viewpoint

This discussion of "viewpoint" presents the thoughts of people whose position or insight warrants a hearing.

It is possible that, as Why Religion Matters, by Huston Smith argues, the next great accomplishments of humankind will be in getting along with each other. Certainly the Civil Rights movement and its aftermath have set the stage for transformational change. Now, after September 11, the New York Times reports that the "Hollywood Struggles to Create Villains for a New Climate has opted for restraint to avoid accusations of bias and the danger of offending audience sensibilities in an increasingly multiracial America". While mankind may have been more destructive in the past century than in any prior century, humankind also has risen to unprecedented acts of reconciliation. Events in the new Truth & Reconciliation Commission the apologies of the Mission Of Reconciliation are examples. RaceMatters.org has been created with the viewpoint that those who wish to engage the subject of Valuing Diversity are likely to be searching in any or all of 3 ways: ideas for action, good information and personal journey . We provide information and tools to help. Be sure to visit What's New.

This is meant to provoke your thoughts on how to address conditions of prejudice and discrimination. The following is a growing list of resources that might be helpful to your discovery. You may find lots more using our search engine. We'll appreciate your suggestions for more to add to this list, either from material already in RaceMatters.org, or new material.

• "Leaders" disserving black America: August 14, 2006;Ruben Navarrette Jr.;San Diego Union-Tribune;—Union-Tribune, August 13, 2006, by A few years ago, my friend Juan Williams told me that he thought we had something in common —...
• Enough: Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, Culture of Failure Undermining Black America: July 31, 2006;Juan Williams;Reed Elsevier Inc.;—From Publishers Weekly: When Bill Cosby addressed a 50th-anniversary celebration of Brown v....
• Spearing The Beast: February 8, 2005;Paul Krugman;NYT;—By PAUL KRUGMAN () 809 words Published: President Bush isn't trying to reform Social Security. He isn't even trying to ''partially privatize'' it....
• Tavis Smiley: January 11, 2005;Lynn Elbe;SS;—PBS's looks forward to a new season of diversity By r The Associated Press As Tavis Smiley begins the second season of his PBS talk show, his guest list isn't lacking for high-profile personalities....
• Easy as Sin to Target Gays: April 4, 2004;Cynthia Tucker;Atlanta Constitution;—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Published on: 04/04/2004, by You'd think black Americans -- still struggling against a lingering, if diminished, racism -- would occupy the front lines in the battle against bigotry....
• Do You Recognize This Jesus ?: February 25, 2004;—OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Do You Recognize This Jesus? By KENNETH L....
• Take ghetto out of ghetto kids: February 14, 2004;—"A radical approach based on common sense." By Stebbins Jefferson, Palm Beach Post Columnist Saturday, I always had thought of Lenora Fulani as being out of touch with the black experience as I know it....
• Avoid Rigged Game Of Justice: January 30, 2004;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Black men, stay clear of rigged game of justice Posted on Fri, Jan. 30, 2004 LEONARD PITTS JR./COMMENTARY Black men, stay clear of rigged game of justice T his is an open letter to African-American men....
• Books of The Times Ā 'The End of Blackness': Shaking Up a Racial Molotov Cocktail: January 29, 2004;Janet Maslin;NYT;—if (document.layers) {document.write(" ");}else {document.write(" ");} var google_hints = "Books+and+Literature,Blacks";...
• Affirmative Action Helped Whites: October 20, 2003;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Posted on Mon, Oct. 20, 2003 to the Miami Herald by Leonard Pitts. To irate readers: Race has always benefited whites I guess I touched a nerve....
• Joy defeats pain at learning roots: August 15, 2003;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Knowing my past provides quiet joy Posted on Fri, Aug. 15, 2003, by Leonard Pitts: At Large Let me tell you where I come from. Born in Southern California, but that's not what I'm talking about....
• Affirmative action needs a deadline: June 28, 2003;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Race matters. Boil it down, and that"s what Monday"s milestone Supreme Court rulings in the University of Michigan case reduce to, an acknowledgment of the obvious. Not that the rulings were one-sided....
• Race is Reality, Not Illusion, by Clarence Page: May 2, 2003;Clarence Page;Chicago Tribune;—Opponents of affirmative action will find a lot to dislike in the PBS series Race: The Power of an Illusion....
• Race - The Power of an Illusion (PBS): April 30, 2003;PBS;PBS;—Race - The Power of an Illusion Ground-breaking Three-Part Series Presented by ITVS Challenges and Reveals How the Myth Took Hold and R...
• Theres No White Expo: August 19, 2002;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Posted on Mon, Aug. 19, 2002 Leonard Pitts: At large The reason there's no White Expo Last year in Chicago, 44 Italian-American women competed in the Miss Italia USA Pageant in Chicago....
