Racism and inequality in America
In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling on voting rights, a recent New York Times Room for Debate series asked whether the Civil Rights era is over. Some say yes. But in a summer marked by the racially charged Trayvon Martin case and racist remarks by celebrity chef Paula Deen, has racism simply taken on a different tone?
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READ MORE ABOUT RACE AND CIVIL RIGHTS IN AMERICA:
• We need civil rights for the poor
"There will always be a need for a strong civil rights movement in this country to fight against discrimination based on race, sex, national origin and sexual orientation. But the legal principles announced in Supreme Court decisions this week — coupled with growing economic inequality in the nation — suggest it is time to expand our thinking on civil rights to include low-income and working class people of all races." (New York Times)
• The Race Card Project
"What you see here are candid submissions from people who have engaged in a little exercise. Here's how it works. Think about the word Race. How would you distill your thoughts, experiences or observations about race into one sentence that only has six words?" (Michele Norris)
• Poll shows racial divide on views of Trayvon Martin case
"In one of the starkest differences, 73% of blacks said they believe George Zimmerman would have been arrested if Trayvon was white, while 33% of whites agreed. The majority of whites polled — 52% — said race made no difference in the case." (USA Today)
• Zimmerman, Everyman
"In his first days on trial, George Zimmerman offered a new twist on an old truism: if tragedy plus time yields comedy, his demeanor suggested that those ingredients might also yield lethargy. By the end of the first week, he'd had an uptick from drowsy to sober, and, with the exception of a brief smile while his former professor testified, sobriety has remained his bearing throughout."(New Yorker)
