Academic

Race and Presidential Politics: Pre- and Post-Obama

Posted on October 25, 2008
Last year, after Joe Biden opined that Barack Obama was the “first” black presidential candidate who was articulate, smart and telegenic, I concluded that Obama would likely lose the election. My conclusion did not rest on some knee-jerk belief that “Americans are too racist to vote for a black man...

Enough! Powell Endorses Obama

Posted on October 20, 2008
Colin Powell?s endorsement of Barack Obama marks the beginning of the end of the extreme right?s control of the Republican Party.  Cross-party endorsements are always powerful.  But it wasn?t just that Powell endorsed Obama.  Powell?s decision to break ranks with John McCain, his friend, was a full-on denunciation of the disastrous course of the Republican Party...

Powell Endorses Obama

Posted on October 20, 2008
In case you missed the interview this past weekend, watch Powell explain why he has chosen to endorse Obama. Powell reminds us that there are indeed intelligent, thoughtful Republicans out there.  Too bad we don’t hear from more of them.  Powell is profiled in my recent book, Saviors or Sellouts — The Promise and Peril of Black [...

Is McCain His Supporters? Keeper?

Posted on October 18, 2008
  A few days ago, Senator John Lewis remarked that the rhetoric of Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin reminded him of words spoken by segregationist and later Presidential candidate George Wallace.  Senator Lewis later explained this statement, asserting:   ?I do not regret what I said...

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Debate Follies: Of Hurt Feelings and Denunciations

Posted on October 16, 2008
So Sen. John McCain?s feelings were hurt because Rep. John Lewis, said that the rallies in which supporters of the McCain/Palin ticket called out threatening remarks, and at which Palin herself suggested that Barack Obama was dangerous, reminded Lewis of George Wallace supporters during the Civil Rights Movement?   http://voices...

?Purge, Baby, Purge??

Posted on October 11, 2008
While most people were watching the Dow Jones, disturbing reports were released last week documenting efforts, often spearheaded by Republicans, designed to discourage minority voters from showing up at the polling place on November 4th.  Two of the best reports aired on NPR and on Amy Goodman?s Democracy Now...

?Purge, Baby, Purge??

Posted on October 11, 2008
While most people were watching the Dow Jones, disturbing reports were released last week documenting efforts, often spearheaded by Republicans, designed to discourage minority voters from showing up at the polling place on November 4th.  Two of the best reports aired on NPR and on Amy Goodman?s Democracy Now...

Bailout Passes: The New Color of Financial Failure

Posted on October 07, 2008
                        On Friday, October 3, the House of Representatives changed its mind and voted to pass the modified bailout plan, 263 to 171, with 91 Republicans joining 172 Democrats in favor. I discuss the economic and financial regulatory consequences of the bailout with Bill Moyers, on Friday, just hours after the vote...

Anti-Gay Group Thanks Obama, Seeks to Exploit Black Homophobia to Constitutionalize Bigotry

Posted on October 06, 2008
(reprinted from my blog, Dissenting Justice) Earlier this year, the California Supreme Court invalidated a state law that prohibited same-sex marriage. Applying state constitutional law, the 4-3 ruling held that the law unjustifiably denied equal protection to gays and lesbians...

Bailout Bust- House Votes Down $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout

Posted on September 29, 2008
Today,  Congress rejected the hastily presented and highly pressured Bush-Paulson-Bernanke Bailout Plan that was designed to pump “confidence” into financial markets.  The vote on the bill was 228-205.  This dramatic repudiation of the bailout legislation now calls into question the entire Paulson conceptual approach in which an astronomical sum of money is authorized to buy [...

Bringing Back Welfare As We Knew It: My Indignant Take on the Wall Street Bail-Out

Posted on September 25, 2008
  Bill Clinton?s 1996 “welfare reform” made him (and his wife) the enemy of the left and a hero to moderates and conservatives who apparently believed that single black mothers on welfare were the greatest threat to American taxpayers. Of course, AFDC payments constituted only 1% of the federal budget, and a majority of welfare beneficiaries [...

Back to Basics: Restoring the Human Connection to Mortgage Finance

Posted on September 23, 2008
    John Donne warned that ?no man is an island.?  Wall Street financial wizards have conducted their businesses as though the complex financial products that generated billion dollar compensation packages also created a protective mote beyond public accountability...

The Decline of the Supreme Court?s Influence

Posted on September 22, 2008
As the sun sets on America?s financial empire, it?s probably worth spending a moment noting that the U.S. has lost its international position in one other area as well.  I?m referring to a story in last week?s New York Times which reported that the U...

In My Bookbag: Present at Creation

Posted on September 20, 2008
Under normal circumstances I would never think to write about a book that I had not completed.  But given the fact that I will likely be long gone from blackprof by the time I complete historian Richard S. Newman’s recent book, Freedom’s Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church and the Black Founding Fathers, I [...

Baggy Pants Laws

Posted on September 17, 2008
The police in Florida can no longer lock up people (i.e. black male teenagers) for wearing pants that hang off their rear ends and expose their underwear. Judge Paul Moyle had the good sense to declare the law unconstitutional. Yes, kids look ridiculous when they sport this style but do they deserve criminal records for “disorderly [...

