1 An Addendum to the Curse of PowerRace and Politics An Addendum to the Curse of Power

2 Lecture Outline History of Race Relations in AmericaPolitical Culture and Race Today An International Perspective on Discrimination/Racism Race and Politics in America The consequence of controversial Racial Statements The race issue in the Obama presidency

3 History of Race Relations in AmericaUS History on Race History – To this day, we are haunted by our history of slavery, segregation, and discrimination of whites against blacks – these were egregious violations of American principles Slavery – One person “owning property” in another goes against our founding principles of “individual liberty” Segregation – Legal separation of races in society goes against our belief in “equality under the law” Racism – Discrimination goes against our belief in “merit,” i.e., hire the most qualified for a job or admit the most deserving to institutions of high education—regardless of race, gender, national origin, etc. Corrections for Past Injustices – Our country has tried to make amends for these injustices The Civil War Amendments – 13th (ended slavery), 14th (equal protection and due process), and 15th (voting rights) Amendments were to correct for slavery White culture rejected the principles of equal protection, due process, and voting rights for blacks for 100 years Other countries are also haunted by their histories. There are approximately 8 European countries that have laws against denying the “holocaust.” The “holocaust” was perpetrated by the Germans in WWII; it was a concerted effort to exterminate Jews (as well as other “undesirables”—catholics, gypsies, homosexuals). These 8 countries who punish holocaust deniers are so sensitive to their past involvement or association with the holocaust that they will not tolerate deniers; they also know that Jews are very offended by holocaust denials, and they want to demonstrate that they are going to protect their Jewish populations, even at the expense of free speech rights and the right to conscience (i.e., theoretically in a free society, one would have the right to believe the holocaust did not happen and to speak his or her mind on the subject). Turkey is also haunted by the Armenian “genocide” in When Turkey entered WWI, it proceeded to wipe out its minority Armenian population, which was very industrious and successful in Turkey (similar to the Jews in the various countries where they reside). Allegedly, Hitler got ideas from the genocide that he later used in the holocaust. Turkey denies that a genocide took place, but it is receiving increasing international pressure to make amends with Armenia by acknowledging that a genocide did occur, including pressure from the US.

4 History of Race Relations in AmericaUS History on Race Corrections for Past Injustices (continued) Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts (1960s) – ended segregation and discrimination in the public and private sectors (e.g., businesses prohibited from denying service to blacks); enforced voting rights for blacks Affirmative Action – programs designed to help minorities gain access to jobs, higher education, and government contracts (for minority-owned businesses) Present Day – Much progress has been made in race relations, but even so, blacks and whites have substantial differences on: 1) the need for government services, 2) hiring preferences (affirmative action), 3) the death penalty, 4) vote choice in presidential elections…just to name a few Race and Politics – Today, the race issue is used in the struggle for power; it is akin to the “curse of power” Accusations of racism is one of the most devastating labels in American politics…a politician labeled as racist (presuming the label sticks) is almost certainly finished in politics Civil rights have been expanded over the years to include other disadvantaged groups: women, Hispanics, the disabled, gays

