African American culture is a familiar phenomenon. We have African American inspired styles of dress, personal names, cuisine, speech, music, literature and art. The black church is a well-known institution, as is the black media. Black History Month is a staple of...

White people in the United States share a common history of immigration from Europe and assimilation into United States society. As a group we share a common language, and a common understanding of normative values, aesthetic preferences, and many other things. In...

Part 1 – the problem Part 2 – the historical context Part 3 – the current condition As I write the final post in this series, a national outcry is taking place over the homicide of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager, by a white man in Florida. Messages calling for...

Part 1 – the problem Part 2 – the historical context The rich have been getting richer. The wealthiest 400 individuals in the United States own as much as the poorest 150,000,000 people. Get a college degree and drive a cab. It’s not easy being young,...

Part 1 – the problem The very idea of a “white” person was invented in colonial Virginia in the late 1600s as a means of separating poor European laborers from poor African laborers, who together had shown a willingness to join in mass armed rebellion against their...

Occupy Wall Street (OWS), and the greater Occupy phenomenon that has swept the nation, is still drying its feathers after cracking out of its shell on September 17, 2011. The direction the movement will take remains to be seen but the target is clear: economic...