Most readers recognize many of these names: Emmett Till, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, James Byrd, Troy Davis,  Trayvon Martin.  All are American men of African descent, brutally murdered (or executed by the state in Davis’ case) essentially for the crime of being Black. ...

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...