5 U.S. Culture and Race The Status of American Culture on Race

6 Political Culture and RacePolitical culture defines the rules of acceptable and unacceptable behavior American culture today is hyper-sensitive to racial comments High-profile commentators of professional sports and political figures have been forced to resign their positions because of racially sensitive or racist comments Because of our past, our political culture must “prove” it has abandoned its discriminatory ways by punishing those who make racial/racist comments, whether the commentators are truly racist or not Conservatives (Republicans) are more vulnerable than Liberals (Democrats) to punishment for racially sensitive comments Liberals/Democrats supported civil rights (1960s), welfare (1930s to today), and affirmative action (1970s to today), and these policies were targeted to help blacks, and thus liberals are considered to be non-racist in behavior, even when they make racist remarks Conservatives opposed civil rights and welfare and oppose affirmative action today, for non-racist principled reasons, but the culture considers conservatives as being on the wrong side of history Conservatives/Republicans tend to be more vulnerable to the charge of being racist, mainly because Conservatives/Republicans have fought against civil rights, affirmative action, and welfare, programs that are targeted to help blacks integrate into the business world, into higher education, and out of poverty. Of course, non-racist Conservatives/Republicans oppose these policies on principled grounds (states rights, reverse discrimination, creating dependency on big government, respectively), but racists would also cite these reasons, as cover for their racist intent—and it is always difficult to distinguish a racist from a non-racist. A good contrast illustrating how conservatives/Republicans are more vulnerable are the Trent Lott (R-MS) and Harry Reid (D-NV) cases. Trent Lott was the Senate Majority Leader in 2002 when he attended a birthday party for then Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC). In a speech honoring Thurmond’s life and career, Lott said that the country would have been better off and that we wouldn’t have all the problems we have today had Strom Thurmond been elected president in Thurmond ran as a Dixiecrat for president in 1948, and the Dixiecrat Party was an advocate of segregation (the separation of blacks and whites in society), so taken on the surface, Lott’s comments implied that he supported segregation, which has been rejected today as a racist blight on American history. Lott was actually trying to be complimentary of a dying old man (Thurmond died two months later); nevertheless, Lott’s comments were so controversial that he decided to resign as the Majority Leader of the US Senate (though he still retained his Senate seat until he retired in 2009; he just resigned his leadership position). Harry Reid (D-NV) is the Majority Leader of the US Senate (2007-present), and in a 2009 book, Game Change, the authors reported that Reid commented in early 2008 that then presidential candidate Barack Obama had a real shot at winning the presidency because he was a “light-skinned” black and that he did not speak with a “negro dialect.” On the surface, this is very racist language, but Reid meant it as a compliment to Obama, who he felt was the first black candidate for president who could actually win. Even President Obama came to Reid’s defense, saying he has always been on the “right side of history.” Reid did not resign his leadership position (the story was quickly displaced by the disastrous earthquake in Haiti in Jan. 2010). Both Lott and Reid intended their comments to be complimentary, though some argue that what Lott said was not true but what Reid said is true. The “negro dialect” part of Reid’s commentary is probably true, but the “light-skinned” part is not. James Clymer (D-SC) is dark-skinned, yet he holds the 3rd highest position in the US House, just after Nancy Pelosi and Stenny Hoyer. Lott was more suspect of being racist because he was a conservative, and the political culture (right or wrong) considers the conservative positions against welfare and affirmative action (and being against civil rights in the 1960s) as being on the wrong side of history. Then Senator Biden (D-DE) (Biden is now Vice President) also made a statement construed as racist about Barack Obama (that Obama is “clean”). At the time ( ), Biden was running against Obama for president, and Biden’s presidential run suffered after that, though I’m not sure the comment about Obama had anything to do with his struggling presidential campaign, and again, Biden has cover for his history of supporting civil rights. In fact, civil rights leaders (namely, Jesse Jackson) defended Biden after his statement about Obama made the news. Jackson said that he doesn’t consider Biden to be a racist. Ironically, Obama chose Biden as his running mate later in the presidential campaign. Geraldine Ferraro is a Democrat who was forced out of her position as fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign (2008) for a comment she made about Obama. Ferraro was the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate in 1984; that’s her claim to fame, and in 2008, she was a Hillary Clinton supporter; during the Democratic primaries, she commented that people were voting for Barack Obama because they were enamored with the concept of voting for a “black man for president.” This comment became very controversial and she was forced to resign as a campaign fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. Ferraro’s history of supporting civil rights, welfare and affirmative action did not save her. In a strange way, Hillary Clinton was treated like a Republican while running for president against Barack Obama in the Democratic primaries, and as a consequence, Geraldine Ferraro was treated like a Republican (and considered a racist). Jimmy “the Greek”, Howard Cossell, Al Campanis, Rush Limbaugh, Don Imus, and Don Sterling have each lost jobs for making racially sensitive or racist comments about sports figures.

7 Race in America Today Some Setbacks in Race RelationsSince 2012, a number of black men have been shot by police (or community watchmen), and some of the shooters have not been prosecuted (Darren Wilson & Daniel Pantaleo) This has reinforced the perception that our culture tolerates police brutality (and murder) of blacks As a backlash, ~6 police officers have been shot (at least 2 killed) in the wake of the police shootings of these and other black men On the slide is George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Walter Scott (running from the police officer). Zimmerman shot and killed Martin in Feb Michael Brown was shot and killed in Aug Walter Scott was shot to death in Apr As of June 2015, Michael Slager was indicted by a grand jury for murder. Slager killed Walter Scott, after Scott fled from his car after being pulled over by Slager. Slager ran down Scott and tried to shoot him with is taser, but the two struggled for the taser, and the taser was thrown to the ground in the struggle. Slager then pulled his gun and shot Scott in the back as Scott ran away. Eric Garner is not shown in the graphics. He was killed by NYC Officer Daniel Pantaleo in July 2014 after being arrested for illegally selling cigarettes. Garner was suffocated to death. The grand jury found that the pressure Pantaleo placed on Garner’s body as he held him down face-down on the ground was not the only contributing factor in Garner’s death. Garner had asthma and was grossly overweight, and since these factors also contributed to his death, the grand jury did not indict Pantaleo for murder. Tamir Rice, a 12-year old, was shot and killed by police in Cleveland, OH in Nov Tamir was waving a toy gun at people on a playground. The person who called in the incident told the dispatcher that the gun may not be a real gun, but the dispatcher apparently failed to pass that information to the officers who took the call. In July 2015, Samuel Dubose was shot in the head and killed by a campus police officer (Raymond Tensing) at the University of Cincinnati. The police officer was white, and Dubose was black. Dubose was pulled over for not displaying a front license plate and then he was cagey about whether he had a driver’s license. Dubose asked the police officer to look up his driver’s license number in the police database, but the officer wanted him to show an actual license. Dubose then decided to flee by speeding away in his car, but before he could get anywhere, Tensing shot him in the head. The officer is being charged with murder; he has pleaded not guilty, claiming he was dragged by the car and was forced to shoot to save his own life. The video of the incident does not seem to support the officer’s story. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B93X9sQfYLo

