Tag: Race

Midterm Primary Cycles Are Ripe for Unorthodox Candidates

In the June 23 NYC Democratic primary elections, recently-elected mayor Zohran Mamdani pulled off a series of coups. He put forward a slate of allies who defeated three candidates favored by New York governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries – including two incumbent politicians. A lot of… Continue reading Midterm Primary Cycles Are Ripe for Unorthodox Candidates

On Renee Good’s Killing, ICE and Polarization

I’ve seen the incident several times and from many different angles. What happened seems clear to me: two cars are trying to pull out from an area Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is operating in. A silver SUV goes first, successfully exiting to the right. A burgundy Honda Pilot tries to exit left. It inches… Continue reading On Renee Good’s Killing, ICE and Polarization

On Protests, Violence and Public Support

On June 6, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted aggressive raids in Los Angeles, sweeping up gainfully employed workers with no criminal record. This lead to demonstrations outside of the Los Angeles Federal Building. During these protests, David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union California, was arrested alongside more than 100 others –… Continue reading On Protests, Violence and Public Support

Book Announcement: Those People

Increased stratification and declining social mobility. A crisis of expertise. The rise of “populist” leaders. Heightened tensions around “identity politics.” Growing affective polarization. Political dealignments and realignments. These are not separate phenomena, they’re fronts in a broader struggle over which communities, stakeholders, lines of work, lifestyles and cultures are valued in contemporary society – and… Continue reading Book Announcement: Those People

How Victimhood Became a Commodity

According to the prevailing narrative, it is a disadvantage to be non-white as compared to white. To be LGBTQ as compared to straight. To be a woman as compared to a man. To be a religious minority as opposed to a Christian. To be neurodivergent or disabled as compared to being neurotypical and able-bodied. Undergirding… Continue reading How Victimhood Became a Commodity

Academia’s Biggest Bias Isn’t Political or Ideological

In order to understand biases and exclusion in academe, it’s best to consider who comprises it. Professors, for instance, are overwhelmingly relatively affluent, urban and suburban whites who graduated with terminal degrees from the top programs in their fields. These kinds of folks don’t just dominate academia. They are the primary producers and consumers of most content produced in the “symbolic professions.”… Continue reading Academia’s Biggest Bias Isn’t Political or Ideological

Race to the Bottom: Both Parties Are Alienating Core Ethnic Blocs

Throughout the 2024 cycle, polling has suggested that Republicans are poised to do extraordinarily well with African Americans. Even with Harris at the top of the ticket, more than 1 out of 5 black voters say they support Donald Trump. Younger black voters seem especially open to casting ballots for the GOP. On its face,… Continue reading Race to the Bottom: Both Parties Are Alienating Core Ethnic Blocs

We Have Never Been Woke: pre-orders now live

I am pleased to report that my first book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, now has an official release date: October 8, 2024. Even better, hardcover editions are now available for preorder on Bookshop.org, Thriftbooks, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and through most other major retailers. You can also… Continue reading We Have Never Been Woke: pre-orders now live

It’s Easy to Misunderstand Antisemitism in America

According to many popular contemporary narratives, American society is rife with antisemitism. Institutions of higher learning are purportedly hotbeds of anti-Jewish animus, indoctrinating impressionable young people into a leftist ideology that paints Jews as extraordinarily privileged, Israelis as oppressors, Hamas as brave freedom fighters and Palestinians as blameless victims. Many people I deeply respect have embraced claims like these… Continue reading It’s Easy to Misunderstand Antisemitism in America

The ‘Great Awokening’ Is Winding Down

Beginning in 2011, there was a rapid shift in the ways people associated with the knowledge economy talk about, and engage on, ‘social justice’ issues.   Those who work in fields like tech, finance, education, journalism, arts, entertainment, design and consulting (and students who aspired to these professions) grew much more politically ‘radical’ over the… Continue reading The ‘Great Awokening’ Is Winding Down

U.S. College Professors Do Not Well-Represent the Rest of America

Tenured and tenure-track college professors are drawn from a narrow and idiosyncratic slice of society. Many backgrounds and perspectives are dramatically underrepresented in the academy. This gulf between the ivory tower and the rest of society undermines knowledge production, pedagogy, and public trust in experts and scientific claims. A new study published in Nature Human Behavior argues that, at its current rate of change,… Continue reading U.S. College Professors Do Not Well-Represent the Rest of America

