To celebrate my birthday, I addressed a group of Global Scholars at Chattanooga State Community College on the societal trends in this political environemnt through the lens of cultural anthropology. Chattanooga is experiencing major cultural shifts as globalization transforms the South’s demographics. We are very much in need of a new generation with global leadership skills, multicultural expertise, and political involvement.
Category Archives: Politics
Politically-focused articles contributed to the American Diversity Report
The Politics of ‘the angry black Sistah’! – by Terry Howard
Other than race (black) and gender (female), what else do April Ryan, Maxine Waters, Joy Ann Reid and Angela Rye have in common?
The answer? They’re smart as heck, forceful in expressing their politics and views, and more than able to defend themselves against disrespect. You see, while others (yes, men, this also includes many of you too) sit in silence these powerful women won’t hesitate to hit back despite the potential for being tagged “An Angry Black Woman.” (If you’re unfamiliar with these women Google them before reading further.)
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The Politics of Political Correctness – by Deborah Levine
I sat in the audience of a university theater and listened to elected officials and professors ruminate on inclusion in the upcoming political election. It was Chicago in the 1990s and as in-your-face then as it is now. The discussion over race was loud and raucous as the candidates, Caucasian and African American, went toe to toe. As the debate turned to women, the all-male stage veered into the surreal. It turned into a shouting match as to who was more popular with the ladies. They gestured wildly about the numbers of women who called them, trying to prove that who was the more politically correct and more popular among the ladies.
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From Paris: Strategies For The Age Of Trump – By Andrew Scharf
The world was stunned by the election of Donald Trump. People and pundits alike are debating with each other -How could this happen? – What does this mean for the rest of the world? The answers are as complex as the reasons Trump was selected by the Electoral College. As an entrepreneur living abroad in Paris, France I can tell you that recent events over the past year or so have this place spinning with dread, anxiety, and uncertainty.
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Asian Americans and Politics – by Jonathan Yao
There has been a recent and burgeoning trend towards materialism in Chinese cultures, perhaps coinciding with recent economic booms. I witness this anecdotally whenever I walk down 5th Avenue in Manhattan and see a disproportionate number of Chinese people outside luxury retail stores. After perusing through some studies, I confirmed my intuitions and discovered that 68% of people from Chinese feel a lot of pressure to be successful and make money and that 71% of people from China are most likely to measure their success by what they own. Both of these numbers are the highest among all countries surveyed. Chinese consumers have now overtaken Americans to become the world’s largest buyers of personal luxury items.
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Filipino Americans: Be Aware, Active, Present in Politics – by Alicia Soller
As a Filipina-American born in an apolitical Florida suburb, I was not raised to be politically involved. Surrounded by predominantly white peers, I did not find my second-generation Asian American identity wholly represented in the southeast. It also didn’t help that my parents had a natural distrust of politicians having come of age under Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law.
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Inequality is Threat to Justice
“Inequality – in any form, against any person – is a threat to justice,” says Matt Hipps. Hipps, an assistant professor of political science and director of First-Year Experience at Dalton State, hopes to see public programs at the College geared toward getting people to discuss inequality in multiple forms.
Conversation with Dr. Martin Marty – by Deborah Levine
In the widely-disseminated interview of Rev. Jeremiah Wright by Bill Moyers, Rev. Wright referred several times to the words and teaching of a former professor, Dr. Martin Marty. I met Dr. Marty when I coordinated the 1990 National Workshop on Christian Jewish Relations in Chicago. Dr. Marty is a religious scholar who received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He taught at the University of Chicago Divinity School, held an endowed chair, and now holds emeritus status. He served Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota as Regent, Board Chair, Interim President, and now as Senior Regent. A columnist for The Christian Century magazine since 1956, Marty is the author of more than 5,000 articles and the recipient of the National Book Award and 75 honorary doctorates.
Continue reading Conversation with Dr. Martin Marty – by Deborah Levine