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Survey Identifies World�s Most Racist Countries

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:40:49 +0000

Is it possible to determine the world's most racist countries through a single poll? Not likely. But the World Values Survey set out to do just that by asking citizens of more than 80 different nations to "identify kinds of people they would not want as neighbors," the Washington Post reports. Race was among a list of qualities respondents could choose from to rule out people as neighbors.

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Are White Americans Unaware of Their Racism?

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:10:34 +0000

The problem with white America, according to attorney Dawn Cutaia, is that "we are racist and we don't even know it." Cutaia, who's white herself, says in an opinion piece for the York Daily Record that many whites have the impression that they have to belong to the KKK to be racist. By denying the prevalence of racism, however, whites have done a disservice to America, Cutaia asserts.

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Arizona High Schools Celebrates "Redneck Day"

Mon, 06 May 2013 01:11:20 +0000

An Arizona high school is in hot water after celebrating "Redneck Day" last week to stir up school spirit before prom. Students at Queen Creek High School in Maricopa County were encouraged to dress up as "rednecks" like the people featured on the reality program "Duck Dynasty," which chronicles a Louisiana family who cashed in on a duck-call hunting product called the Duck Commander.

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Obama Pokes Fun of Bigotry at Correspondents� Dinner

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:24:27 +0000

At the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday, President Barack Obama did not shy away from the xenophobic and Islamophobic smear campaigns that have dogged him throughout his presidency. Using humor, he took aim at the detractors who have accused him of being a Muslim born outside of the United States. The president also discussed the Republican Party's lackluster attempts to win over racial minority groups.

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Race, Religion and the Boston Marathon Bombing

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:22:05 +0000

As Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show" has pointed out, some of the media coverage following the bombing of the Boston Marathon on Monday has proven to be downright abysmal. It's not only that major news outlets have reported false information related to the bombing but also that some of this false information has had a racist and xenophobic streak that's impacted anyone who's watched television coverage of the event or read about it on or offline.

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Does The �Accidental Racist� Miss the Mark?

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 23:48:56 +0000

To say that Brad Paisley's new single "Accidental Racist" has sparked controversy would be an understatement. News outlets as diverse as NPR, CNN, The Atlantic and the Christian Science Monitor have been picked apart the song's lyrics. Critics such as The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates argue that the "Accidental Racist" is plain racist. I don't know if I would go that far, but I certainly find the song problematic because it simplifies U.S. history and the racism that characterized that history. In the song, which features rapper-actor LL Cool J, Paisley remarks...

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Celebrating Arab American Heritage Month

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:53:15 +0000

April is Arab American Heritage Month. It's my first time in four years on the Race Relations website writing about this cultural observance month. I wish I hadn't waited so ...

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Jeremy Lin Says Stereotypes Hurt His NBA Prospects

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 12:44:08 +0000

Basketball star Jeremy Lin appeared on CBS program "60 Minutes" on Sunday, and he didn't mince words when asked why both college teams and the NBA largely overlooked him despite his enviable record.

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Georgia Students Team Up For Integrated Prom

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:55:06 +0000

A group of teens from Wilcox County, Ga., is making international headlines after banding together to organize a racially integrated prom. Writing that line made me feel as if I'd suddenly time traveled back to the 1950s. Alas, I'm still in the 21st century and shockingly in some parts of the U.S., prom remains racially segregated--with towns throwing "white proms" and "black proms." How is this legal in a place like Wilcox County? Because the public schools there do not oversee prom festivities. Apparently proms are private events organized by parents, and white parents have thrown "white proms" for years. This year, however, some brave Wilcox County high school students are challenging this racist tradition by organizing an integrated prom. For making the brave move, they've received support from people as far away as London, Paris and Japan.

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Why The Shock Over Magic Johnson�s Support of Gay Son?

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:14:43 +0000

Magic Johnson's son, EJ, has received quite a bit of attention since the gossip website TMZ.com posted footage Wednesday of the 20-year-old walking hand in hand with a male friend on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. While Earvin Johnson III, or EJ, was out as gay to his friends and family, the public remained unaware of his sexual orientation. Now Americans aren't only weighing in on EJ's sexuality and fashion sense but also on the fact that Magic Johnson has chosen to publicly support his gay son. The basketball legend and entrepreneur gave a lengthy interview to TMZ about raising EJ.

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