On Christian Nationalism and the ‘Religious Right’

In recent years, there has been growing scholarly and media focus on Christian nationalism. Google nGrams, a search engine that tracks word frequencies in books, show that the contemporary resurgence of interest in Christian nationalism  seems to correspond with the 2016 election cycle. A search on Google Scholar produces roughly 7,000 results for scholarly works… Continue reading On Christian Nationalism and the ‘Religious Right’

The 2022 Midterms Results Should (But Won’t) Definitively Kill Disparaging Narratives About U.S. Voters

In the run-up to the 2022 midterms, a dominant narrative in mainstream media spaces was that Americans were on the cusp of throwing away democracy in order to save a few dollars on gas. Should Republicans lose, they would refuse to concede defeat. The legitimacy of the electoral results would be undermined by widespread conspiracy… Continue reading The 2022 Midterms Results Should (But Won’t) Definitively Kill Disparaging Narratives About U.S. Voters

On Clarence Thomas, White Liberals and Racial Politics

There were six Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade this week. The majority opinion was authored by Justice Samuel Alito. However, in the aftermath of the ruling, there has been an intense and particular focus on a different justice: Clarence Thomas. This may have been in part a product of Thomas’… Continue reading On Clarence Thomas, White Liberals and Racial Politics

The Loneliest Americans

Jay Caspian Kang’s life story is both extraordinary and somewhat normal for families like his. That’s kind of the point. His parents’ family had roots in North Korea, although they fled to the South in the leadup and aftermath of what is known in America as the ‘Korean War.’ Upon getting married, and for very… Continue reading The Loneliest Americans

The Media’s ‘Great Awokening’ Preceded Trump and has Continued Uninterrupted Since He Was Deposed

Over the last five years, poll after poll has found that the GOP base has grown warmer towards Blacks, Hispanics, immigrants and Muslims. They’ve simultaneously become more skeptical of Christian nationalism. They’re now significantly more accepting of same sex marriage and non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans. The rest of America has shifted even further in… Continue reading The Media’s ‘Great Awokening’ Preceded Trump and has Continued Uninterrupted Since He Was Deposed

Book Announcement: We Have Never Been Woke

I am thrilled to be able to officially announce that my book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite has been acquired by Princeton University Press and is slated for release on October 8, 2024. Huge shoutout to my agent, Andrew Stuart. Much love to PUP Executive Editor Meagan Levinson, who was… Continue reading Book Announcement: We Have Never Been Woke

African Americans Seem to be Losing Faith in Organized Religion… and the Democratic Party

Throughout the Qur’an, God charges people of faith “not just to be nice and avoid doing wrong in their personal lives, but instead, to support the good and prohibit or resist that which is incompatible with al-sharia (the Path). This mandate, which is repeated over and over again throughout the Qur’an (e.g. 3:110 & 114, 7:157, 9:71 & 112, 31:17), has two… Continue reading African Americans Seem to be Losing Faith in Organized Religion… and the Democratic Party

College, Inequality and African Americans: Change and Continuity

At the turn of the 20th Century, WEB DuBois’ hoped a ‘Talented Tenth’ would eventually emerge from institutions of higher learning and leverage their social capital to lift up their peers. Putting social solidarity above their own interests, they would dedicate their efforts primarily to leading and empowering other people of color.  Today, DuBois’ vision… Continue reading College, Inequality and African Americans: Change and Continuity

On the January 6 Capitol Riots and ‘Teaching to the Moment’

In the aftermath of the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, which left five people dead, and nearly derailed Congressional certification of the 2020 election results, many in higher ed have been wrestling with questions around what they can do to help mitigate the cultural and political crisis we find ourselves in, and how… Continue reading On the January 6 Capitol Riots and ‘Teaching to the Moment’

Are Democrats Actually Capable of Learning from 2020?

