Saturday, November 2

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Is It Time For The US To Pay Its Debt For The Legacy Of Slavery?
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

Is It Time For The US To Pay Its Debt For The Legacy Of Slavery?

Some 156 years after the end of the Civil War and the official abolition of slavery through the 13th Amendment, the idea of reparations is gaining currency in Washington. On March 1, Cedric Richmond, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, suggested the White House could “start acting now” on the issue. The comment comes just weeks after a House committee chaired by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat of Texas, heard testimony on H.R. 40, a bill that would establish a commission on the legacy of slavery that would look at possible payments for descendants of enslaved people of African descent. Having researched slavery for the past three decades, I have concluded that there are many rationales for reparations. There has never been a leveling of the playing field, or payments for the debt ...
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In The 19th Century Black People Used Photography As A Tool For Social Change
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

In The 19th Century Black People Used Photography As A Tool For Social Change

Frederick Douglass is perhaps best known as an abolitionist and intellectual. But he was also the most photographed American of the 19th century. And he encouraged the use of photography to promote social change for Black equality. In that spirit, this article – using images from the David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan – examines different ways Black Americans from the 19th century used photography as a tool for self-empowerment and social change. Black studio portraits Speaking about how accessible photography had become during his time, Douglass once stated: “What was once the special and exclusive luxury of the rich and great is now the privilege of all. The humblest servant girl may now possess a picture o...
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Black Cartographers Put Racism On The American Map
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

Black Cartographers Put Racism On The American Map

How can maps fight racism and inequality? The work of the Black Panther Party, a 1960s- and 1970s-era Black political group featured in a new movie and a documentary, helps illustrate how cartography – the practice of making and using maps – can illuminate injustice. As these films show, the Black Panthers focused on African American empowerment and community survival, running a diverse array of programming that ranged from free school breakfasts to armed self-defense. Cartography is a less documented aspect of the Panthers’ activism, but the group used maps to reimagine the cities where African Americans lived and struggled. In 1971 the Panthers collected 15,000 signatures on a petition to create new police districts in Berkeley, California – districts that would be governed by local ...
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How Lack Of Internet Access Has Limited Vaccine Availability For Racial And Ethnic Minorities
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SOCIAL JUSTICE, VIDEO REELS

How Lack Of Internet Access Has Limited Vaccine Availability For Racial And Ethnic Minorities

Racial and ethnic minority communities that lack internet access have been left behind in the race to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The average monthly cost of internet access, about US$70, can be out of reach for those who can barely afford groceries. Reporters and scholars have written about the effects of lack of internet access in rural areas in the U.S. and developing countries, but they have paid less attention to the harm of lack of internet access in racial and ethnic minority communities in major cities. We are researchers who study health disparities. We are concerned that even when vaccinations are offered in these communities, those at greatest risk for COVID-19 may be unable to obtain appointments without the help of family or friends. This includes racial and ethnic minority comm...
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50 Years Ago A Shootout Happen Between Black Panthers And Law Enforcement And Why It Matters Today
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

50 Years Ago A Shootout Happen Between Black Panthers And Law Enforcement And Why It Matters Today

In the early hours of Feb. 10, 1971, police surrounded a property in High Point, North Carolina, where members of the Black Panther Party lived and worked. In the ensuing shootout, a Panther and a police officer were both wounded. Members of the Black Panther Party outside the High Point property raided by police. Sonny Hedgecock/High Point Enterprise, CC BY-SA The incident did not receive much national attention at the time – armed conflict of this type was relatively common during the late 1960s and early 1970s. But 50 years on, as the U.S. reckons with a year that saw militarized police confront Black Lives Matter protesters and fail to prevent an attack on the U.S. Capitol, I believe the circumstances of this shootout are relevant today. As a historian who has interviewed participan...
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How White Co-Workers And Managers Can Support Black People And Be An Antidote To Systemic Racism
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

How White Co-Workers And Managers Can Support Black People And Be An Antidote To Systemic Racism