8 Race in America Today The Black Lives Matter MovementIn 2015, Black Lives Matter leaders have disrupted the speeches of the Democratic presidential candidates, even taking the stage at a Bernie Sanders rally—and—shouting down Martin O’Malley when he responded by saying “all lives matter” The movement wants Democrats to place institutional racism (e.g., police department discrimination) against blacks and other minorities high on the Democratic presidential agenda -- I cut and pasted the pictures on the slide above from the Black Lives Matter website. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xNxoeqf0Ws – Fox News has shown this video of a Black Lives Matters rally in Minnesota (Aug. 2015) chanting, “Pigs in a Blanket, Fry them like Bacon.” The organizer of the rally said that the chant was more of a joke, bantering with an officer on the scene who was laughing and joking with the protesters. The organizer also said that “fry them like bacon” is meant to protest that police officers who shoot black suspects are given bail but when someone shoots a police officer, they are not given bail. What the Critics Say: Conservative new outlets (e.g., Fox News) and some Republican presidential candidates (namely, Chris Christie) have accused the movement organizers of rallies of instigating violence against police officers

9 Race in America Today The Confederate Flag ControversyIn 2015, in the wake of a white supremacist (Dylan Roof) shooting of 9 black churchgoers in Charleston (South Carolina), there has been a renewed effort to take down the confederate flag at state capitols in Southern States To date, the confederate flag on the capitol grounds of South Carolina and Alabama have been taken down Also, some major retailers have stopped selling the confederate flag After the racist shooting in June 2015, many retailers, including Walmart, Amazon.com, Google, Sears, eBay, have taken down the confederate flag from their websites and some have stopped selling the flag. The Controversy: The confederate flag is viewed as a symbol of racism to its opponents and a symbol of Southern heritage/history to its supporters.

10 Race and Empowerment Do black people feel empowered to succeed in America?After Obama’s election, 75% of Black Americans felt more empowered about voting, versus 63% during Bush’s administration After Obama’s election, 60% of black people felt the “system” (haves v. have nots) is rigged against them, which is better than the 75% who felt this way during the Bush years, but 60% still indicates most blacks don’t feel empowered enough to succeed The bottom graphic is a 2015 poll from pollingreport.com, see In political science, we often see 67% as a threshold. For instance, when 67% of a country believe in a democratic system of government, that country never turns back to a dictatorship of some kind. As for racial empowerment, I’m not certain what the magic % would be, but it is probably something close to 2/3rds (67%). So, when 45% of blacks respond in a poll that they have an equal chance of landing a job, that tells me that the % is well below the threshold for “making it” in America. We will know our race problems in America are a thing of the past when a high enough % of blacks feel empowered enough to make it in America. At that point, the n-word won’t be such an insult to blacks (when whites say it), and whites will no longer feel so guilty about the past. It’s easy to put the past behind us when the past is no longer relevant to our lives, but racial discrimination is still relevant, in our history and in the present, so we just can’t put it behind us yet. 54% of blacks don’t believe that they have an equal shot at landing a job they are qualified to have. This is another indicator that blacks do not feel empowered enough to succeed

