#RaceClass

Last week, Harvard University started fighting back against Trump's assault on higher ed. In this episode of #RaceClass, Jon and Arnie discuss why immediate praise for Harvard is premature. To deserve our praise, Harvard needs to do more than defend itself. It needs to leverage its near $60 billion endowment to defend all universities against unlawful federal interference. Harvard need not do it...

We recorded about twelve hours after plainclothes federal officers abducted a Tufts University graduate student off the street in Somerville, MA. The student's apparent "transgression"? Writing an op-ed in Tufts' student newspaper advocating for Tufts to divest from Israel.To understand how we've reached this moment, we start to unpack how President Trump is wielding both anti-Black racism and...

In this episode, Arnie and Jon explore why so many universities have voluntarily scrubbed websites and shuttered still lawful and mission critical diversity, equity and inclusion programs. We also discuss why President Trump's anti-DEI measures are themselves legally suspect. Part of the reason is that Trump's war on DEI rests on, and reinforces, the morally repugnant and empirically bankrupt...

In this episode, we discuss how Trump’s first week in office reflects what we already knew. Racism remains one of Trump’s favorite political tactics. He’ll use it to demean and delegitimize political opponents, and to distract from a separate pillar of his administration: massive self-dealing. As always, Florida stands out as a model for how opportunistic politicians can leverage racism, sexism...

In this episode, the #RaceClass Podcast explores Trump’s relationship with higher education. On the one hand, independent universities present a threat to Trump and his authoritarian ambitions. On the other hand, universities can aid Trump by voluntarily ceding power or otherwise providing cover for his antidemocratic aims. To preview how Trump might try to break and capture the nation’s...

We discuss “Cancer Alley,” an 85-mile stretch between Baton Rouge and New Orleans that contains one of the largest concentrations of fossil fuel and petrochemical operations in the Western Hemisphere. These facilities expose nearby residents, who are disproportionately Black, to toxic pollutants and “severe health harms including elevated burdens and risks of cancer, reproductive, maternal, and...

[This episode first aired as a live virtual panel on September 27, 2024.]Since the summer of 2020, rightwing officials and organizations have orchestrated a coordinated campaign to redefine antiracism as the new racism. Early iterations of this campaign presented a caricature of Critical Race Theory to discredit modest antiracist reforms and to limit classroom conversations about racism, bias,...

In a surprising turn of events, a federal judge recently upheld most of Oklahoma’s HB 1775, a law widely perceived as banning Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the state. However, the ruling delivered an ironic twist: Judge Charles Goodwin—a Trump appointee—clarified that the law does not prohibit teaching about race, racism, or related concepts like implicit bias. Instead, it compels such...

Following the 2020-21 school year, the Sullivan County (TN) school board fired Matthew Hawn, a high school social studies teacher. As was reported at the time, the School Board punished Mr. Hawn after he assigned his Contemporary Issues class a Ta-Nehisi Coates article and shared a spoken word poem by Kyla Jenee Lacey. On Monday, after nearly three years, Mr. Hawn had his first opportunity to...

Dr. James Whitfield joined the #RaceClass Podcast for a wide ranging conversation about his racial education as a multi-racial child in west Texas; the hostile environment teachers and students face in Texas today; and reasons for optimism even in oppressive times. Dr. Whitfield is an award-winning education advocate centered on creating safe, nurturing, and equitable learning environments which,...