The U.S. presidential races in 2000 and 2004 went for Republicans. In 2008 and 2012 went for Democrats. In 2016, for Republicans. In 2020, for Democrats again. Despite Democrats winning the presidential elections in 2008 and 2012, they saw historic losses in the midterms for 2010 and 2014. If we want to understand how we… Continue reading Are Democrats Actually Capable of Learning from 2020?

On the ‘Great Awokening’ and Racial Realities

Is there anything of which one might say, ‘See this, it is new?’ Already it has existed for ages which were before us. There is no remembrance of earlier things; and also, of the later things which will occur, there will be for them no remembrance among those who come later still.” Ecclesiastes 1: 10-11… Continue reading On the ‘Great Awokening’ and Racial Realities

Whatever Happened to the Obama Coalition?

In 2008, Barack Obama was widely described as having built a game-changing political coalition: young people, racial and ethnic minorities, educated professionals, urban and suburban voters. He was held to have built an innovative campaign infrastructure, leveraging big data and social media in an unprecedented way, increasing turnout and Democratic vote share with constituencies that… Continue reading Whatever Happened to the Obama Coalition?

Religion and Politics in the Age of Trump

In a previous essay I demonstrated that Democrats have been consistently losing ground with both people of color and people of faith in virtually every midterm and general election cycle after 2008. Republicans, meanwhile, have seen consistent gains with many constituencies. What occurred in 2016, therefore, was not an aberration – but the culmination of… Continue reading Religion and Politics in the Age of Trump

Trump is Doing Surprisingly Well with Minority Voters. It Might Not Matter.

In 2016, Donald Trump got a lower share of the white vote than the previous Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, and white turnout was stagnant as compared to 2012. Trump was able to win nonetheless because he got a higher share of Black and Hispanic voters than his predecessor — up roughly 3 percentage points with… Continue reading Trump is Doing Surprisingly Well with Minority Voters. It Might Not Matter.

Diversity is Important. Diversity-Related Training is Terrible.

In wake of George Floyd’s murder and the protests that followed, many colleges and universities have been rolling out new training requirements – often oriented towards reducing biases and encouraging people from high-status groups to ‘check their privilege.’  The explicit goal of these training programs is generally to help create a more positive and welcoming… Continue reading Diversity is Important. Diversity-Related Training is Terrible.

Trump Voters Have Been Misunderstood All Along (Including By Trump)

Unprecedented numbers of Americans — including a growing share of Republicans and independents — recognize racial injustice as pervasive, support police reform and back the protests against police brutality. Apparently oblivious to this emerging consensus, Trump is trying to run a Nixon-style “law-and-order” campaign for the 2020 election. And it is killing him politically. Trump has seen a dramatic and… Continue reading Trump Voters Have Been Misunderstood All Along (Including By Trump)

What about the ‘good apples’?

Isaac “Ike” Lambert was a decorated detective who had served more than 24 years in the Chicago Police Department. In 2017, an off-duty officer shot a teenager named Ricardo Hayes, who had autism and whose caregivers had reported him missing hours before. Some officers then tried to charge Hayes with assault on the basis of… Continue reading What about the ‘good apples’?

Police in America Are Out of Control

Following the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent wave of protests nationwide (indeed, worldwide) against police brutality, Americans have witnessed video after video of cops assaulting unarmed demonstrators, and even complete bystanders unlucky enough to cross their path. In one striking case, police senselessly shoved a seventy-five-year-old man to the ground, causing blood to… Continue reading Police in America Are Out of Control

Why Reflexivity is Important for Research and Activism

In a recent essay for Public Seminar, I explored Amy Cooper’s attempts to sic police on a black man for telling her to leash her dog. I argued that her actions should not be understood as novel or surprising, and explained how her likely (liberal) sociopolitical orientation may have contributed to how the confrontation played… Continue reading Why Reflexivity is Important for Research and Activism

Who Defines What ‘Racist’ Means ?

One key insight of the “discursive turn” in social research is that how concepts are defined, and by whom, reveals a lot about power relations within a society or culture. These definitions are not just reflections of social dynamics, but can have important socio-political consequences downstream: they can help legitimize or delegitimize individuals, groups and… Continue reading Who Defines What ‘Racist’ Means ?

