amendment doctrine. The Article then contextualizes the case law by providing evidence of how the First Amendment works on the ground in two separate areas —the enforcement of hate crime law and on university campuses that enact speech codes. In these areas, those using racist expression receive full protection for their beliefs. Part III describes social spaces—social media and employment where slurs and epithets may be used frequently. The final portion of the Article briefly explores two forms of unacknowledged racial violence—violence directed at minorities who move to white neighborhoods and extremist killings. Our inaccurate approach to bias-motivated crime and the culture of protection around racist expression, the Article concludes, leaves American society vulnerable to the danger created by racial extremists.Army apologizes for policy approving use of word ‘Negro’
By Luis E. Gomez, Associate Editor Vol. 20 The U.S. Army has removed a policy that sanctioned the use of the word “Negro” to refer to black service members. The Army issued the apology on Thursday, two days after CNN reported the regulation. Before it was corrected, the policy stated…