By Dr. Harold A. Black Should racism be tolerated? How do you define racism? When asked that question, the leading proponent of “antiracism” Ibram X. Kendi could not define it. His definition, “A collection of racist policies that lead to racial inequity that are substantiated by racist ideas,” is not a definition. My mother taught […]
By Dr. Harold A. Black blackh@knoxfocus.com The recent protests by Cubans against their repressive government highlighted stark contrasts that have been largely ignored in the media. First, such protests are rare in dictatorial socialist governments because the people are afraid of their government. The penalties are imprisonment, torture, beatings and even death. No such fears […]
By Dr. Harold A. Black blackh@knoxfocus.com On May 3rd Steve Hunley had an excellent editorial on “racist” math. I want to add to the discussion. Growing up in Atlanta’s segregated schools, I knew there was a cultural divide although I never had a conversation with a white person until I went to the University of […]
By Dr. Harold A. Black I just celebrated my 76th birthday and as a lifelong academic I am appalled by the continuing dumbing down of academic standards. Princeton University’s announcement that Latin and Greek will no longer be required for a major in Classics has been seen by some a further evidence of the “wokeness” […]
By Dr. Harold A. Black blackh@knoxfocus.com The president unveiled his $6 trillion budget – although using the word “budget” next to $6 trillion seems ludicrous. I will leave it to others to critique the contents of the proposal. There is one surprisingly honest facet to the budget proposal. It is that the economy is projected […]
By Dr. Harold A. Black Until a couple of years ago I thought CRT stood for cathode ray tube and BLM stood for Bureau of Land Management. No more. Now its Critical Race Theory and Black Lives Matter. Elections have consequences. This past one produced a tie in the Senate and a razor thin majority […]
By Dr. Harold A. Black In a previous column I wondered whether the forces that bind such a diverse collection of citizens could rend asunder causing states to secede or partition. The last state that was partitioned was with the unconstitutional creation of West Virginia. The western counties of Virginia did not favor leaving the […]
By Dr. Harold A. Black blackh@knoxfocus.com Today more than ever who you believe depends on what you believe. Did you see President Biden’s address to “Congress”? Neither did I. But I saw headlines and was struck by several things. First, one media source reported that 85% of viewers approved of the speech. I don’t […]
By Howard Black blackh@knoxfocus.com For the second session in a row, the US House of Representatives voted along party lines to make the District of Columbia a state. Rumor has it that the District then decided not to have a state bird because they could not find one with two left wings. Regardless, a move […]
A Personal Reflection By Dr. Harold A. Black blackh@knoxfocus.com Note: My 50th year was marked by many countries breaking apart along ethnic lines, many violently. One of the worse was Bosnia which was a part of Yugoslavia. Bosnia was divided into three tribes: the Serbs which wanted to remain in Yugoslavia, and the Bosniaks and […]
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