racism

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Harald Ringbauer et al. writing in Nature report on a genetic study of the ancient Phoenicians that is really going to anger Lebanese Christian nationalists. In fact, it contains a profound lesson for nationalists and nationalism in general, which is that the whole thing is a scam thought up in […]

Donald Trump

Trump isn’t even Trying to Hide the Racism Anymore

Rebecca Gordon

( Tomdispatch.com ) – On May 5th, the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute held its annual fundraising gala. The event showcases the extraordinary imaginations of people who design exorbitant clothes and the gutsiness of those who dare (and can afford) to wear them. I’m dimly aware of this annual extravaganza because of […]

Bill of Rights

From the Chinese Exclusion Act to pro-Palestinian Activists: The Evolution of politically motivated Deportations

The Conversation

By Rick Baldoz, Brown University (The Conversation) – The recent deportation orders targeting foreign students in the U.S. have prompted a heated debate about the legality of these actions. The Trump administration made no secret that many individuals were facing removal because of their pro-Palestinian advocacy. In recent months, the State Department has revoked hundreds […]

racism

“Competition Racism,” spurred by Envy, is a Growing Threat to the World

Anne-Ruth Wertheim

Translation of an interview with Ewoud Butter for the Dutch opinion website and monthly journal De Kanttekening, dated 12 March 2025 How did you get involved with racism? My childhood in the Dutch East Indies had a fundamental impact on my thinking about racism. I grew up in a colonial society in which white Dutch […]

African-Americans

Making America White Again: The Deafening Silence of Trump’s Black Supporters

Clarence Lusane

( Tomdispatch.com ) – During the 2024 election campaign, candidate Donald Trump’s most controversial rally occurred at New York’s Madison Square Garden. A comedian on the program referred to the island of Puerto Rico — and by implication Puerto Ricans — as garbage. He and the Trump campaign were rightfully pilloried and called out for […]

Donald Trump

“We’ve Been Essentially Muzzled”: Department of Education Halts Thousands of Civil Rights Investigations Under Trump

ProPublica

By Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen | – ( ProPublica ) – In the three-and-a-half weeks since Donald Trump returned to the presidency, investigations by the agency that handles allegations of civil rights violations in the nation’s schools and colleges have ground to a halt. At the same time, there’s been a dramatic […]

Featured

The Qur’an’s Celebration of Diverse Skin Colors: Forms of Equality in the Muslim Scripture

Juan Cole

I am reprinting part of this essay that appeared in Renovatio, the literary magazine of a small Muslim liberal arts college — Zaytuna — in Berkeley, Ca. The Qur’an is the most hated book in America that no one has ever read, and there are already new visa bans on Muslims deriving from severe misunderstandings […]

African-Americans

The “Black Lives don’t Matter” President: Holding Trump accountable for a Lifetime of Racism

Tomdispatch

By Clarence Lusane ( Tomdispatch.com ) – Donald Trump was the worst president for Black people in the modern era, if not the nation’s history. Given a life of unremitting racial animus, under no circumstances should he receive a single vote from the Black community or other communities of color. After all, he’s never moderated […]

Featured

Frederick Douglass: The Moral Physician for all Seasons

Sydney Morrison

Los Angeles (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Racism, like cancer, seems incurable as it continues to ravage our nation; its social, cultural and political life imperiled by a relentless disease affecting millions, many of whom deny its very existence. Even so, we must continue to celebrate the undaunted courage and determination of our moral […]