• Color Does Matter, But It's Not All: August 9, 2002;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—''I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.'' -- Martin Luther King Jr....
• Anti-Gay Drive Wrong To Use MLK: August 5, 2002;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Let me tell you a little bit about Bayard Rustin. He was a founding father of the civil rights movement who died in 1987. He provided invaluable tactical assistance to Martin Luther King Jr....
• Erasing Race is a Blind Alley: July 22, 2002;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Ward Connerly again....
• Still on the Outside looking in: May 11, 2002;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—This is for everybody who hates ''African Americans.'' Meaning the term, if not necessarily the people it connotes....
• The One True Faith: Is It Tolerance?: February 3, 2002;Thomas Cahill;NYT;—By THOMAS CAHILL NCE upon a time, there was a religion whose adherents thought it to be the only true one....
• The Palestinian Vision of Peace: February 3, 2002;Yasir Arafat;NYT;—By YASIR ARAFAT AMALLAH — For the past 16 months, Israelis and Palestinians have been locked in a catastrophic cycle of violence, a cycle which only promises more bloodshed and fear....
• If Tried, Real Integration Easily Proves Its Worth: January 30, 2002;Richard Rothstein;NYT;—If Tried, Real Integration Easily Proves Its Worth By RICHARD ROTHSTEIN oston -- The Supreme Court found school segregation unconstitutional in 1954, discarding its 1896 ruling that had provided the legal ratio...
• In bigot versus bigot, white racist is winner: January 10, 2002;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Published Thursday, In bigot versus bigot, white racist is winner ''Black people cannot be racist....
• Kwanzaa gets a cool reception in S. Florida: December 26, 2001;Akilah Johnson;SS;—Miami Bureau As Kwanzaa begins today, almost 20 million people around the globe will call out the Swahili greeting, Habari Gani, or "what's the news?" But many in South Florida will ask a different question: "What is Kw...
• Racism goes far beyond skin color: December 20, 2001;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Published Thursday, Racism goes far beyond skin color For my money, it's one of the more depressing things people do....
• All black people aren't alike; and we need to hear all sides: December 8, 2001;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Published Saturday, All black people aren't alike; and we need to hear all sides So it seems there's this new poll that contains sobering assessments and harsh criticisms of black people....
• Leonard Cohen: Down From the Mountain, Singing With More Serenity: October 28, 2001;Ann Powers;NYT;—October 28, 2001 Leonard Cohen: Down From the Mountain, Singing With More Serenity By ANN POWERS ERE'S a Zen question: does spending the better part of five years in a mountaintop abbey, meditating and c...
• Terror shakes faith, puts God in question: September 29, 2001;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Published Saturday, Terror shakes faith, puts God in question So how could God have allowed this to happen? Standing uneasily at the altar, the minister explained that he had come to a conclusion about that, one he di...
• Peaceniks usually right, but not now: September 27, 2001;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Published Thursday, Peaceniks usually right, but not now Chances are, you've never heard of Jeanette Rankin. It was immediately after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that she became, for a moment, famous....
• It's difficult, but life must go on: September 22, 2001;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Published Saturday, It's difficult, but life must go on For the past few days, I've been trying to remember who Gary Condit is. Yes, I know. Sleazy congressman. Missing intern. Connie Chung interview....
• Hatred for the U.S.? Evil is as evil does: September 20, 2001;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Published Thursday, Hatred for the U.S.? Evil is as evil does Let's get something straight. The events of Sept. 11 did not happen because we did something wrong. Or because we somehow ''deserved'' them....
• Enemies made us remember our heritage: September 16, 2001;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Published Sunday, Enemies made us remember our heritage This will not be a video-game war. We need to pause here a moment and make sure we all understand....
• Amid raw pain, it's good to see a glimpse of continuity: September 14, 2001;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Published Friday, Amid raw pain, it's good to see a glimpse of continuity I was supposed to be working on a column, but I got restless and went for a walk....
• Hatred is unworthy of us: September 13, 2001;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Published Thursday, Hatred is unworthy of us Episodes from the aftermath of tragedy: In Colorado Springs, Colo., four men threaten to burn down a mosque. In Irving, Texas, someone fires shots into the Islamic Center....
• We'll go forward from this moment: September 12, 2001;Leonard Pitts, Jr.;MH;—Published Wednesday, We'll go forward from this moment It's my job to have something to say. They pay me to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American soul....

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