How Recent Immigration Complicates Our Racial Justice Policies

When Kwasi Enin--the first-generation Ghanaian-American student accepted by all eight Ivy League schools--first made headlines, he probably never expected to ignite a national conversation about race and ethnic relations. Why? … Read More

Trends at the Top: The New CEOs Revisited

The Newest of the New CEOS For most of the second half of the 20th century, virtually every CEO of every Fortune 500 company was a white man. In the 1980s and early ‘90s, a few white women, a few … Read More

Health, Science, and Shared Disparities with Brian Southwell

Social networks are often lauded for their potential to reach large numbers of people in innovative ways. Yet, there is unequal access to social media and unequal “quality” within networks—both on and offline. Brian Southwell, author of the new book … Read More

Are Mexicans the Most Successful Immigrant Group in the U.S.?

This post originally appeared on Zocalo Public Square and is reprinted with permission. A sentence has been added at the author’s request on Feb. 28. The narrative of the American Dream is one of upward mobility, but there are … Read More

Debt and Darkness in Detroit

The owner of a southwest Detroit convenience store knew he’d had enough: a customer had walked out into the night and was promptly robbed on the store’s front step. The owner was upset with vacant buildings and an overstretched police … Read More

Like Father, Like Son

Editors’ Note: This piece is reprinted with permission (and appreciation) from the site GazillionVoices.com. I’m a 41-year-old adopted Korean American, and my son is a four-year-old African American adoptee. When I look at my son’s face, I think about … Read More

How My Social Justice Failed My Family

Editors’ Note: This piece is reprinted with permission (and appreciation) from Still Furious and Brave.  I’ve never felt more helpless than hearing my dad tell me that someone bought the house that I grew up in. After using student … Read More

Social Fact: Death—Not the “Great Equalizer”?

Death has been poetically referred to as the “great equalizer,” yet epidemiologic data tell a different story. The age at which one dies varies dramatically by race and gender, with women maintaining a clear advantage over men, and whites and … Read More

From Unassimilable to Exceptional

The Changing Status of Asian Americans Following a recent public lecture in my hometown of Philadelphia, I was approached by a female member of the audience who asked where I had gone to high school. A retired high school teacher, … Read More

The Fascination and Frustration with Native American Mascots

In the spring of 2013, a racial controversy emerged in that usually rarified, entertainment realm of sport. It had to do with the “Redskins” moniker used by the NFL’s Washington, D.C. , franchise, one of the most prominent and profitable … Read More