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

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

In this episode, Jon and Arnie chat more about the Trump administration’s ongoing assault on Harvard University. We highlight some complexities to this dynamic. On the one hand, Harvard is the current bulwark against Trump’s authoritarian effort to control every aspect of every university in the country. For this reason, Harvard’s fight is everyone’s fight. On the other hand, Harvard enabled Trump’s escalating attacks on racial justice and free speech on campus. So even as Harvard deserves our support, it also warrants our continued criticism. We also discuss the Trump administration’s open desire to make integration illegal. Wondering where the idea comes from? Try Barry Goldwater, who in 1964 rehearsed the argument “the Constitution is color-blind . . . and so it is just as wrong to compel children to attend certain schools for the sake of so-called integration as for the sake of segregation.”


Ep. 41 | Harvard's No Folk Hero & Trump Resegregates America

Arnie and Jon discuss how the Trump regime sees racism as both an end goal and a means to realize a whole slew of fascist desires. As to the end, we are witnessing an unrelenting campaign to entrench a racial order defined by white supremacist ideals that trace to antebellum America. The erection of confederate monuments, the erasure of Black history, the claim that “race is biological,” and the lawless kidnapping of people of color all serve this agenda. But Trump is also wielding racism to discredit political opponents, defund public education and redirect billions of dollars to allies – all in the service of Trump-style grift and a fascist politics designed to crush our communities and concentrate power in the privileged few.

Ep. 42 | For Trump, Racism is Ends and Means

We discuss Democratic leadership’s inexcusable failure to speak honestly about and to denounce the racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, anti-LGBTQ bigotry and Christian Nationalism that animated Charlie Kirk’s ideology and continues to undergird the organizations he built. It should be easy to express empathy and denounce political violence without engaging in revisionist myth making that normalizes the hate-filled rhetoric and machinery that fuels the Trump regime’s assault on our classrooms, our communities and our democracy. Yet that simple task is proving too much for too many in America’s opposition party. Rather than speak simple truths, leading Democrats in the House and Senate have approved resolutions that recast a white supremacist movement as politics done right. Against this backdrop, we uplift the voices -- like Olufemi Taiwo and Jeff Sharlet -- that are correcting the record.

Ep. 43 | Democrats' Great Betrayal & the Mythology of Charlie Kirk

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.