What Coronavirus Reveals About the Lifestyles of the Professional-Managerial Class

In New York City and throughout the country, the professional-managerial class is hunkered down and making the best of a bad situation: working remotely, enjoying time with their families, making sure their children stay up on their schoolwork, finding ways to work out, exercising self-care, and catching up on all the shows they’ve wanted to… Continue reading What Coronavirus Reveals About the Lifestyles of the Professional-Managerial Class

Positionality and Homogeneity in Social Research: Towards a Holistic Exploration

Callosal disconnection syndrome, more colloquially known as ‘split brain syndrome’ occurs when the connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain are disrupted or severed. The condition often makes it difficult for people to fully access and synthesize various flows of information or to properly coordinate their actions. This is, perhaps, a perfect… Continue reading Positionality and Homogeneity in Social Research: Towards a Holistic Exploration

Against Reactionary and Myopic Approaches to Higher Ed Reform

“The appeal to ‘social justice’ has by now become the most widely used and most effective argument in political discussion. Almost every claim for government action on behalf of particular groups is made in its name, and if it can be made to appear that a certain measure is demanded by ‘social justice,’ opposition to… Continue reading Against Reactionary and Myopic Approaches to Higher Ed Reform

On Amy Wax, Tenure and Academic Freedom

In mid-July the Edmund Burke Foundation hosted its inaugural National Conservativism Conference – an event intended to “bring together public figures, journalists, scholars, and students who understand that the past and future of conservatism are inextricably tied to the idea of the nation, to the principle of national independence, and to the revival of the… Continue reading On Amy Wax, Tenure and Academic Freedom

Resistance as Sacrifice: Towards an Ascetic Antiracism

This essay is part of a forthcoming special issue of Sociological Forum: “Resistance in the 21st Century.” Suggested citation:   al-Gharbi, Musa (in press). “Resistance as Sacrifice: Towards an Ascetic Antiracism.” Sociological Forum. “Racism is both overt and covert. It takes two closely related forms…we call these individual racism and institutional racism… The second type… Continue reading Resistance as Sacrifice: Towards an Ascetic Antiracism

On the relationship between ideological and demographic diversity

It is often said that the academy is dominated by the left. There is certainly a sense in which that is true. In terms of ideological self-identification, for instance, students, faculty and administrators trend decisively left (in ascending order of political homogeneity). However, this narrative is also a bit simplistic. First, because ideological self-identification is… Continue reading On the relationship between ideological and demographic diversity

Securitization Vs. Social Justice

It must have felt fresh the first time a political figure equated civil rights with national-security crises. Perhaps it was when Frederick Douglass told Abraham Lincoln that by keeping the Union Army all white, he was “fighting rebels with only one arm,” or more recently when advocates for women’s rights competed for who was quicker… Continue reading Securitization Vs. Social Justice

The Radical Black Liberation Theology of Kanye West

Kanye West has always had a streak of what one might call conservatism. He defiantly included “Jesus Walks” on his 2004 debut album, despite repeated urging from record execs to drop it, and predictions that it would never get play. Instead, the single helped make his career. The track begins with Kanye revealing, “We at… Continue reading The Radical Black Liberation Theology of Kanye West

What Was Elizabeth Warren Thinking?

Elizabeth Warren has repeatedly identified herself as Cherokee. For most of her early career, while she worked at the University of Texas, this was not the case. However, beginning in the mid 1980s, as she was aspiring to move from University of Texas to the Ivy Leagues, she also began identifying herself as ‘Native American’… Continue reading What Was Elizabeth Warren Thinking?

