Anti-Racism: The Solution or Part of the Problem?
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In the wake of the George Floyd murder, the call for racial justice and equality has become amplified and increasingly widespread across the nation. One solution has been the “anti-racist” philosophy, popularized by writers like Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo. But a new “anti-woke” Black intelligentsia has been pushing back against what they say is a racial essentialism baked into the anti-racist theory.
Join American Public Square at Jewell and The Forward as we explore the ideas between thinkers on both sides of this topical and contentious issue at the forefront of our national consciousness.
Panelists Include:
Kmele Foster - Kmele Foster is a co-founder at Freethink and serves as a lead Producer. His projects have included shows about the intersection of culture and revolution ("Pop Revolution"), fractious political debates (“Crossing the Divide”), and world-changing innovation (“Challengers,” “ Super Human"). Kmele is a regular contributor to various national outlets and co-hosts a syndicated media commentary podcast, The Fifth Column.
In addition to his work in media and commentary, Kmele has previously helmed ventures in the technology, telecommunications, and consumer goods industries.
John McWhorter - John McWhorter is an associate professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University, where he teaches linguistics, American studies, and music history. He hosts Slate’s language podcast, “Lexicon Valley,” and is a contributing editor at The Atlantic. McWhorter is the author of over 20 books, including ones on language such as The Power of Babel, The Language Hoax, and the upcoming Nine Nasty Words, as well as ones on race such as Losing the Race. He has also created five audiovisual courses on language in the Great Courses series. McWhorter is a former contributing editor at The New Republic and has written for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Issac J. Bailey - Issac Bailey is a veteran journalist who has won numerous writing and reporting awards and has conducted investigations that led to changes in the way the S.C. Department of Social Services handles child protection cases. His criminal justice reporting spurred the Myrtle Beach Police Department to create a position to focus on young people after Bailey's investigative pieces highlighted the struggles of young black men in the Booker T. Washington neighborhood. He is also a certified guardian ad litem and has served as the legal representative in Family Court for children in distress and has spent several years mentoring troubled youth in a variety of capacities.
Bailey was one of 12 journalists in the country chosen to be a 2014 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, where he studied child brain development, child welfare and race relations law and taught journalism for a year at Harvard's summer school.
Bailey is Davidson College's Batten Professor and taught journalism and applied ethics at Coastal Carolina University for several years.
He has been published in hundreds of publications, including The New York Times, Politico Magazine, Time Magazine, the Washington Post, the Charlotte Observer and CNN.com and has appeared on NPR, CNN and MSNBC. Bailey also created a race relations seminar in which he explores the complexity of implicit and other types of biases and has given presentations at several dozen institutions, including Duke University, Central Michigan University, the Education Writer’s Workshop and Horry County prosecutors.