By Ibrahim K. Sundiata (Click here to view the entire P&R issue) For more than two years, the federal government has been considering revising race in America. Among the most controversial proposals is one calling for creation of a mixed-race "multiracial" category. The debate on this subject promises to establish the context for race relations for the next century and … [Read more...] about “At the Races: the Multicultural Proposal” by Ibrahim K. Sundiata (March-April 1995 P&R Issue)
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Racial/Ethnic Categories: Do They Matter?
Last fall, the House Subcommittee on Census, Statistics and Postal Personnel, chaired by Rep. Thomas Sawyer (D-OH), held a series of hearings on modification of the existing racial categories used by the Census and on the larger question of whether it is proper for the government to classify people according to arbitrary distinctions of skin color and ancestry. The issue is of … [Read more...] about Racial/Ethnic Categories: Do They Matter?
Is Racism Permanent? (November-December 1993 P&R Issue)
(Click here to view the entire P&R issue) The question "Is racism permanent?" resembles a Zen koan, one of those provocative questions the master would pose to the disciple. If the student quickly answered either yes or no, the master would give a brusque reply, signaling that the neophyte had failed to ponder the matter deeply. In our case, while the dominant (white) … [Read more...] about Is Racism Permanent? (November-December 1993 P&R Issue)
Is Racism Permanent? (November-December 1993 P&R Issue)
Watching children chained to each other in Chicago's Juvenile Court causes me to think of Derrick Bell. The racialized image of bondage, slavery and chain gangs evoked by the passage of these youths is unavoidable. Yet hundreds of committed employees carry on each day, undismayed by this silent assault on the dignity of children. I hear Professor Bell whisper to me when I … [Read more...] about Is Racism Permanent? (November-December 1993 P&R Issue)