11 Discrimination/RacismAn International Perspective

12 Discrimination and Racism An International PerspectiveDiscrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity has been a worldwide problem, even in the modern world “Ethnic Cleansing” in The Balkans (1990s) Genocide in Darfur region of Sudan ( ) Tribal Massacres in Rwanda (1994) Apartheid in South Africa (1980s – 1990s) ISIS killings of Christians (today) Generally speaking, minorities are treated harshly everywhere: Palestinians in Israel, ethnic Russians in Baltic states, Koreans in Japan, and in many other locations. Violence and murder against “disfavored” groups The Balkans (1990s) – “Ethnic cleansing” resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths; discrimination based on ethnicity/religion Serbian (orthodox) Christians engaged in mass killings of Muslims and Croatian Catholics…and vice versa Rwanda (1994) – Tribal massacres resulted in 800K deaths; discrimination based upon tribal/group identification Hutu majority engaged in mass murder of Tutsi minority, a tribal rivalry for power Discrimination/Racism South Africa (1980s-1990s) – White minority rule over majority black population came to an end in 1994, with election of Nelson Mandela Apartheid was a harsh system of segregation Darfur region of Sudan (2003 – ~2009) – Arab militias (Janjaweed), with government assistance have killed ~500K non-Arab Sudanese Darfur: The US had secured a right to passage through Libya to move into the Darfur region of Sudan, just in case the US wanted to intervene to stop the genocide. The US pushed for action through the UN, secured a UN Security Council resolution authorizing an African Union force (only 7000 troops) and later authorization for a 20K strong UN peacekeeping force. For a while, the Sudanese government blocked the larger 20K force (the home government must approve of an outside force within its borders). The US is providing food aid to the more than one million refugees in the Darfur region. The killing is a case of racist motivated murder, Arab v. non-Arab, at least the Janjaweed perceive differences (some say there are no distinctions, that almost all people of Darfur speak Arabic (making them Arab) and all are Black (so there are not racial differences). Discrimination against immigrants is a worldwide problem, not just in America. Hispanic leaders in America view opposition to (illegal) immigration as racism. Beliefs such as these are held by minorities in other countries also. For instance, Muslims in France engaged in violent protests (2005) against the French government because Muslim youth feel as if they are discriminated against when seeking a job.

13 Race and Politics The Consequence of Racist Statements

14 Controversial Racial Statements The World of SportsRacial statements are no longer tolerated in America Howard Cosell (1982) – On Monday Night Football (1982), Cosell made a racial slur (“little monkey”) about a NFL wide receiver Cosell was not a racist, called Muhammad Ali by his chosen name, while most whites insulted Ali by calling him “Cassius Clay” Cosell used same “racial slur” to affectionately describe his grandchildren Cosell was promptly fired from Monday Night Football Al Campanis (1987) – On ABC Nightline (1987), Campanis said blacks may not have some of the mental faculties to be managers in Major League Baseball Implied blacks are genetically inferior to whites Campanis resigned from his executive position with the LA Dodgers the next day Howard Cosell referred to a Washington Redskin wide receiver as a “little monkey.” The receiver was small and quick by NFL standards, and Cosell said something like, “that little monkey can really run.” Hear his comments: Al Campanis played major league baseball with Jackie Robinson, the first black to break the color barrier in major league baseball. Campanis harbored some latent racist beliefs, and those slipped out on national television. That evening’s Nightline was about why there were no black managers in major league baseball. Ted Koppel, the host of Nightline, gave Campanis an opportunity to dig out of the hole he had dug for himself, but Campanis just kept digging deeper. First, Campanis said that blacks may not have some of the “qualities” necessary to be a major league manager. Then after taking a commercial break, Ted Koppel commented that he didn’t think Campanis intended to say what he had just said and he gave Campanis another chance to clarify his thoughts. Then, Campanis said, “why aren’t blacks good swimmers?” again implying that blacks don’t have the “qualities” to be good swimmers. Campanis resigned his position with the LA Dodgers the next day.

15 Controversial Racial Statements The World of SportsRacial statements are no longer tolerated in America Jimmy “The Greek” (1987) -- In an interview (1987), “The Greek” said blacks are better athletes than whites because during the days of slavery, slave masters forced big and strong slaves to have children The statement was factually false + implied a genetic component to the success of black athletes, rather than hard work “The Greek” was fired from CBS NFL pre-game show Rush Limbaugh (2003) – In 2003, Limbaugh commented that many white sports writers overrated Donovan McNabb, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, because McNabb is black Limbaugh took a shot at white liberals, who often accuse conservatives of being racist for opposing affirmative action For quarterbacks in the NFL, the color barrier was broken in 1988, when Doug Williams led the Redskins to a Super Bowl victory Limbaugh resigned his position with ESPN In 2009, Limbaugh wanted to buy a stake in the St. Louis Rams, but his 2003 comments created a controversy about his views on race…and he was dropped from the consortium that wanted to purchase the team Jimmy “the Greek” gave the odds (e.g., Dallas Cowboys are favored to beat the Washington Redskins by 7 points) on the CBS Sunday pre-game show in the 1970s. Rush Limbaugh is a conservative radio talk show host who is an avid pro football fan. He was hired by ESPN to give commentary about football but only lasted a couple weeks on the job. Limbaugh believes white liberals are racists, and he’s angry that liberals often accuse conservatives of being racist for opposing affirmative action. He accused white liberal sports writers in the Philadelphia market of overrating Donovan McNabb because they wanted to see a black quarterback succeed, and what he implied with this accusation is that liberals only see race and not merits, which Limbaugh believes is a racist mindset. He accused the white sports writers of supporting McNabb because he is black, not because he is the best quarterback in the game. McNabb took offense to Limbaugh’s comments, believing the comments were racist at heart. The controversy forced Limbaugh to resign his position at ESPN. What happened here is that Limbaugh got over anxious to take a shot at white liberals on the race issue. He hates liberals so much that he couldn’t wait for a more opportune moment to make his case that white liberals are the real racists. To bring up race in the context of NFL quarterbacks was odd because the color barrier for NFL quarterbacks was broken 15 years earlier, when Doug Williams led the Washington Redskins to a Super Bowl victory. So, there is no reason why white liberal sports writers would need to trump up a black quarterback today, since everybody knows that a black quarterback can lead his team to a victory in the Super Bowl. It had already been done 15 years earlier. In 2007, the first black head coach’s team won the Super Bowl. That coach was Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts. Interestingly, both opposing team’s head coaches were black. Dungy did not make race an issue. In fact, he downplayed it, commenting that he had been held back in his career because of his mild manners (he doesn’t curse or scream to motivate his players), not because of race. Mike Tomlin is head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which won the Super Bowl in 2009 ( season). No one even mentioned race after Tomlin’s team won, since the race barrier for a winning black head coach had already been broken the previous year.