Religion, Race and Riverside

Posted on September 15, 2008
            When I lived in New York City over a decade ago I lived on 21st St.  Without any thought, every Sunday I ventured north to Harlem for church.  I usually made a deal with myself?if the No. 1 train came along, I would go to Riverside Church, and if the No...

Monica?s Revenge: Palin for Vice President

Posted on September 14, 2008
     Until I read the New York Times? investigative piece exploring the governing style of Sarah Palin, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html , I couldn?t figure out why the Governor from Alaska seemed so familiar to me.  Now I know:  Sarah Palin is the new Monica Goodling...

Race and Palin

Posted on September 11, 2008
My colleagues Professors Hutchinson and Butler have made two important observations about the Obama campaign.  First, Darren is absolutely right that the Obama campaign’s strategy on Palin has been misguided.  Moreover, liberals in their rush to discredit Palin have engaged in sexist and smear tactics...

The Democrats? Palin Strategy: A Bridge to Nowhere!

Posted on September 11, 2008
On August 31, I argued that, in order to counter John McCain, the Democrats needed to respond seriously to Sara Palin and engage her public policy record and political ideology (http://dissentingjustice.blogspot.com/2008/08/palin-roveian-strategy.html)...

Obama?s Performance of Race

Posted on September 10, 2008
  I have to agree with this column by Richard Cohen that Barack Obama is not angry enough. I don?t know whether it?s a personality thing or a race thing - not wanting to play into the stereotype of the angry black man. The problem, however, is his preternatural cool makes him seem too remote...

Any Reports on Summer Law Firm Experiences?

Posted on September 10, 2008
  Last year, with the help of Professor Michele Landis Dauber, Stanford Law School students made their views about the importance of diversity at law firms known to their prospective employers.  The students created a firestorm last fall with their project ?Building a Better Legal Profession,? which compiles data on the percentages of associates and partners [...

Closing the Courthouse Door

Posted on September 10, 2008
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } During my most recent visit home to New Orleans, my Dad and I drove to his childhood home in Silver Creek, MS.  This has become almost standard practice over the last few visits, and I really enjoy it.  I usually get to know more about my [...

The gift

Posted on June 09, 2008
Would you pay attention? Cause if you would, then I could paint a picture, to give a gift to other visionaries. -Little Brother, ?Visionary?  Rapper Phonte begins ?Visionary? by reflecting on a trip to Ghana where he received unprecedented love from fans, especially female admirers (?gimme 5 weeks in Ghana, chicks will wanna marry a nigga; no [...

Making History (and Beyond)

Posted on June 04, 2008
Barack Obama is the first African American to win a major party?s nomination for President of the United States. More importantly, after 15 months of campaigning, Obama appears more poised and energetic than ever. The growing consensus is that his speech in St...

Barack Obama Election Advice: Black Denunciations that Just Might Do the Trick

Posted on June 02, 2008
  by Dr. Boyce Watkins www.BoyceWatkins.com Barack Obama is a nice guy, and I really want to see him have the chance to become president. After all, it appears that we?ve decided that having the first African American integrated into the highest office in the land is more significant than anything we must sacrifice in order to make [...

Racial Exhaustion

Posted on June 01, 2008
Some of you might find my forthcoming article, “Racial Exhaustion,” of interest. You can download it on SSRN (http://ssrn.com/abstract=1113563).  Here’s the abstract: Abstract Racial Exhaustion Professor Darren Lenard Hutchinson Washington University Law Review (vol...

Father Michael Pfleger, Barack Obama: Chickens of Truth Coming Home to Roost

Posted on May 31, 2008
Father Michael Pfleger called me two weeks ago.  I was busy, but I stopped what I was doing to talk to him.  I respect Father Pfleger, for he is willing to do more to fight for racial equality than most African Americans I know.   Michael Pfleger doesn’t just talk, he acts...

BlackProf Included in List of Top 50 Law School Blogs

Posted on May 30, 2008
CollegeDegrees.com recently announced it’s list of the top 50 law school blogs.  In addition, the article points out the wide range of contributions made by law blogs.  According to Alisa Miller, “One thing is for sure, those studying or teaching law sure love to write...

Liz Trotta?s Joke About Killing Barack Obama: A Federal Crime on Fox News?

Posted on May 26, 2008
Liz Trotta?s joke about killing ?Osama, I mean Obama?, if she could, is commentary that needs no explanation. If I still have to explain to you why Liz Trotta and Fox News are screwed up, then there is no point in even having a conversation. However, there is the larger issue of whether or not Liz [...

Duke LaCrosse: Reminders of How College Students and Campus Drinking Remain Out of Control

Posted on May 26, 2008
www.BoyceWatkins.com I recently noticed that the Duke Lacrosse team, the same guys caught in the middle of the rape fiasco that occurred a couple of years ago, were knocked out of the NCAA tournament. The upset by Johns Hopkins ended a season that will surely allow these young men to be remembered as heroes...

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