One of the problems with overcoming bias is the problem of changing common knowledge. The best example I’ve seen is a classic Family Ties episode, in which the neighbors panic because a black family moves onto the block. As soon as the black family moves in, several families leave the neighborhood because of [...]

Another great article on race came out today, this one talking about racial discrimination in sports. The author, LZ Granderson, describes his infuriation at the stereotypes that continue to taint our perception of great athletes. In a nutshell: if you want to say that black guys can be great QBs, then you also [...]

I was flipping through the news channels yesterday, when I came across the following banner: Steinem: Racism Taken More Seriously Than Sexism. Unfortunately, the commentators had already moved on to rehash the already stale arguments about the role of “identity politics” in the Democratic Primary. As a result, I have no idea if [...]

I’ve been thinking a lot about Hillary Clinton lately. Some of this has stemmed from our recent debate about media coverage of the Clinton campaign. Some of it has come from Stanley Fish’s recent columns over on his New York Times blog. In any case, the upshot has been that I’ve been [...]

The House just passed a bill that would outlaw employment discrimination based on sexual identity. It’s a compromise bill in that it exempts groups with religious affiliations and does not protect against transsexual or transgender discrimination. Good for the House, and I hope it passes the Senate and becomes law.
In any case, the [...]

The last few days I’ve been reading Come On People, by Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint.  The book, and the extensive book tour that they’ve been doing to support it over the last week, is a call to action for black community leaders, teachers, and parents, among others.  I’m only about half-way through it, [...]

Mitt Romney is an idiot.
In 2004 Barack Obama supported a bill in Illinois that allowed for the teaching of age appropriate sex education to elementary school students as young as Kindergarten. The bill specified such topics as knowing about the body, understanding basics about sexual harassment and abuse (as in, it’s not ok to [...]

I suppose, given the nature of market economies, burqinis were inevitable. Guys, be sure to add it to the shopping list for your wives or girlfriends! I’d never imagined a two-piece swimsuit could be more modest than a one-piece.

I’ve been watching with fascination this week as the Don Imus controversy has unraveled.  In case you’re not in a hotel room watching entirely too much MSNBC this week, here’s basically the gist of what’s happened:
On Tuesday, April 3rd, Tennessee defeated Rutgers in the NCAA Women’s Championship Game. Tenneessee was the favorite, and it was [...]

Only a moron would vote for a candidate based on the amount of melanin in their skin or the location and type of their sex organs. While it took us, as a society, a lot longer than it should have to come to that conclusion, most of us are finally there. We’ve even [...]