16 Controversial Racial Statements The World of SportsRacial statements are no longer tolerated in America Don Sterling (2014) – In 2014, the NBA forced Don Sterling to sell the LA Clippers after Sterling’s racist sentiments about black people was revealed to the public In a private conversation with his mistress, V. Stiviano, Sterling complained to her about being seen with black people on Instagram and at LA Clipper basketball games; he was particularly perturbed by Stiviano’s association with Magic Johnson, a former NBA player and 5-time NBA champion Bruce Levenson (2014) – In 2014, Bruce Levenson, controlling owner of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, voluntarily revealed to the NBA that he had made a racist remark in a about the fan base at Hawks basketball games; Levenson said the Hawks black fan base “scared away the whites” and that he wanted some white cheerleaders and music that would appeal to the typical 40-year old white fan Levenson decided to sell his interest in the team, particularly after he had been such a strong critic of Don Sterling earlier in the year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6h83OjQPok – Here Don Sterling’s racist rant with his mistress, V. Stiviano, in April This was a private conversation that Stiviano taped and then turned over to TMZ Sports, which broke the story. Sterling said that he wanted Stiviano to be viewed as a delicate Latina or white girl but felt that her association with blacks on Instagram and at LA Clipper basketball games would tarnish her image. Atlanta Hawks Here is Bruce Levenson’s (controlling owner of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks) confession about a racist remark he made in a “I have said repeatedly that the NBA should have zero tolerance for racism, and I strongly believe that to be true. That is why I voluntarily reported my inappropriate to the NBA.” “After much long and difficult contemplation, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the team, the Atlanta community, and the NBA to sell my controlling interest in the Hawks franchise.”

17 Controversial Racial Comments Sports Monikers: The Washington RedskinsPressure to change racially-sensitive sports names The Washington Redskins (2013): The Webster dictionary defines “redskin” as a term that is “usually offensive” to Native Americans Some Indian Nations have protested the “Redskin” name in the past decades, but there was concerted effort in 2013, led by the Oneida Indian Nation, to pressure the team owner, Dan Synder, to change the name President Obama: “If I were the owner of the team and I knew that the name of my team, even if they’ve had a storied history, that was offending a sizable group of people, I’d think about changing it.” Tom Cole (R-OK), who is a Native American: “The name is inappropriate; it’s offensive to a lot of people, certainly to me and a lot of others, millions of others.” Some Polls April 2013 AP Poll: 80% support keeping the Redskins team name 2004 Annenberg Institute Poll: 90% of Native Americans were not bothered by the “Washington Redskins” name Source for poll: Tom Cole interview: In June 2014, the U.S. Patent Office withdrew trademark protection for the Washington Redskins moniker. The Patent Office panel remarked that the moniker is not worth trademark protection, presumably because it is offensive to some Native Americans. This is government action against offensive speech, which is more alarming than private sector action against offensive speech. The government is supposed to protect free speech rights, even when that speech is very offensive. The Washington Redskins will appeal this decision to a federal court. More from the World of Sports In Feb. 2012, two ESPN employees were punished for a headline about the remarkable early season performances of Jeremy Lin, a NY Knicks guard in the NBA (who now plays for the Houston Rockets). The headline was posted on ESPN.com for three hours before it was taken down—it read something like, Lin is the “chink in the Knick’s armor.” “Chink” is a slur against Asians. The employee responsible for the headline was fired, and a commentator was suspended for one month for reading the headline on the air. Craig James was a star football player in high school, college and in the NFL. After his playing days, he became an ESPN announcer of college football games. In 2012, James took a hiatus to run in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in Texas (Ted Cruz eventually won the primary and the U.S. Senate seat). On the campaign trail, James criticized one of his competitors for attending a gay pride rally, saying that he would never endorse such a thing, and that gays would have to “answer to the Lord for their actions.” Because of the anti-gay comment, ESPN would not rehire James. The Fox Sports Network then hired James to call college games but later changed course, again being influenced by the fallout over the anti-gay comments.

