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Section: Opinion
Opinion
The Promised Conversation on Race and Identity
It’s been exactly two years since then-Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama gave his speech on race at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. After all, who better to facilitate these discussions than a person whose polycultural heritage made him an inspiration to millions of people, particularly those who were grappling with their own identity issues. […]
March 18, 2010
Opinion
The Racial Politics of Miss America
I remember the date, September 17, 1983. I was in high school. I had just gotten off work at the local grocery store in my hometown. Many teenagers had weekend jobs during these years. I was no exception. It was almost midnight. I had just gotten home and turned on the television. My parents were […]
March 18, 2010
Opinion
New Proposed Education Law Better, But Glaring Problem Remains
A general consensus in the education community is rare, but it appears that the vast majority of educators are rallying around the idea of trashing the No Child Left Behind law.   I am one of the many educators who are thrilled about the prospects of trashing the trash, but my excitement tempered when I […]
March 17, 2010
Opinion
A Black College Philanthropist That Exemplifies the Very Essence of Philanthropy
A few years ago, I edited a book titled Uplifting a People: African American Philanthropy and Education. In the book, I argued that the existing definition of philanthropy should be expanded, especially as it relates to African-Americans. For too long, our traditional notions of philanthropy have included only wealthy, White men and their financial contributions. […]
March 14, 2010
Opinion
Maintaining Respect in the Classroom
Over the last two weeks, I’ve been dealing with increasingly disruptive students in my classroom.   Last fall, I kept the disruptions to a minimum, but this semester, they have occurred more frequently. Students texting (even though I have banned electronic devices in my class), talking loudly among each other and leaving the class during […]
March 9, 2010
Opinion
Repulsive Fallout from the Destruction of the UC Black Student Body
I am interested to see what comes out of the wave of odious incidents that hit University of California campuses last month.   African-American students at UC San Diego were offended when they learned about an off-campus “Compton Cookout” party” and later that a noose and KKK-style hood were placed on campus. UC Davis students […]
March 8, 2010
Opinion
Repulsive Fallout from the Destruction of the UC Black Student Body
I am interested to see what comes out of the wave of odious incidents that hit University of California campuses last month.   African-American students at UC San Diego were offended when they learned about an off-campus “Compton Cookout” party” and later that a noose and KKK-style hood were placed on campus. UC Davis students […]
March 7, 2010
Opinion
Who’s Really at the Top?
According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, under-represented minority women make up nearly 15 percent of the nation’s populace 15-24 years of age – a substantial proportion of the pre-college and college-going population. Yet, the National Science Foundation reports under-represented minority women earned just 10 percent of all STEM baccalaureate degrees granted in 2006. These numbers […]
March 7, 2010
Opinion
A Painful Separation
When I arrived at Lincoln last fall, some of the veteran faculty mentioned that the English and Mass Communications Department would split into two separate departments. On Monday, we came one step closer to that separation when the department voted unanimously to recommend such a move. This was no small decision, either. The mass communications […]
March 3, 2010
Opinion
From Minority to AALANA, What’s in a Name?
About three years ago, I stopped referring to people of African, Latino, Asian, and Native American descent as minorities.  I dropped the word “minority” from my spoken vocabulary for some of the same reasons many African-Americans buried Negro in the 1960s and instead started calling themselves Black or Afro-American. (Ironically, more than 50,000 people wrote […]
March 1, 2010
Opinion
Misunderstanding History in the Age of Obama
On Feb. 26, President Barack Obama signed an executive order recognizing the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In honor of the event, the president said of HBCUs, “They are the campuses where a people were educated, where a middle class was built, where a dream took hold.”   As someone interested in […]
February 28, 2010
Opinion
The Cos’ Effect
Nearly 20 years after its final episode, The Cosby Show continues to be a powerful teaching tool and an intense source of discussion. As someone who grew up watching the Huxtables, I often mistook the sitcom for reality. The Huxtables were not characters, but real people whose experiences I could relate to. Moreover, my connection […]
February 24, 2010
Opinion
Are You in This for the Love of Sports and Winning? The New Academy …… Sport Academies
There is a plethora of “For the Love of Whomever” television shows out there. Most of the time, a D-list celebrity tries to find love and the world is his or her oyster. The producers place a casting call and they reel in the candidates. The celebrity or wannabe then has his or her pick […]
February 23, 2010
Opinion
Are You in This for the Love of Sports and Winning? The New Academy …… Sport Academies
There is a plethora of “For the Love of Whomever” television shows out there. Most of the time, a D-list celebrity tries to find love and the world is his or her oyster. The producers place a casting call and they reel in the candidates. The celebrity or wannabe then has his or her pick […]
February 23, 2010
Opinion
They Will Come: Recruitment of Black and Latinos to Rural, Traditionally White Colleges
There is an absurdly low number of African-American and Latino faculty and students at my college, a situation that exists at thousands of colleges across the nation in overwhelming White, rural or semirural communities.   That is not necessarily a problem, as it would be statistically impossible for African-American and Latino students to substantially diversify […]
February 21, 2010
STEM
Breaking New Ground on Faculty Diversity in STEM Fields
Just over 10 years after releasing a groundbreaking report on the status of their women faculty, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has made public a much-anticipated review of their small community of underrepresented minority faculty in an effort to shed light on the need for greater diversity within the MIT professoriate. The importance of […]
February 17, 2010
Opinion
Underground Greeks: Dealing With the Not-So-Secret Pledge Process
About one month into the fall semester, four of my students mysteriously started missing classes, showing up late and missing assignments. All of them barely passed my class, but, on the last day of the semester, I found out why their production had slipped so greatly. They all proudly wore their fraternity’s colors, indicating they […]
February 16, 2010
Opinion
Teaching and Learning about Homophobia and Racism
“Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood.”                                                –Coretta Scott King   A few days ago I was watching television with a mentee of mine — an African-American male.  An ad […]
February 11, 2010
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