University of Illinois Center Works to Deconstruct the Politics of Race
Set up as part of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s diversity initiative, its Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society is analyzing important issues in race relations.
April 15th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I applaud those institutions taking this subject seriously. It’s been ignored for too long. Hurray for Dr. Fagin whom I met at the Univ. of Florida in the early nineties. He has done exceptional work on the issue. I hope you can use folks like Cornell West, Mike Dyson, Lee Mun Wah of Stirfry Seminars, etc. to contribute to the dialogue. We need that dialogue urgently if we are to survive as a multiracial nation.
April 15th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
In light of the racial undertones of the current Presidential election, the work of Centers such as the one at University of Illinois is of the utmost importance. The folks at UofI need look no further than to the neighboring state to the north, where Wisconsin voters just voted their first and only Supreme Court Justice of color out of office at their first opportunity (Justice Louis B. Butler was appointed by Wisconsin’s Governor about four years ago). Outside interest groups and Butler’s opponent ran millions of dollars worth of racially charged ads that were compared to the “Willie Horton” campaign of 1980s Presidential politics. “Newsweek” magazine ran a story about the dirty politics being played just prior to the election, yet Butler still became the first incumbant in decades to lose a Wisconsin State Supreme Court election. How can it be so easy to vote a highly respected incumbant out of such an important office by simply playing the race card? This bodes poorly for Candidate Obama, and is certainly worthy of study and discussion.