For our 20th Episode, we circle back to the beginning. In Episode 1, we asked why the mainstream press struggled so mightily to call the GOP’s campaign of discriminatory censorship what it is: an unapologetic assault on free speech. Unfortunately, little has changed. 18 months later, and much of the press remains mired in a dysfunctional and dangerous “free speech debate.” To correct that narrative, we dive into a Newsweek op-ed that Prof. Feingold published with renown critical theorists Professors Athena Mutua and Angela Harris, all members of the Critical (Legal) Collective. They identify four troubling dynamics that continue to distort our national “free speech” conversations: (1) misdiagnosing the crisis; (2) presuming universities can’t take sides; (3) selective sympathy for conservative viewpoints; (4) disdain for students. The upshot: there is a free speech crisis. Unless we see it or name it, we shouldn’t expect to survive it. 

#RaceClass Reqs: The Real Threat to Free Speech is Coming from the Right

Ep. 20 | Our Free Speech Crisis. Don't Blame the Students.

On October 7, Hamas launched horrifying and unprecedent attacks targeting Israeli civilians and continues to hold Israeli hostages. Israel responded within an ongoing assault on Gaza that includes airstrikes and a blockade on humanitarian aid. Current estimates suggest that over 1,400 people have died in Israel and nearly 6,000 in Gaza. The conflict remains agonizing front-page news. And yet it feels as if we—the public, media, politicians—are incapable of really talking about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza. One reason is that this conflict, like many others, is racialized. This dynamic shapes how we process, perceive, and engage with the conflict—often in ways we do not see. Professor Sahar Aziz, an expert on authoritarianism, terrorism, and rule of law in the Middle East, joins #RaceClass to help us explore how the world continues to racialize the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

#RaceClass Recs: The Racial Muslim (Aziz); Teach-In on Gaza (CSRR); Traces of the Master Narrative (Ikemoto)

Israel | Palestine

Ep. 23 | Why We Can't Talk About Israel-Palestine; A Conversation w/ Prof. Sahar Aziz

On Dec. 5, the U.S. House passed HR 894, which states that “anti-Zionism is antisemitism.” On the same day, House Republicans charged the presidents’ of Harvard, Penn and MIT with institutional “cultures” that “foster [antisemitism] because you have faculty and students who hate Jews, hate Israel and are comfortable apologizing for terror.” As Noah Zatz recently observed, both claims rely on a logical leap that requires “conflating the Israeli state with its Jewish residents in conjunction with metaphors of destruction.” 

Building on Zatz’s analysis, we interrogate the claim that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. Even recognizing that criticism targeting Israel can be antisemitic, the now-bipartisan claim that anti-Zionism equals anti-Semitism raises at least three serious concerns: (1) it is analytically fraught; (2) it is potentially dangerous for Jews and others (in part because it foments social division and can feed white supremacist ideologies like great replacement theory) and (c) it is a predictable and strategic effort to silence dissent and discredit antiracist movements in the United States and beyond and abroad.

Ep. 24 | The Anti-Zionism = Anti-Semitism Power Play

Rightwing personalities are blaming DEI (“diversity, equity, inclusion”) for everything from broken Boeings and bankrupt banks to a flaccid military and train derailments. These are facially unserious claims. Yet they resonate with much of the public. One might say they enjoy a common-sense logic that pits diversity against excellence.

We explore two factors that feed rightwing DEI smears: (1) engrained racial narratives that rationalize inequality and (2) the Left--specifically, liberal institutions that also rationalize inequality—even when doing so undermines their own DEI policies. To concretize the latter dynamic, we highlight Harvard’s failure to acknowledge all the ways its admissions process functions as preferential treatment for white (often wealthy) applicants.

Ep. 25 | When it Comes to DEI, The Left Keeps Feeding the Trolls

In this episode, we explore two things that Brown v. Board of Education and DEI have in common. 

The first is the story we know well. Both Brown and DEI have been openly vilified by the Right—a history that spans the Southern Manifesto to an ongoing assault on racial diversity. 

The second is the story that’s almost never told. The Supreme Court’s most celebrated decision and contemporary efforts to diversify elite institutions valorize and center whiteness—often in ways that naturalize longstanding patterns of racial inequality in the United States. 

The answer isn’t to disown Brown or demean inclusionary commitments. But we have to tell the full story. That includes a story about how many of our most prized equality-oriented achievements can undermine the very goal of racial equality.

Ep. 26 | Even Our Heroes Are Flawed; How Brown v. Board of Education Reinforced Racial Hierarchy

One increasingly encounters the claim that antisemitism is on the rise and progressive politics are to blame. For anyone familiar with Christopher Rufo’s unapologetic smear campaigns against CRT and DEI, there is a reflex to dismiss both claims as somewhat obvious propaganda. That reflex makes sense, but it invites two risks: one analytical, one political. The analytical risk entails discounting actual evidence of anti-Semitism. The political risk entails alienating allies who hold legitimate concerns about antisemitism past and present. 