18 Controversial Racial Statements Talk Radio, Cable News, Food NetworkRacial statements are no longer tolerated in America Don Imus (2007) – Imus made a racist/sexist statement about the women on the Rutgers women’s basketball team, which made it to the national championship game Imus called the girls “nappy-headed ho’s” CBS/MSNBC fired Imus…after ~18 month hiatus, Imus landed a new show on Sirius Radio Dr. Laura (2010) – Dr. Laura, who was a socially-conservative radio talk show host since 1993, said the “n-word” multiple times on air Dr. Laura was trying to make a statement against double standards – that black people can use the “n-word” but white people can’t She resigned her position as a radio talk show host in protest of interest groups (e.g., Media Matters) who called for her firing Paula Deen (2013) – In a legal deposition in May (2013), Deen admitted to using the n-word decades ago when she was younger In June (2013), the Food Network terminated Dean’s contract. Deen had become a food guru on the Food Network over the course of 11 years Don Imus Don Imus called the women on Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed ho’s.” As it turns out, these women were good students and very talented athletes, the opposite of “ho’s”. Imus was fired from MSNBC, and he lost his radio program. See video posted on Don Imus. Dr. Laura Hear Dr. Laura’s comments and an interview with Dr. Laura: 1) 2) Paula Deen A former restaurant employee, Lisa Jackson (at a restaurant Deen and her brother own) sued Paula Deen. Jackson said that Deen had used the n-word recently. Deen denied that. Deen admitted to using the n-word some 30 years ago. In the same deposition (cited on the slide), Deen also admitted to considering using waiters dressed as slaves for an antebellum-themed wedding—based on an idea she got at a restaurant where "middle-aged black men...had on beautiful black jackets with a black bow tie.” Here is Deen’s video apology:

19 Controversial Racial Statements Universities and Police DepartmentsRacial statements are no longer tolerated in America Oklahoma University SAE Fraternity (2015) – A video was released exposing the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) for a racist song, singing that blacks would never be members of SAE The OU president immediately expelled the two students, who led the song during a social function, without a hearing or due process for the students The OU president kicked out the SAE fraternity, disbanding the fraternity at OU Ferguson Police Department (2015) – In the wake of the Michael Brown shooting, the U.S. DOJ investigated the Ferguson Police Dept and found systematic racial bias against the black community, including racist s and targeting blacks for traffic fines There were systematic 4th Amendment violations of the black community; this type of action violates our belief in “equality under the law” 6 city officials resigned within a week of the DOJ release of its report, including the Police Chief, the City Manager, a Municipal Judge (who levied penalties for late payments of traffic fines), a County Clerk (for racist s), a Police Captain and Sergeant (for racist s) The OU SAE racist song: Fallout from the DOJ report on the Ferguson Police:

20 Controversial Racial Statements Presidential PoliticsRacial statements are no longer tolerated in politics Geraldine Ferraro (2008) – Ferraro was the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate in 1984 and was a Hillary Clinton supporter Ferraro commented that people are voting for Barak Obama because they are enamored with the concept of voting for a “black man for president” Ferraro was labeled a racist and forced to resign her position with the Clinton campaign Reverend Jeremiah Wright (2008) – Wright was Barack Obama’s pastor of 20 years; he made anti-white and anti-American comments Obama was forced to make a major speech about race, demonstrating that he understands the grievances whites and blacks levy against each other About US foreign policy, Reverend Jeremiah Wright has said that America is the number one killer in the world, that the US has supported terrorism against Palestinians and black South Africans, and because of these policies, the chickens came home to roost on 9/11, essentially meaning that America deserved the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. About the US government, Wright has said that the US government created the AIDS virus to commit genocide against people of color and that America is run by rich white people; Wright has referred to America as the US-KKK-of A. About Hillary Clinton, Wright has said that she has never been called the “n-word” and that she has never been doubted by her own people for not being “white enough,” which presumably is a reference to those in the black community who once questioned if Obama was “black enough.” Because the US builds prisons and passes 3-strikes-and-you-are-out laws, Wright has said that “God Bless America” should be changed to “God Damn America.” Geraldine Ferraro is a Democrat who was forced out of her position as fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign (2008) for a comment she made about Obama. Ferraro was the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate in 1984; that’s her claim to fame, and in 2008, she was a Hillary Clinton supporter; during the Democratic primaries, she commented that people were voting for Barack Obama because they were enamored with the concept of voting for a “black man for president.” This comment became very controversial and she was forced to resign as a campaign fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. Ferraro’s history of supporting civil rights, welfare and affirmative action did not save her. In a strange way, Hillary Clinton was treated like a Republican while running for president against Barack Obama in the Democratic primaries, and as a consequence, Geraldine Ferraro was treated like a Republican (and considered a racist). Here is a high profile example from the music business. Public Enemy was a very popular musical group in the early 1990s. The group got in trouble when one of its members made what was construed as an anti-semetic remark about Jewish control of the music recording business. After making the comment, recording executives essentially ran Public Enemy out of the music business. Chuck D made the alleged anti-semetic comment. Flavor Flav made a comeback years later; he hosted a show on cable: The Flavor of Love Mel Gibson, movie maker and movie star, has also run into trouble for making anti-semetic remarks. I’m not sure how this has affected Gibson’s movie career. The Jena 6 controversy elevated the issue of racial symbols. In this case, the symbol is the noose. Some 5,000 people were lynched in this country between 1865 – 1965, most of whom were black. White culture tolerated lynching during that period. In Jena, Louisiana, 3 white high schools students hung nooses from a tree to send a message to black students that they weren’t welcome to hang out under the tree. Federal law considers hanging a noose to be a “hate crime,” but federal prosecutors did not pursue a case against the white students because they had no history of violence or white supremacist ideological attachments. The question today is should people be punished for hanging a noose or should it be considered a prank, since lynching doesn’t occur today (or when does it occur, it is punished today).

