JRid's observations notwithstanding, it occurs to me that any racial designation other than the goldstandard, white [which is implied by it's absence: In any news story is it not taken for granted that unless identified as other the subject is white?] And in so far as biracial, trans-racial, (to coin a term), etc., it would not surprise me that these 'half-way' designations 'weight smiliary' to black. So much for racial perceptions.

Sent by Luis Britt | 9:07 AM ET | 08-09-2008

I think that CNN special was a joke it wasn't in depth at all and it made it seem as if the African americans were culturally pathological. It played on extremes of so called successful vs down trodden and did not touch on issues such as self hate media and popular culture(hollywood radio etc.) perpetuated images stereotypes bias racism etc. We need a special on what it is like to be White in America cause these specials miserably fail and clearly don't enlighten Blacks or any other cultural group

Sent by Aquil | 11:27 AM ET | 08-09-2008

As the late Arthur Ashe spoke of his life as a world class tennis play, suffering AIDS and as a Black man, he was asked what was harder. He did not pause. He said being Black.

Sent by jack snyder | 2:38 PM ET | 08-09-2008

If it's now hip to be black, what does that say about our country? Approximately 80 % of the violent crimes in this country are committed by black males. If blacks as a race make up 12% of the U.S. population, and let's say that half of the 12% are black males that means that 6% of the U.S. population is responsible for roughly 80% of the violent crimes. And then wonder why the police profile you. Over 60% of all black children live in single parent homes where the mother was never married. It's hip to treat women like 2nd class citizens by calling them bitches and whores. It's hip to wear your pants 2 sizes too big, without a belt so that they show your underwear, just like in prison!! Blacks are hip on TV shows, commercials, and movies. They are portrayed as smart, big and strong, while the white males in the same venues are dumb, frail, and weak. Blacks are in charge of entire major metropolitan areas in this country, school systems, and police forces. Your police force arrests criminals and murderers that black jury's won't convict, and black judges won't sentence. What have you done with that power? I'm tired of hearing about the plight of blacks! At some point you, as a race, must take responsibility for your own actions.

Sent by Scott Stevens | 5:15 PM ET | 08-09-2008

When white fails as a single biological racial category as it has historically beeen employed, we find the distinctions called race to be more related to culture and cultural practices, instead of being related to any biological facts. Thus the continuum of racial categories, depends on assuming certain cultural practices and philosophical positionings that simply mimic or duplicate the power claims of white males in a specific social context. What power would racial definitions have if racism was not an active and constituent part of American society?

When will we engage a truly meaningful conversation about race in America? I fear it may be impossible.

We prefer juvenile ramblings that provoke responses but adds nothing to the important conversations. We are still having redundant conversations about what color someone's face happens to be.

Do we not have much more critical issues to face than this very old story?

Thank you.

Asante'

Sent by Asante' | 5:57 PM ET | 08-09-2008

Wow. That is a very poignent piece. It is so sad that we live in a so called progressive society and people find "Black People" a circus oddity.

Again Wow. I am not sure what being black is until it is repetively written about in some news magazine or repeated on a documentary in mainstream media and then I remember.

Wow.

Sent by S. Crew | 8:33 PM ET | 08-09-2008

All of these articles and televised specials on the so-called "Plight of Black America" reminds of the lyrics to the old Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' song:"If you don't know me by now, you will never, never know me". One might think that after 400 years of presence and 300 spent in involuntary servitude, America would be well acquainted with Black people.

Sent by Shaun Kirkwood | 10:07 AM ET | 08-10-2008

John, today I played black music that some call jazz. I also played an African instrument called a djembe. I studied drums with a black man in a white minority city known as New York City. When I was born I didn't know that I was a white baby yet I became a racist. I don't like being a racist so I'm trying to change, but it is a challenge in a country that is racist. I wouldn't want to be black man in this country. I am still trying to change. thank you for your insights and keep plugging away because I believe that although change is sometimes slow it is coming. love and god bless, paul

Sent by paul richards | 10:22 AM ET | 08-10-2008

Come on now. Your know darn good and well, it's always 'hip to be black.'

Sent by Mac | 9:39 PM ET | 08-10-2008

Oddly, the movie "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" comes to mind. I agree, just enjoy the hip, the cool, and their insanity until it fades and they find something else to entertain themselves with. For the rest of us, this presidential election still comes down to the "lessor of the two evils". So which direction do we take? A blast from the past or a brave new world? Both have perils... again the lessor of the two evils thing. I think the brave new world will be more challenging but also more rewarding.

Sent by James Pembleton | 9:02 AM ET | 08-11-2008

I'm a young, black, female attorney in south Florida. I represent the two prevailing thoughts on the matter of race in America: African Americans ("AA") have advanced greatly since slavery and Jim Crow, but AA continue to face discrimination and oppression on a regular basis. Yes, I am now able to receive an education and advance in my career of choice, but not without discrimination and stereotypes. Nonetheless, slow progress is still progress and AA should be grateful. Yes, I said it, but I don't believe it, but I do know that a lot of white Americans are thinking it.

Sent by Latoya | 12:16 PM ET | 08-11-2008

Racism makes economic sense, if you are in top 1% of racist american or want to be. By keeping the bottom 90% at each others throat- you can pick their pockects clean.

