Feature – The US has an HIV epidemic – and its victims are gay black men. The Centers for Disease Control predicts one in every two black gay and bisexual men is projected to become HIV positive in his lifetime if current trends continue. If one of every two straight white men were projected to become HIV positive, nothing else would be covered in the news. Read more 
On Race: The Moral High Ground. I’m from the Toni Morrison school of morality on the subject of race. As she once told Charlie Rose: “I always knew that I had the high ground, all my life. I always thought those people who said I couldn’t come in the drugstore, and I had to sit in this funny place, and I couldn’t go in the park.” Rose interjects: You felt morally superior to them from Day 1.” Morrison continued: “I did. And I thought they knew that I knew that they were inferior to me, morally. I always thought that, and my parents always thought that.” Read more 

For NFL players, social media is key to winning PR battle over anthem protests. As the furor over NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem rekindles, the full power of the players themselves has not yet come into play. Presidential politics and U.S. culture wars combined to make the issue a dominant subplot of the 2017 NFL season. Read more 
The Persistence of Whitewashing. The plantation is the Rorschach test for America’s soul: You either see moonlight and magnolias or a crime scene. How can Americans have such different memories of slavery? That is the driving question. Read more  

 

The black unemployment rate just hit a record low, but there’s a catch. And while this month’s numbers mean that the unemployment gap between blacks and whites has narrowed to the lowest point since it began being measured, the difference suggests that there’s still a lot more to be done. Read more 

No longer ‘voiceless,’ Louisiana felons regain the right to vote. On Thursday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) signed into law a bill that will restore voting rights to people with felony records who are on probation or parole, as long as they have been out of prison for five years. Read more 

 

In an Age of Gene Editing and Surrogacy, What Does Heredity Mean? In his extraordinary new book, “She Has Her Mother’s Laugh,” Zimmer  uses history to offer a rigorous introduction to the basic principles of genetics, and molecular and developmental biology. “She Has Her Mother’s Laugh” particularly shines when it comes to engaging with the notion of race, a topic once again pushed to the forefront of public discourse. Read more 
White America’s racial resentment is the real impetus for welfare cuts, study says. A sign opposing Medicaid expansion is displayed on a roadway in Center Cross, Va. The study finds that opposition to welfare programs has grown among white Americans since 2008, even when controlling for political views and socioeconomic status. Read more 

The youngest mayor in America is set to experiment with a universal basic income. Stockton, CA Mayor Michael Tubbs wants to make a difference. The plan is to begin giving potentially 100 families $500 a month, “no strings attached.” Read more 

 

What’s a ‘Black Identity Extremist’? Groups Demand Trump’s DHS Release ‘Race Paper.’ Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan of Democracy Now  believe that the ‘Race Paper’ may improperly suggest that constitutionally-protected Black political speech should be considered an indicator of criminal conduct or a national security threat. Read more 
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