My Burqa Is None of Your Business
"The political clamor to ban the burqa is not an evidence-based policy. It is a misguided effort to enhance the status of women grounded in speculation about what a woman hidden in a burqa must feel. Yet whatever she feels will certainly not be changed by a law telling […]

by Carmen Van Kerckhove
Wow! I just checked our stats and it turns out we had close to 400 people registered for my free teleseminar yesterday, “Love and Sex: What’s Race Got to Do With It?”
Those of you who joined me live - thank you! Those of you who missed it, don’t worry. If you registered, […]

G.M., Detroit and the Fall of the Black Middle Class - NY Times Magazine
"The story of the rise of America’s black working and middle classes is inextricably bound up with that of Detroit and the Big Three. It is not a story with a simple upward trajectory. For a long time, blacks were relegated to […]

by Carmen Van Kerckhove, originally published at CNN.com
I got a call yesterday morning from a radio show producer asking if I thought it hypocritical for African-Americans to celebrate Michael Jackson as a black man, since it seems to many people that he spent most of his life turning himself white.
She stopped short of calling Jackson […]

Feministe " I'm Not Like Other Guys…
"Even at the age of eight, I had begun to believe that I was a monster too. That there was something horrible inside me that would mean I needed to be shot with a silver bullet or decapitated. My feelings had to do with a lot of things: family […]

by Latoya Peterson
SCOTUS split 5-4 in favor of Ricci.
From the New York Times:
The Supreme Court has ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.
New Haven was wrong to scrap a promotion exam […]

by Carmen Van Kerckhove
What is it about the combination of race and sex that makes it so explosive? How is race getting in the way of your relationships without you even knowing it? What racial dynamics are driving the unconscious choices you’re making when it comes to your relationships?
I’m going to share that and much […]

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Addicted to Race is New Demographic’s podcast about America’s obsession with race. Here’s a rundown of what you’ll find in this episode:
We dedicate this episode to the memory of Michael Jackson and explore the role that race played in his life and career. In what ways did his music break racial […]

Everyday Sociology Blog: Top Chef and the Black/Non-Black Divide
"Ultimately Huynh incorporated Asian-influenced flavors into his final meal in hopes of revealing his 'authentic' (ethnic) self to the judges. As Huynh tried to express 'soul,' his (aired) image shifted from a technically efficient, ultra-competitive, and unlikable Asian to a more humbled Asian eager to take advantage […]

Hosted by Special Correspondent Arturo R. García
The L.A. Times was the first “mainstream” outlet to confirm the news: Michael Jackson died Thursday afternoon, at the age of fifty.
Jackson’s legacy is at once sublime, sad and at times ridiculous. This was a man who America almost literally saw grow up in the public eye: his rise […]

by Carmen Van Kerckhove
A few years ago I was at a conference to deliver a workshop. During the break, a man came up to me and asked me what topic I’d be speaking on.
“Interracial relationships,” I replied.
As soon as the words came out of my mouth, his whole manner changed.
He started leering, and asked me […]

Digital Femme Online - June 24, 2009
"This is an enormous step forward, because the hiring of writers Angela Robinson and Felicia D. Henderson by DC and the hiring of writer Marjorie Liu by Marvel show, finally and publicly, in 2009, that women of color have equal access to be considered for writing jobs at the […]

Terry » Archive » Talking to Someone Wearing a Headscarf: An Etiquette Guide
Hilarious! "Simple Sentences.
Speak loudly (that cloth must muffle her hearing after all) and make sure to enunciate your words as clearly as possible. Move your face close to hers if necessary. The poor thing likely doesn’t know very much English, and it is […]

BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Teens charged over racist attacks
"They were arrested in the wake of vandalism and attacks on the homes of more than 100 Romanian migrants."
(tags: racism roma)

Jezebel - "Neda Is My Daughter, I Have One Just Like Her" - neda iran
"On Saturday, "Neda", a young Iranian woman watching the […]

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Update: link to MP3 is at the bottom of the post. Thanks Jan!
Addicted to Race is New Demographic’s podcast about America’s obsession with race. Here’s a rundown of what you’ll find in this episode:
Can we tell an Iranian woman’s politics from the looseness of her headscarf? Why is the way a black […]