President Joe Biden committed the U.S. government to racial equity by issuing four executive orders on Jan. 26 that seek to curb systemic racism. In the orders, he cited the killing of George Floyd in 2020, which sparked months of protests and prompted many U.S. companies to likewise commit themselves – and hundreds of billions of dollars – to helping Black Americans overcome institutional discrimination. Shortly after the protests began last year, we hosted a panel that addressed this very topic. Held on Juneteenth, the webinar featured four Black women – including one of us – who poignantly shared their own frequent encounters with racial bias in job interviews, shopping for clothes and even working with their peers. A common question we got from the predominantly white audience was so...
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Looking Beyond The Bare Numbers Of Racial Diversity In Social Accounting
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POLITICS, SOCIAL JUSTICE

Looking Beyond The Bare Numbers Of Racial Diversity In Social Accounting

From time to time, The Conversation asks leaders in America’s colleges and universities to address some of the most pressing issues in our nation. Here we ask Earl Lewis, director and founder of the University of Michigan’s Center for Social Solutions, and Nancy Cantor, chancellor of Rutgers University – Newark, a diverse, urban public research university, about how numbers and statistics matter when examining institutional racism, the Capitol riot and Black Lives Matter. How has media reporting on numbers and statistics affected the public’s view of race? Nancy Cantor. Rutgers University - Newark, CC BY-ND Nancy Cantor: Society’s accounting of the summer of 2020 through Inauguration Day 2021 demonstrates the hard way numbers play into a long-standing history of racism and white privilege....
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There Are Some Promising Solutions, But Huge Numbers Of The Formerly Incarcerated Are Unemployed
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

There Are Some Promising Solutions, But Huge Numbers Of The Formerly Incarcerated Are Unemployed

People who have been incarcerated face major challenges finding work after their release. About 45% of formerly incarcerated Americans were unemployed one year after leaving prison, according to a multiyear study the Brookings Institution released in 2018. CC BY-NC-ND This is far higher than U.S. joblessness levels, even during the coronavirus pandemic. The overall U.S. rate spiked to 14.7% in April 2020, receding to 6.7% by December – nearly twice where it stood at the end of 2019. Three factors essential to a successful transition from prison are employment, housing and transportation, and no one can afford stable housing or reliable transportation without employment. I’m researching two innovative ways to combat unemployment among the formerly incarcerated. One approach relies on so...
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Americans Yet Again Have Trouble Understanding What Multiracial Means With Kamala Harris
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POLITICS, SOCIAL JUSTICE

Americans Yet Again Have Trouble Understanding What Multiracial Means With Kamala Harris

News that Sen. Kamala Harris was Joe Biden’s choice for the 2020 Democratic vice presidential nominee drove speculation and argumentation about her identity. The big question appeared to be, “Is Kamala Harris truly African American?” There were numerous articles and opinion pieces about whether Harris can legitimately claim to be African American; the authenticity of her Black identity if she has an Indian mother; what it means for her to be biracial; and other articles opining and speculating about her racial, ethnic and even national identity. Harris, the daughter of immigrant parents from Jamaica and India, identifies as Black/African American while also embracing her Indian heritage. Yet the questions in social media and news outlets swirling around her identities demonstrate a conti...
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Editor Of NAACP’s Magazine The Crisis – W.E.B. Du Bois Embraced Science To Fight Racism
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

Editor Of NAACP’s Magazine The Crisis – W.E.B. Du Bois Embraced Science To Fight Racism

The NAACP – the most prominent interracial civil rights organization in American history – published the first issue of The Crisis, its official magazine, 110 years ago, in 1910. W.E.B. Du Bois in his office at The Crisis in New York City, 1925. W. E. B. Du Bois Papers (MS 312). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries, CC BY-ND For almost two and a half decades, sociologist and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois served as its editor, famously using this platform to dismantle scientific racism. An advertisement for The Crisis, circa March 1925. W.E.B. Du Bois Papers (MS 312). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries, CC BY-ND At the time, many widely respected intellectuals gave credence ...
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