james perry
GRITtv: Melissa Harris-Lacewell: Citizenship is a Long-Term Game
In the wake of what some called the worst week for democracy since Bush v. Gore, with the Democrats seeming to give up after losing one Senate seat and the Supreme Court allowing unlimited corporate influence on elections, we turn to Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Princeton professor, Nation contributor, and author of "Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought," for some clarification -- and consolation. Harris-Lacewell offers some thoughts on why it's lazy and dangerous to refer to political opponents as crazy, on the way the health care reform process has provided a valuable civics lesson, and how political campaigns are beholden to money.
Email this pageGRITtv: Is it Fair to Compare Haiti to New Orleans?
The comparisons between the earthquake in Haiti and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans have come fast and furious, but often from people who've watched both disasters through the clean-cut white lens of Anderson Cooper broadcasts. Meanwhile, people in Haiti -- and those in the Gulf Coast still struggling four years later -- need more than blame and comparisons. They need real solutions. To offer some, we ask Monika Kalra Varma, director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Princeton professor, Nation contributor, and author of "Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought," and James Perry, executive director of the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center and candidate for mayor of New Orleans.
