Category: Race and Race Relations
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Distrust Simplistic Narratives about Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
by James A. Bacon Attorney General Mark Herring has long made an issue of the rise in hate crimes and white supremacy, which he has conflated as largely one and the same. As he runs a tough campaign for the Democratic Party nomination, he continues to put hate crimes front and center. Besides re-launching a…
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Podcast: How the General Assembly Has Changed
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in Agriculture & forestry, Blogs and Blog Administration, Business and Economy, Civil Rights, Individual Liberties, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Demographics, Economic development, Energy, Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Environment, General Assembly, Government Finance, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race RelationsBy Peter Galuszka I haven’t contributed much to BR lately since I am slammed with non-Virginia work. I did manage to help out on a Podcast about how the General Assembly has changed the state over the last two years as Democrats have gained power. This Podcast is produced by WTJU, the University of Virginia…
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How About Condemning Anti-Asian Rhetoric in Virginia?
by James C. Sherlock I received an email yesterday afternoon from the Virginia Department of Education. It contained comments from Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane and his Office of Equity and Community Engagement. They officially condemn anti-Asian rhetoric and violence in Georgia. From the VDOE EdEquity Office: It is especially important for educators and…
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Lies, Damn Lies, and Race-Obsessed Statistics
by Carol J. Bova A March 3 Virginia Department of Health (VDH) blog post discusses racial/ethnic “health and disease” disparities in light of the COVID-19 epidemic. It states that COVID case rates and hospitalization rates for blacks and Hispanics in the United States and Virginia are substantially higher than for whites. “Social determinants of health are…
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TJ High School Lawsuit Could Set Important Precedents
by Ilya Somin Last week, a group of primarily Asian-American parents filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of new admissions policies at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, in Fairfax County. The case could end up setting an important precedent: Fairfax County Public Schools is facing a second lawsuit over changes officials…
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UVa Memorial Illuminates a Neglected Part of Virginia’s Past
by James A. Bacon The memorial to the slaves who labored at the University of Virginia is a quiet, dignified and moving tribute to the Virginians whose contributions to the university went unappreciated and unrecognized for too long. Yesterday my wife and I visited the memorial, which was dedicated almost a year ago, for the…
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What We Measure Shapes How We Think
I just came across this headline from The Virginian-Pilot: In Virginia Beach, white students are nearly twice as likely to return for in-person classes than Black students. In Virginia Beach, 72% of white students and just 38% of Black students have chosen to return for in-person classes as schools have reopened. I couldn’t read the…
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Racism Investigators Report Use of the N-Word at VMI
by James A. Bacon After interviews with 46 Virginia Military Institute alumni, ten members of the Board of Visitors, 14 current and past faculty members, five cadets and four parents, Barnes & Thornburg, the law firm appointed by the Northam administration to probe racism at the military academy, has identified eight individuals who said they…
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Critical Race Theory Is Taking Over Virginia Beach Schools
by Victoria Manning A Virginia Beach High School government teacher and finalist for teacher of the year recently posted on social media that “capitalism is racist.” An assistant principal in a different Virginia Beach high school advocated teaching critical race theory, sharing an article about the 1619 project. A Virginia Beach high school history teacher…
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Virginia Has a Talent Pipeline Problem, Not a Systemic Racism Problem
by James A. Bacon Among Virginia’s 57,000 classified state employees, black workers are under-represented in leadership positions, writes the Richmond Times-Dispatch today. “Inequity had a 401-year head start here. It’s easy to say we’re not moving quickly enough, and I agree,” said Chief Diversity Officer Janice Underwood in an interview with the RTD. “Racism has been…
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How “Independent” Are the VMI-Racism Investigators?
by James A. Bacon On Oct. 18, Governor Ralph Northam and senior Democratic members of the General Assembly wrote a letter to the Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors expressing deep concerns about “appalling” allegations of racism at the military academy. The letter proceeded to repeat charges previously aired in the Roanoke Times and Washington…
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VUU Gambles on Recruiting Hispanic Students
by James A. Bacon Although the appeal of Virginia’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) has been limited mainly to African-Americans, Richmond-based Virginia Union University, founded in 1865 to educate former slaves, is making a major push to recruit Hispanic students. VUU President Hakim J. Lucas wants the student body to be 25% Hispanic within…
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The Great Unlearning
by James A. Bacon The full dimensions of the COVID-related school closing disaster are coming into sharper view as Virginia school districts compile and report data from the 2020-21 school year. Failing grades are up nearly 500% from last year at some schools in the Lynchburg area, The News & Advance has found through the…
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Racial Preferences for Minorities in COVID Vaccinations?
By Hans Bader Virginia is apparently giving preference to certain clusters of minority residents in access to the COVID-19 vaccine, as Judicial Watch notes: In the next few weeks, the state will give preference to black and Latino residents 65 and over while much older white seniors, many in their 80s, cannot secure an appointment…
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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion… and Conformity and Indoctrination
by James A. Bacon Almost every public university in Virginia has diversity office dedicated to increasing minority representation — in particular African-American and Hispanic representation — in the student body, faculty and staff. But the Northam administration deems those efforts inadequate. The Governor’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has just published a “Strategic Plan…