By Ian Haney Lopez and Anat Shenker-Osorio Since Donald Trump’s ascension to the White House, various political insiders have warned Democrats not to talk about race issues or what they term “identity politics” — a phrase that intentionally downgrades a raft of critical concerns. In an op-ed last year, for instance, Mark Penn, a former consultant to … Continue reading »
On Women’s Equality Day, balance the scales for men
Forty-five years ago, Congress passed a resolution designating August 26 “Women’s Equality Day,” commemorating the passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote. Much has improved for women since that resolution, not to mention since the amendment passed in 1920. Women no longer need a husband to co-sign for a credit card … Continue reading »
Chris Collins and honest graft
By: Henry E. Brady and Kay L. Schlozman Representative Chris Collins, who represents a district between Rochester and Buffalo in upper New York State, has been indicted by federal prosecutors on charges of insider trading. He has already decided not to seek re-election this November, although he will finish out his current term. If he … Continue reading »
Beyond mass incarceration: felony convictions and economic opportunity
When it comes to employment, a felony conviction is more damaging than imprisonment. Criminal justice reform advocates have rightly celebrated recent victories that will reduce the use of money bail. For example, New Jersey eliminated almost all cash bail last year, and recently more and more cities are doing so. Yet the significant harms created … Continue reading »
Looking for Malcolm
A popular theory of Black Nationalism (broadly defined) contends that during periods of relative racial harmony in American history, Blacks are welcomed into mainstream society. However, during periods of racial hostility when doors of advancement are shut, Blacks retreat to their own institutions and organizations. According to the theory there have been at … Continue reading »
The Trump administration wants to end California’s role as an environmental innovator
The administration’s unprecedented deregulation effort would upend a system that improved air quality throughout the United States and slowed harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Psychology Department members cite research against family separations
The Department of Psychology created a “Positive Action Team” during the 2017-2018 year to create public facing statements affirming our Department’s mission and values. In response to the ongoing crises with family separations, the team drafted the following open letter which is also posted on our Department website. See here. UC Berkeley Department of Psychology Statement … Continue reading »
What comes next? Janus v. AFSCME
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME in favor of the plaintiff, a local government worker who asserted that being required to pay fees to the union at his workplace violated his first amendment rights. This ruling has been anticipated for years (a similar case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, was deadlocked … Continue reading »
What is at stake in Supreme Court ruling on Janus vs. AFSCME
Co-authored with Sarah Thomason Monica Ruiz grew up the daughter of immigrant farmworkers in the Central Valley. Despite their hard work under grueling conditions, her parents struggled to make ends meet with the low wages they were paid. Monica joined her parents in the fields as a teenager and could have continued on a similar … Continue reading »
The slow rise, sudden fall of the G-7
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders at the G-7 summit, including President Trump, in Canada on June 9, 2018. The end times have come and gone for the West over 70-odd years, but it is difficult these days, to escape the sensation that the dusk really is falling. A changing light casts long shadows … Continue reading »
Trump has turned words into weapons and he’s winning the linguistic war
As president of the United States, anything he says – true or false – is faithfully parroted by the press. This needs to change.
Trump’s lawyers say Mueller can’t touch him. Is the president really above the law?
A flurry of statements by President Donald Trump and his lawyers are stunningly reminiscent of a comment attributed to Louis XIV: “L’etat, c’est moi” — “The state? I am the state.” In early June, a memorandum from Trump’s lawyers to special counsel Robert Mueller became public and it contended that a president cannot commit the … Continue reading »
Who was Robert Kennedy?
There was no Saint Bobby. Robert Kennedy was a hawk not a dove, particularly with respect to his role in U.S.-Latin American relations. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, it was RFK who convinced his brother that a blockade would not be as effective as an invasion of Cuba. Relations between JFK and Bobby with Martin … Continue reading »
How to talk (and not to talk) about school shootings
Yes, as we all know, we have been here before. Twenty years ago, the nation was shocked by the Columbine High School shooting. On June 1, 1999, the day after the massacre, President Clinton gave an impassioned speech in the Rose Garden in which he announced a national campaign against youth violence. The campaign was to mobilize businesses, volunteer organizations … Continue reading »
Trump can’t block you from his Twitter account, but you can block him from yours
Last week a federal judge in New York decided that President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking individuals from his Twitter account who criticized him or his tweets. Trump admitted he barred the individuals from access to his tweets and from commenting on them because of their political opposition to Trump’s positions. Judge … Continue reading »
It’s time to raise wages for care workers
If you have children, you have likely struggled to find affordable quality childcare. Many of us face the same struggle seeking home care for a loved one or ourselves. In both cases costs to consumers are often out of reach while wages for workers are too low to retain a trained, stable workforce. Ballot initiatives this year … Continue reading »
Three works about inequality converge on similar policy agenda
In a span of three months in 2017, three Richards— Reeves, Florida, and Rothstein—published three well-received books on inequality in America. Each work begins at starkly different origin points, but end at remarkably similar conclusions. The consensus policy agenda developed by the three Richards suggests not only the unfinished business of past generations, but also … Continue reading »
Free speech on campus: an exchange
On May 10, columnist Megan McArdle published a blog post for The Washington Post about the recent release of the report of the Berkeley Commission on Free Speech. As co-chair of the commission, I responded to McArdle’s post in an email, resulting in the following exchange, which I’d like to make available for those interested in the … Continue reading »
Why we must continue to fight for fair housing, 50 years on from nation’s Fair Housing Act
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act. The final major legislative accomplishment of the Civil Rights Movement, this act was preceded by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed for an “open housing” law several years before, but … Continue reading »
A small reach for gender parity at tech conferences can produce big gains
I was part of the second class of undergraduate women at Williams College, which became co-educational in 1970 after nearly 200 years of being an all-male enclave – and for many of those years, all-white as well. I became accustomed to being one of the only women in a classroom. I didn’t have a single … Continue reading »