21 The Obama Presidency Race Controversies in the Obama Presidency

22 The Obama Presidency Race ControversiesThe “race” labeling war in the Obama Presidency The Beer Summit (July 2009) – Obama commented on the history of racial profiling after a white police officer arrested a black professor in Cambridge, MA. (close to Harvard University) This implied that the white officer may have had racist motives in arresting the black professor (though Obama explicitly noted that his comments about racial profiling were unrelated to this case) Glenn Beck, a conservative talk show host, called Obama a racist for his profiling comments – the charge did not stick and Beck apologized Obama had a beer with the white officer and the black professor to mediate their differences, and the (potential) scandal disappeared Background on the Beer Summit A white police officer’s arrest of a black Harvard professor in Cambridge, Massachusetts became a national controversy when Obama was asked a question about the arrest on July 22nd, in a news conference where Obama spoke mostly about health care. In his response to the question, Obama gave the facts of the case as he knew them at the time—Professor Gates (the black Harvard professor) locked his keys inside his house and jimmied the back door open to get inside; a neighbor saw Gates and another man trying to get into the house but did not recognize either as the owner and subsequently called the police to report a potential burglary; Officer Crowley (the white police officer) arrived at the scene to investigate and arrested Gates for disorderly conduct (a charge that was dropped later). Obama then told reporters at the news conference that the police had acted “stupidly” for arresting a man in his own home and then reminded them about the history of police profiling of blacks and Hispanics in this country. Obama pointed out that a disproportionate number of blacks and Hispanics are stopped by police, suggesting that this is evidence of racism in our society. At the news conference, the president tried to separate his reference to police profiling from the arrest in this particular case, but within a day or two, the media was jumping all over Obama for condemning the police and for siding with Professor Gates (who Obama acknowledged as a personal friend) without knowing all the facts of the case, and the conservative media began to charge Obama as a racist for even the mention of police profiling, further suggesting that Obama is guilty of falsely accusing a white police officer of profiling. This takes us to the “Beer Summit,” at which the president and vice president met with Officer Crowley and Professor Gates for a beer at the White House on Thursday (July 30th). Coming out of the meeting, Officer Crowley and Professor Gates agreed to meet again to reconcile their differences over the arrest (this time without Obama as a mediator). The officer believes he was doing his job by arresting the professor, but Professor Gates is still suspicious race was a motivating factor in the arrest. The “Beer Summit” was not really about the arresting officer and the professor; it was more about Obama putting this controversy to rest. In the past, it has been powerful whites who have been harmed (i.e., forced to resign or politically damaged in some other way) for racial comments, but now that Obama is president and a prime target of his opposition, he too could be damaged politically for making a comment that could potentially be construed as racist. The last thing Obama wants is for his political opposition to levy the charge of racism against him—and have the charge stick. This could hurt Obama’s standing with white America, 43% of which voted for him in The president has not apologized for his response about the arrest (nor has the arresting officer or the professor apologized for their respective actions), but he did say that he could have phrased his words differently, probably referring to the “stupidly” remark. Congressional Black Caucus Back in 2011, Obama was criticized by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) for not doing enough for black people who were suffering worse than most because of the sluggish economy. In his first term, Obama really couldn’t do anything specifically to help blacks, because had he, he could have been accused of showing favoritism toward blacks, which could have potentially hurt him with white voters in his reelection bid in The leaders of the CBC understood Obama’s predicament at that time, but they pressured the president nevertheless. Obama was very perturbed by this, and in a speech to the CBC in Sept. 2011, Obama told the caucus to “stop complaining.” It was a rare display of emotion for President Obama, who is usually very calm and collected. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnop9vwnnUY