On the Sokal Squared/ Grievance Studies Hoax

Over the past year, Helen Pluckrose, James Lindsay & Peter Boghossian published a series of hoax papers in humanities journals oriented towards the “critical study” of gender and sexuality. Their plot was discovered midway through, forcing them to go public prematurely. In a journal-length essay explaining their methods, findings, and intentions, “Academic Grievance Studies and… Continue reading On the Sokal Squared/ Grievance Studies Hoax

Rethinking the Role of Race/Racism in the 2016 Election

I am pleased to announce a publication in the peer-reviewed journal, The American Sociologist: “Race and the Race for the White House: On Social Research in the Age of Trump” (non-paywalled link). The essay demonstrates that a good deal of the social science research “proving” that race / racism was one of the primary drivers of… Continue reading Rethinking the Role of Race/Racism in the 2016 Election

Any Progressive Scholar Could End Up Like George Ciccariello-Maher

George Ciccariello-Maher, formerly an Associate Professor of Politics & Global Studies at Drexel University, was effectively forced out of his position after describing the Las Vegas massacre as a product of a ‘white supremacist patriarchy’ which must be dismantled. In truth, this is actually a fairly standard narrative among progressives in response to mass shootings… Continue reading Any Progressive Scholar Could End Up Like George Ciccariello-Maher

Progressives, Vulnerable Groups Most in Need of Campus Free Speech Protections

Harvard President Drew Faust gave a ringing endorsement of free speech in her recent 2017 commencement address. There was, however, one passage where Faust chose to focus on the price of Harvard’s commitment to free speech, arguing that it “is paid disproportionately by” those students who don’t fit the traditional profile of being “white, male,… Continue reading Progressives, Vulnerable Groups Most in Need of Campus Free Speech Protections

Hillary Clinton Is No Friend of Black Empowerment

As an African American, I have struggled to understand why so many of brothers and sisters seem to prefer Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. Some have argued that black people are terrified at the prospect of a Trump presidency, and so they rally around Clinton under the belief that she is more electable in the… Continue reading Hillary Clinton Is No Friend of Black Empowerment

What Happened to Black Republicans

It is often remarked that the Republican Party was founded by Lincoln, who oversaw the defeat of the Confederacy, the emancipation of slaves, and laid the foundation for the civil rights movement. But the Republican history of civil rights is much richer than this. Conversely, the history of the Democratic Party has been overwhelmingly pro-slavery… Continue reading What Happened to Black Republicans

Don’t say Black Lives Matter, prove it.

Let’s be clear: for various reasons a large swath of Americans support institutionalized racism, both actively and passively. And in light of the pivotal role the police have played, and continue to play, in preserving the systems, institutions and dynamics which undergird racial inequality in the U.S.–powerful backlash against Black Lives Matter was to be… Continue reading Don’t say Black Lives Matter, prove it.

It’s Time to Stop Patronizing White People

On average, whites are far better off than blacks. But the problem with averages is that they often conceal radically uneven distribution of the phenomena in question. This is certainly true of wealth among white Americans. It is well-established that white people are overrepresented in the upper classes. And even in the middle class, whites… Continue reading It’s Time to Stop Patronizing White People

Who is Whitewashing History? (Hint: It’s the Neo-Confederates)

[su_quote cite=”Confederate General Robert E. Lee” url=”http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/robert-e-lee-opposed-confederate-monuments/”]I think it wiser not to keep open the sores of war but to follow the examples of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife, to commit to oblivion the feelings engendered.[/su_quote] With the Confederate Battle Standard finally removed from the South Carolina Capitol grounds,… Continue reading Who is Whitewashing History? (Hint: It’s the Neo-Confederates)

Do Black Lives Matter? The World’s Shameful Response to Charleston

In the wake of the massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), analysts have been busying themselves with apparently self-evident questions as to whether the atrocity was racially motivated, or constituted an act of domestic terrorism. Americans have been focused on questions about gun control and the ubiquity of the Confederate Flag—with an emerging… Continue reading Do Black Lives Matter? The World’s Shameful Response to Charleston

The attack on Emanuel AME was certainly terrorism

The Charleston Massacre was an act of domestic terrorism. Consider: Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) was a historically black church founded by a freed slave who eventually tried to lead a revolt to free his people. In the aftermath, the church was burned down. Because predominantly-black churches like Emanuel AME were known to be… Continue reading The attack on Emanuel AME was certainly terrorism

What we now know about police brutality (and how to end it)

Police brutality has been an integral part of the black experience since the birth of the modern law enforcement. Until recently, however, it was difficult to establish how stark or pervasive the problem was; this opacity plagues many aspects of the U.S. criminal justice system. In part, the data has been hard to come by… Continue reading What we now know about police brutality (and how to end it)