To guard against these risks, we take seriously both claims. We then discuss our provisional conclusions. First, it is likely that students whose dress signals Jewish identity (e.g., wearing a Kippah or Star of David) are increasingly likely to encounter hostility or negative attitudes on campus. Second, rightwing Jewish organizations are responsible, in large part, for this hostility. Here’s why: Through their rhetoric and behavior, including the rigid claim that anti-Zionism is per se antisemitism, these organizations have hardened the conceptual link between Jewish identity and Israel’s current assault on Palestinian life. As a result, symbols of Jewishness are increasingly perceived as symbols of anti-Palestinian animus. To better understand how rightwing rhetoric fuels this new antisemitism (which renders vulnerable Jewish students who are orthodox and anti-Zionist), we turn to Khaled Beydoun’s scholarship on islamophobia.

Ep. 27 | Rightwing Jewish Orgs Fuel a New Antisemitism

On Wednesday Apr. 24, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he would tour Columbia University and host a news conference to discuss “the troubling rise of virulent antisemitism on America’s college campuses.” Just ten days’ prior, Johnson appeared alongside Donald Trump for a press conference that “echoed language from the racist [and antisemitic] great replacement theory.” With his pivot to Columbia and feigned concern over anti-semitism, one might say Mike Johnson is engaging in “identity politics” and playing a “Jewish card.”  

He is far from alone. Since October 7th, individuals and entities from across the political spectrum have mobilized Jewish identity to wage ideological battles over competing visions of life at home and abroad. With a nod to Carbado & Gulati’s research on “working identity,” we identify four different ways that Jewish identity is being mobilized in this moment: The Comrade. The Sword. The Shield. The Cynic. 

[Teaser: Mike Johnson’s behavior falls into that last category. Also very disappointed we didn't have a chance to discuss "The Parrot" (aka how certain Democrats continue to parrot GOP talking points).]

Ep. 28 | Identity Politics & Playing "Jewish Cards"

It has been a long semester, and we are tired. In this episode, Jon and Arnie connect lots of dots to explore the many ways race shapes contemporary fights in American society. From the Governor of Alabama dog whistling at the UAW, to pundits scolding university presidents who “negotiate” with student protesters, to GOP leaders weaponizing antisemitism for political gain, race is doing work—one way or another. Because it's always about race, even when it's not.

Ep. 29 | Because It’s Always About Race, Even When It’s Not

In this episode, Dr. OiYan Poon joins #RaceClass to discuss her new book “Asian American is Not a Color: Conversations on Race, Affirmative Action and Family.” Dr. Poon is a distinguished social scientist and race scholar. In a wide ranging conversation, Dr. Poon explores her own racial education as child in western, MA; how the term “Asian American” originated within the broader Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s; what it means to be "Asian American"; and why affirmative action is often necessary to combat anti-Asian racism.  

Ep. 30 | "Asian American is Not a Color," a Conversation with Dr. OiYan Poon

Dr. James Whitfield joined the #RaceClass Podcast for a wide ranging conversation about his racial education as a multi-racial child in west Texas; the hostile environment teachers and students face in Texas today; and reasons for optimism even in oppressive times. 
 
Dr. Whitfield is an award-winning education advocate centered on creating safe, nurturing, and equitable learning environments which, in turn, help transform communities. In summer 2020, Dr. Whitfield was early into his tenure as the first Black principal at a predominantly white high school in Texas. Amid global protests for racial justice, Dr. Whitfield penned a letter detailing the pain of anti-black racism. He received widespread support from the school community, but backlash nonetheless arrived and cost him his job. Listen to his story on #RaceClass.
 
Want to learn more? 

Visit Dr. Whitfield’s website:  https://drjameswhitfield.com/ 
Donate to his Go-Fund campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-my-big-brother-secure-support-in-education

Ep. 31 | Teaching the Truth with Dr. James Whitfield

Following the 2020-21 school year, the Sullivan County (TN) school board fired Matthew Hawn, a high school social studies teacher. As was reported at the time, the School Board punished Mr. Hawn after he assigned his Contemporary Issues class a Ta-Nehisi Coates article and shared a spoken word poem by Kyla Jenee Lacey. On Monday, after nearly three years, Mr. Hawn had his first opportunity to challenge his firing in Court. Jon traveled to Tennessee to observe the hearing. In this episode, Jon and Arnie explore the dynamics in the courtroom, the case's vast implications, and a question that hung over the day: “Is White Privilege a Fact?” 

Many listeners will hear echoes of the Scopes trial, a notorious 1925 case involving a Tennessee teacher who violated a state law that banned instruction on evolution.
 
Interested in learning more or supporting Coach Hawn? Visit his GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-coach-hawn

Ep. 32 | Teaching the Truth on Trial (Again) in Tennessee

A monthly conversation with BU Law Prof. Jonathan Feingold & WNHN host Arnie Arnesen about race and racism from a place of humility, commitment and curiosity.

Special thanks to WNHN and producers Stephanie Collins and Dave Scott.