Race and Class Discourse from an Ivory Tower in Connecticut

President Donald Trump’s refusal at the first presidential debate to condemn white supremacists for inciting violence and his statement that the violent hate group, Proud Boys, should “stand back and stand by” rather than “stand down” at demonstrations across the country was shocking but did not surprise me. Unfortunately, the President’s views are those of far too many of his supporters. The problem with many Trump voters are their stubborn refusal to accept or even fully acknowledge that the country continues to be haunted by the consequences of its original sin, the acceptance of chattel slavery by the nation’s Founding Fathers, and the refusal by many white Americans to accept the presence and humanity of black people. Using a cultural motif known as a “pact with the devil,” during that usually hot summer in Philadelphia in 1787, the Framers offered the soul of the nation to Satan in exchange for a national unity constructed around a white Christian identity. The eco...

I hope young people are paying close attention to the Democratic Party presidential nomination race. The Party does not have their interest or needs in mind. It is time for them to fight for their future. In the beginning, I must admit, I was really excited by the field of candidates seeking the Democratic Party nomination for President. Donald Trump is one of the most unapologetic racist, xenophobic, and sexist individuals ever elected to be President of the United States. When the race started, it was the most diverse group of candidates in the history of the Democratic Party presidential nomination process. With roughly 8 months to go, two white men in their late 70s with sharp ideological and policy differences are the leading candidates fighting for the nomination. Although it is not a surprise, this is not what I had hoped for at the beginning of this process. On one side is Joe Biden, 77-year old former U.S. Senator and Barack Obama’s vice-president and pal who has soug...

By Cheri Quickmire and Bilal Dabir Sekou Published 12:00 am EST, Thursday, February 20, 2020 In Georgia, officials are purging 100,000 voters from the voter rolls. In Florida, the modern equivalent of a poll tax is being thrust upon formerly incarcerated residents. And in Texas, in a willful policy effort to drive down Election Day turnout, 750 polling places have been shuttered since 2012. Across the nation, voting rights are indeed under attack. But here at home, this legislative session, Connecticut has the opportunity to send a message to America by expanding participation in democracy - and for those who need it most. We can do it by passing automatic voter registration - known as AVR. It's a critical reform as the 2020 election approaches, and it needs to be one of the first issues the Legislature takes up this session. Here's why. Last year on the final day of legislative business, just as the Senate was set to join the House in passing ...

During a recent campaign rally in Colorado Springs, President Donald Trump expressed his distaste for the Academy Award winning South Korean film, ‘Parasite,’ and his love for ‘Gone With The Wind,’ the film adopted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell. Like its record-breaking predecessor, ‘Birth of Nation,’ the1939 box-office hit is a white supremacist fantasy film that perpetuates Civil War and Lost Cause myths. Until he said to loud applause, “Can we get ‘Gone With the Wind’ back, please?,” the President had not blown a racial dog whistle that loud since he came down the escalator in Trump Tower announcing his bid for the presidency and proclaiming that most undocumented Mexican immigrants bring drugs and crime, and are rapists. Under Trump, the national Republican Party has become the party of white identity politics, resentment, grievances, and anger with a long list of scores to settle with their enemies, real and imagined – elites, the media, third-world immigrants, pe...