Should Black People Give Up Being “Black?”

Do Black People Still Face Racism in America?

Is racial bias & prejudice still a regular occurrence for black people in today’s America? Do Black Americans show prejudice in reverse against white people? Does all racial bias give white people a white privilege? And if there is indeed a white privilege, what are potential solutions? Is there a double standard when it comes to how White & Black Americans are expected to react to bias against them? In other words, are white people given greater allowance to express their hurt feelings, while black people are accused of being too sensitive? In this conversation, our guests discuss racial prejudices and stereotypes that Black Americans experience in their daily lives and what’s behind the assumptions that black people make about white people in response. Can Black and White Americans find any common understanding of whether there any white advantage still exists in America and what that white advantage is? Our guests also turn to discussing solutions that would engender greater racial equality.

Is There Still White Privilege in America? Conservatives & Liberals Discuss

Our guests discuss white privilege, touch on frustrations of being judged based on race, and talk about how society addresses racial inequality and institutional racism. Do all white people have white privilege? What is it, and how does it show up in people’s lives? Is white privilege a major reason for racial inequality? And how do references to “white privilege” impact relationships across racial lines? Do they inflame tensions? Increase understanding? Lead to healing? Exacerbate racial conflict? Our guests discuss whether or not white privilege exists, whether or not it is overused or misunderstood, and how racial biases affect White and Black Americans today. They share personal experiences of times they were judged based on their skin color and how stereotypes and biases have impacted their lives and their feelings about how we talk about race in America.

Should Black People Give Up Being “Black?”

Should we get rid of our racial identities and see ourselves as “human” first? Do our racial identities prevent us from getting past racial issues in America, and does the construct of race also hurt white people? Does calling ourselves “black” and “white” keep us from seeing each other’s humanity and perpetuate the racial divisions and inequities that we aspire to resolve? Is there a way to own our various identities and appreciate them all without conflict and division? In this conversation, we discuss how we should navigate racial (and other) differences, whether these identity labels - or “boxes” - are part of the problem, and how we can move forward toward a more integrated country.

Why Are Black Single Moms Blamed in America?

Is Black single motherhood a factor in racial inequalities? If so, are Black women themselves at fault? Is it black men? Is it a public policy issue related to welfare programs or mass incarceration? Is it the imbalance between the number of black men and black women? And what should be done to reduce the prevalence of single-parent households if they are indeed a key factor in economic issues? In this conversation, our guests take on the sensitive, and sometimes contentious, issue of single-parent households and the role they might play in economic distress and racial inequalities. They also get very personal, discussing the kind of human motivations and difficult choices that can arise when it comes to marriage, having children, and the various factors that can lead to divorce or having children out of wedlock.

America: Too Much Government OR Too Capitalist?

Our guests discuss the merits and drawbacks of capitalism, the promise and challenges of relying on government to solve social and economic problems, and what kind of changes in American morality would be required to rise above materialism and find a sustainable shared humanity. Are Americans too capitalist or not capitalist enough? Do Americans value the greater good, or are they too focused on their own personal and materialistic interests? Should we have faith in government to create equal opportunity for all Americans, or has government lost too much faith in its ability to solve economic and societal problems?  Are we as Americans even in it together anymore, or have we lost our common humanity, our shared purpose, and our caring for one another’s well being and opportunity for success? For instance, the guests discuss education inequality. Should Americans be willing to invest in creating quality education for children who don’t live in their own neighborhoods, or is it acceptable for rich neighborhoods to be able to fund well-resourced schools and poor neighborhoods to only be able to fund poorly resourced schools?