Race and Ethnicity

Ten Men and Half a Woman: Is Your Intelligence Underestimated?

By Dr. Gabriela Cora on February 21, 2012 in Alpha Females

I've been active in several groups, associations, and boards for a couple of decades now and one of the interesting ongoing conversations is bringing diversity into the groups. Yes, there is data to support that boards benefit from diversity. And there's also data to support that they don't. Read More

The Self-Education of Oscar Micheaux

By Lisa Rivero on February 18, 2012 in Creative Synthesis

Whether his achievements were the result of talent or practice or something else entirely, one trait stands out as allowing Oscar Micheaux to pursue his successive dreams: He was willing to be the oddball and to appear foolish in others’ eyes. Read More

The Loving Story—A Valentine from HBO

By Jefferson Fish, Ph.D. on February 17, 2012 in Looking in the Cultural Mirror

On Valentine’s Day, HBO presented the documentary The Loving Story. The film tells about an interracial couple in Virginia in 1958 jailed for violating the state’s anti-miscegenation law. Their case eventually led to the Supreme Court’s 1967 unanimous decision in Loving v. Virginia declaring laws against intermarriage unconstitutional. Read More

Is Jeremy Lin Like Jackie Robinson?

By Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, Ph.D. on February 17, 2012 in Are We Born Racist?

As a student of stereotypes and intergroup relations, the Jeremy Lin phenomenon makes me wonder whether Lin has opened the door for Asian American athletes to finally stop being overlooked in American sports, much in the same way that Jackie Robinson did for African American athletes. There is reason for both gloom and hope. Read More

LINsanity! Observations on the Worship of a New Sports Hero

By Ravi Chandra, M.D. on February 16, 2012 in The Pacific Heart

Linfluenza virus causes Linsanity! The birth of a sports hero, and what he means to the Asian American community and the country as a whole: Jeremy Lin represents our best self, the underdog overcoming long odds to win the heart of the nation—paralleling President Obama's rise. Read More

Characters Unite to End Prejudice

By Goal Auzeen Saedi on February 15, 2012 in Millennial Media

USA Network's "Characters Unite" campaign to end intolerance, hatred, and discrimination takes a new approach to an age old issue. As America stands more divided than ever before, a media-based social justice effort is made to bring us closer, and to address issues affecting under-represented and marginalized groups. Read More

The Shamanic Synesthesia of the Kalahari Bushmen

By Maureen Seaberg on February 15, 2012 in Tasting the Universe

Dr. Bradford Keeney has studied synesthesia among the Kalahari Bushmen of Southern Africa. Read More

Was I a Troublemaker? Weren't you?

By Gina Barreca, Ph.D. on February 15, 2012 in Snow White Doesn't Live Here Anymore

I felt like a foster-child at the affluent institution I attended, but only a very good education could have prepared me to be a truly effective troublemaker. For that I am indeed grateful. Read More

The Lovings: A Story about Race, Family and Civil Rights

By Mark Banschick, M.D. on February 14, 2012 in The Intelligent Divorce

It's easy to celebrate the seductive side of love—passion, romance, closeness. These are all wonderful things, but the power of love is often overlooked or addressed superficially. Love is about family and commitment, and it can bring people together despite the greatest of pressues to do otherwise. Read More

Eight Keys to Life Hardiness and Resiliency

By Preston Ni, M.S.B.A. on February 11, 2012 in Communication Success

Helen Keller once wrote: “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.” As we navigate through challenging times toward a better future, it’s useful to visit some tried and true ideas regarding life hardiness and resiliency. Read More

Promiscuous Facts: Barack Obama and Uncertain Knowledge

By Gary Alan Fine on February 10, 2012 in The Global Grapevine

What do the rumors about President Obama reveal about our capacity to believe uncertain knowledge? As the target of rumor, Obama does not differ from most politicians, even if the rumors appeal to distinct public audiences. How does the study of rumor contribute to "agnotology" — the scientific analysis of the causes and practices of ignorance. Read More

What We Can Learn From "Twelve Angry Men"

By Brian Bornstein, Ph.D. on February 10, 2012 in The Jury's Trials

I recently auditioned for a local theater production of Twelve Angry Men. As a jury researcher, how could I resist? Although I did not get a part, I still went to a performance, and I was struck by how powerful and instructive the play still is, more than 50 years after its premiere. Read More

Social Justice and the Autism Spectrum

By Lynne Soraya on February 8, 2012 in Asperger's Diary

As the debate about the DSM 5 proposed revisions rages on, the focus of the media turns more and more to the upsurge in autism diagnoses. What does the increase in autism numbers mean? Are the standards for diagnosis too lax? Is autism really becoming more common? Or, is it that we are getting better at recognizing it? Read More

The Psyche of Modern-Day Young Black Men Part 1: In Crisis, Not College?

By Melody T. McCloud, M.D. on February 8, 2012 in Black Women's Health and Happiness

Education is the ticket out of poverty. Black families need educated Black men; their presence is not only requested, it is required. But with fewer Black males in college, it's time for all hands on deck. Read More

The Psyche of Modern-Day Young Black Men Part 2: Effect on Black Women and Family Structure

By Melody T. McCloud, M.D. on February 8, 2012 in Black Women's Health and Happiness

With a lack of Black men in college, especially compared to the number of Black women, the social and educational disparity is stark. As more and more Black women pursue college and grad schools, they find themselves with fewer suitable, accomplished, or career-minded, marriage-worthy Black men to have as mates. Read More

The Power of Film as Storyteller: Oscar Nominee “The Help”

By Karen E. Dill, Ph.D. on February 3, 2012 in How Fantasy Becomes Reality

Oscar nominee The Help tackles racism and sexism and views motherhood, daughterhood and friendship along the lines of authenticity. Read More

Sibling Love Challenges Hurricane Katrina

By Jenni Ogden, Ph.D. on February 2, 2012 in Trouble in Mind

Jesmyn Ward's novel, "Salvage the Bones," is a gut-wrenching ride that can teach us much about the power of sibling love. Read More

Flap Over Designer Sperm in India

By Marcy Darnovsky, Ph.D. on February 2, 2012 in Genetic Crossroads

An ad for sperm from “tall and fair” technology students sparks a debate in India about designer babies. Read More

The Movie "The Help" Is for White People?

By Melody T. McCloud, M.D. on January 31, 2012 in Black Women's Health and Happiness

Jobs are hard to come by for Black actresses in Hollywood, so to get any gig in the industry is wonderful; I AM happy for Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and the other ladies. Having said that, what is the deal with the movie The Help? Why do movies that continue to show Black women as slaves, whores, maids, etc., get lauded? Read More

Why Does the United States Lock Up So Many People?

By Karen Franklin, Ph.D. on January 30, 2012 in Witness

The statistics are shocking: One out of every 99 adults is quarantined behind bars in the United States, with larger and larger swaths of the civilian work force deployed as a captor class. Read More

Essential Reads: Editor's Picks

The Self-Education of Oscar Micheaux
by Lisa Rivero
Characters Unite to End Prejudice
by Goal Auzeen Saedi
Promiscuous Facts: Barack Obama and Uncertain Knowledge
by Gary Alan Fine

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