Sent by Nehemiah Ruffin Jr. | 5:36 PM ET | 08-11-2008

I thought pink was the new black! Anyway, we're all different colors, so why not see each other as people. We have something like 99% of genetic material in common. We all bleed red. Am I "unhip" because I am white? I think a lot of people want to let go of racism, but old habits die hard, like smoking. You return to them out of fear or habit or because of the people you associate with.

Sent by rayy | 9:20 AM ET | 08-12-2008

I know what you mean about the mailroom. I'm an Asian American, and many of the interest groups soliciting on the street don't even bother to stop to talk to me, assuming I'm a foreigner of sorts, or the farmer's market vendor who assumes that I am Asian and thrifty and won't have the "class" to pay $10 for a small basket of organic fruit. These perceptions are still running strong in America, and I'm ashamed to mention that I received most of this treatment in NYC.

Sent by Jim | 9:59 AM ET | 08-12-2008

Mr. Ridley, you ask if a series like the Post's is needed. In his post Scott Stevens has made it clear that the answer is yes. He bases his premise on the idea that 80 percent of all violent crimes are caused by black men. He gives no source for this, just throws it out there. I can find no source that says that. Dept. of Justice stats, however, clearly show that there are more than a million white men in prison than black men. Alternatively, the percentage of the respective population of black men in prison is several times higher than the percentage of white men to that population. Poor people, white or black, are much more likely to engage in violent crimes than people with more to lose and they are much more likely to wind up in prison. Browse the relevant DOJ stats and the obvious is just as obvious. In general, blacks are disproportionately poorer than whites in this country. So, it makes sense that they would be more involved in violent crimes disproportionate to their population. Mr. Stevens goes on to dredge up a litany of stereotypes that permeate our society. I'm white but I have several black friends and NOT ONE of them resemble even remotely the way Mr. Stevens perceives the African American. Personal responsibility is important, of course, and quite frankly I can think of a lot of whites who are less responsible than my black friends. Is Mr. Stevens aware, for example, that the majority of people on welfare are white, not black? So, Mr. Ridley, the answer to your question should be painfully obvious to you by now. Yes, for many white americans, y'all are still kinda alien. But the good news is that this is becoming less true as time goes by, Mr. Stevens not withstanding.

Sent by John R. Otten | 1:19 PM ET | 08-12-2008

Paul, Don't be so hard on yourself man, nobody knows what color they are when they're born :) I'm currently reading William Faulkner's "Light in August," a novel about race as a *social construct," a kind of call-and-response in which the character Joe Christmas is not exactly sure what race he is, only what he's been called.

Atlanta is a black city, 66.4 percent black to 33.2 percent white. So is Detroit with a population that's 81.6 percent black to 12.3 percent white. New York City, on the other hand, which since the 80s is no longer over 50 percent white (it's 44.7 percent), has also become less black than at any time since the 19th century, as has the NYC metropolitan area.

NYC is 27 percent Hispanic or Latino, but according to the U.S. government census, 80 percent of Puerto Ricans consider themselves white (by their own standards) while only 10 percent of Dominicans consider themselves black. So it's really not a visibly minority white city because Hispanic is not really a racial category, it's more a linguistic category.

Good luck with your studies.

Sent by Dave | 7:00 PM ET | 08-12-2008

Holy smokes, what a bunch of remarkable comments by clearly concerned folks.
I ask what it actually means to be black, as opposed to simply one more member of a vast exploitable labor pool. OF COURSE it makes perfect sense to incite us to have at each other-who really wants to know how adroitly we are being used?
Is being black exemplified by surviving the abuse attendant to being the unpaid replacement for indentured servants, way back when? Or is it tied to being the descendent, martyred minority in the self-same culture striving to keep you down on the farm? If being hated is the benchmark, what about being a cop in america? Any americans out there born and raised in a country that despises americans for our meddling, exploitative ways?
Hmmm, I always seem to come back to exploitation. The one subject no one wants to speak of because it strikes too close to home.
Curiously, there is one event that brings all our positions into clearer focus as one or another kind of N****R(a word which, in my opinion, is more descriptive of an economic shortcoming than a racial one.). And that is the student killings in 1970 at Kent State University. NONE of the students killed was black; NONE of the National Guard soldiers doing the killing was black.
What does this mean? When your shuffling raises too much dust, you will be put down.
We ALL live at massa's behest. Get used to it....

Sent by James Bain | 9:53 AM ET | 08-13-2008

I bought a t-shirt from Old Navy that displays the phrase "Black is the New Black" I always likened it to a fashion statement. However, as a black man wearing the t-shirt, many people are questioning why I am wearing it. I am a 45 year old Black man. My 20 year old son that this t-shirt was taking a "political" stance. Yet, the label on it is Old Navy. If I were to be 100% honest, I wore it to see if individuals would respond the way they have. Once you have experienced racism enough, it is so predictable. A cashier nearly insisted that I clarify the words on my shirt. I suggested that she write to the corporate office of Old Navy.

Sent by Charles McClinon | 4:24 AM ET | 08-24-2008

We need to realize we are different. In America we are a collection of diverse cultures, cultures that have been created by race, religion & region. We come from different cultures. Each culture has different values. I like the fact that we are different. I think it is a positive thing, but if you recognize a difference some may say you are racist. We are all equal, but Americans are very different and the black culture in my home state is radically different than mine. And I will repeat -- I like the difference.

Sent by Greg Tavares | 1:01 AM ET | 08-25-2008