23 The Obama Presidency Race ControversiesThe “race” labeling war in the Obama Presidency Conservative Bloggers v. NAACP (2010) – White conservatives and the leadership of the NAACP consider each other to be the “real” racists in America The Shirley Sherrod Controversy – In July 2010, conservative blogger, Andrew Breitbart (BigGovernment.com), posted a video of Shirley Sherrod speaking at an NAACP conference appearing to have discriminated against a white farmer in a previous position she had held The conservative media picked up on the story, expressing outrage that the NAACP tolerated black racism against whites – and – Ms. Sherrod was immediately fired by Obama’s Sec. of Agriculture A day later, the NAACP posted the full video of Ms. Sherrod’s comments, in which it became clear that she had helped the white farmer in her previous position – it was a story of her journey in overcoming bias and treating people fairly, regardless of race The Tea Party Movement – The NAACP has since demanded that the leaders of the Tea Party movement enforce against (white) racists at its rallies, who they allege oppose Obama because the president is black Ms. Sherrod was offered another position in the Agriculture Department after it was realized that she was not a racist. She denied the offer to seek other opportunities, now that there was so much sympathy for her. She was the victim of a video tape that was edited in a biased way. Had the Obama administration waited one more day before pushing Ms. Sherrod out of her position at the Agriculture Department, then they would have learned that she was innocent of the allegations of racism levied against her. So, why didn’t the Obama administration wait one more day to investigate the initial allegations against Ms. Sherrod? A potential race scandal is so politically dangerous in American politics that a president cannot wait 24 hours before taking action against an alleged racist. Obama could not wait because had he done so and had the allegations against Ms. Sherrod turned out to be true (which they weren’t), he would have appeared to have defended a racist and that would have made plausible the allegations that he is a racist. Dropping Sherrod like “a hot potato” was the right thing to do, politically, but it was not the right thing to do morally. Morally, the Obama Administration should have investigated the allegations first, then after learning that Ms. Sherrod was not a racist, they should have defended her against her attackers, but given the politics of race, that didn’t happen because they couldn’t wait to address the issue. The Tea-Party Movement ( ) Obama supporters accuse the tea-party protesters of having racist motivations against the president (because the president is black). Obama opponents (like Glen Beck and Sarah Palin) assert that the tea-partiers are against big government (socialist-oriented policies).

24 The Obama Presidency U. S. Justice DeptThe Obama Presidency U.S. Justice Dept. Investigation of Michael Brown Shooting After a Ferguson, Mo. grand jury decided not to indict Officer Wilson, the U.S. Justice Department investigated the shooting The Justice Dept. concluded Officer Wilson’s story of events was correct, that Michael Brown struggled for the officer’s gun in the car, and then outside the car, charged the officer before being fatally shot The U.S. Justice Department investigation of the Michael Brown shooting (March 2015): According to the U.S. Justice Dept. report, the “hands-up, don’t shoot” narrative did not happen. The Justice Department found the testimony of the three black witnesses who corroborated Officer Wilson’s story more credible than the witnesses who testified that Michael Brown tried to surrender. The U.S. Justice Department investigation of the Ferguson Police Department (Mar. 2015):

25 Your Professor’s ConclusionsOur culture’s hypersensitivity to race adversely affects our freedom/rights. Free speech rights are most important in the defense of the indefensible, such as burning an American flag, preaching anti-Americanism or supporting anti-American leaders (e.g., Chavez in Venezuela), or even expressing racist sentiments Pushing Back against American Culture: We should punish racism with free speech, i.e., speaking out against it when it occurs or boycotting a racist business, but it is wrong for the government to punish racist speech, as in the case of the Patent Office and the Washington Redskin moniker, and it is wrong to materially punish people who engage in offensive speech, even when it is the private sector doing so, because it intimidates people into silence and subjugates the 1st Amendment to that value (of silencing offensive speech) Your professor’s commentary: In the case of the Furguson Police Department (where Michael Brown was shot), the resignations and firings were good. The people who resigned or who were fired represented local government (the police are part of local government), and when the government violates the rights and freedoms of black Americans, that needs to be exposed to the public and the violators need to be rooted out of government. In most if not all of the other cases, I (your professor) believe it was wrong to fire or force to resign people who made racist statements because our highest value becomes “silencing offensive speech” rather than protecting “offensive speech,” as the 1st Amendment demands. In the case of the University of Oklahoma, the two racist fraternity members probably would have been expelled from the university, had they been given their due process rights of adjudicating their case (in accordance with the rules of the university). What was wrong in that case was that they were denied their due process rights (again, under the rules of the university); the students had a right to defend themselves, and that right was denied.