On Wednesday, a young white man named Dylann Roof killed nine black people at prayer in South Carolina. Some have called it racism. Others say it was a crazy, isolated act. “He was one of these whacked out kids,” said Senator Lindsey Graham. “I don’t think it’s anything broader than that.” Does Graham have a … Continue reading »
psychology and racism
Othering, Belonging, and Impermanence
I’m writing to you from the Othering & Belonging conference in Oakland, California, sponsored by the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society. I wanted to attend because of the title: it’s rare that a conference will try to dialectically encompass both a problem and a solution in its own name. The name suggests both dystopian … Continue reading »
How to actually read a racist book to your kid
On June 15, the novelist Stephen Marche published a thought-provoking piece in The New York Times entitled, “How to Read Racist Books to Your Kids.” I empathized with the issues he faced — I’ve also felt ambushed by racist imagery when reading classic children’s books to my multiracial child — and I was sympathetic to … Continue reading »
How subtle discrimination affects targets II: American as Apple Pie
As I explore about in this blog post, prejudice and discrimination does not have to be blatant or extreme to affect people. Although tragedies such as the shooting of Trayvon Martin grab headlines, these incidents are a lot less common than the racial slurs or put-downs, masked as jokes or tongue-in-cheek bantering, that minorities often have … Continue reading »