Op-Ed

Yifei Liu. Asian woman in black top stands in front of window, looks toward the camera.
Claudia Vaughan  Jul 19, 2019 2:03PM EDT

In Defense of a Mushu-less Mulan: It's Time to Take Asian Leads Seriously [OP-ED]

As Disney releases live action versions of its classic films into the world, writer Claudia Vaughan argues that losing the fantastical aspects of “Mulan” will finally allow us to treat the warrior with the weight and complexity she warrants.
the back of a couple laying on the beach with a multicolored quilt covering them
Michele Kumi Baer  Jun 12, 2019 11:59AM EDT

On Loving Day, a Call to Decolonize Love [Op-Ed]

Fifty two years after the Loving v. Virginia decision, the legalization of interracial marriage has not resulted in a more liberating environment for interracial relationships. To move past legalization and towards liberation, we must decolonize love.
Shining little Black faces look at the camera as childen sit at wooden desks in a classroom. Photo is black and white.
Roseann Liu  May 17, 2019 12:05PM EDT

Why We Can't Afford to Leave Race Out of School Funding Conversations [Op-Ed]

On the 65th anniversary of the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility senior fellow Roseann Liu breaks down why it’s imperative to call out racism when advocating for fair school funding.
The city of Flint Water Plant is illuminated by moonlight on Jan. 23, 2016, in Flint, Michigan. The state approved new funds for the city yesterday.
Wei Jia, Azadeh Shahshahani  Apr 26, 2019 4:54PM EDT

From Notre Dame to Flint, Our Giving Exposes Who We Are [Op-Ed]

Writer Wei Jia and Project South’s Azadeh Shahshahani explore why the cathedral is being rebuilt by billionaires, but—five years after the water crisis began—Flint still doesn’t have safe water.
White writing on black chalkboard reads "vote"
By Jessica González-Rojas, Marcela Howell, Sung Yeon Choimorrow  Apr 12, 2019 8:00AM EDT

Election 2020: Ignore Women of Color at Your Own Peril [OP-ED]

The women behind Intersections of Our Lives say that if there’s one thing that can be learned from the last election, it’s that the votes of women of color should not be taken for granted.
White sheets of paper, scattered
Candace Bond-Theriault  Apr 5, 2019 9:15AM EDT

'I'm Black and That's Not Going to Happen': A Queer Black Femme on the Mueller Report [OP-ED]

National LGBTQ Task Force’s Candace Bond-Theriault says it never made sense for Black folks, queer folks and feminists of color to put faith in the Mueller report because they know better.
Silver piggy bank on black background
Lynnise E. Phillips Pantin  Mar 22, 2019 5:07PM EDT

From Fyre Fest to Theranos, the Invisible Racial Subtext of Raising Capital [Op-Ed]

Lynnise Pantin, director of the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic at Columbia Law School, argues that it is possible to create an environment that prioritizes equality of access to capital for entrepreneurs of color.
Marva Sadler. Smiling Black woman with dark brown locs, wearing gray, collared shirt
Marva Sadler  Mar 10, 2019 9:03AM EDT

Guided by Love, Abortion Care Providers Are Voices For Their Communities [Op-Ed]

On Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, Whole Woman’s Health’s Marva Sadler shares what guides her mission to provide quality, compassionate abortion care.
Woman with red hair in silohuette puts silverware on table while standing in front of a window in daylight, there is a white orchid in a yellow pot and a lamp with a red shade, trees and benches outside
Saru Jayaraman, Destiny Lopez  Mar 8, 2019 9:27AM EST

Congress Must Pass Raise the Wage Act, Secure Better Future for Women [Op-Ed]

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, Saru Jayaraman and Destiny Lopez connect the dots between securing increased pay for women earning a tipped wage and improved access to reproductive health care.
Silver handcuffs on black asphalt
Abd’Allah Wali Lateef  Mar 7, 2019 10:07AM EST

Former Juvenile Lifers Need a Pressure Valve [Op-Ed]

Abd’Allah Wali Lateef of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth makes the case for social service, mental health and parole policy reform to help former life-sentenced children successfully return to society.
Black pesron holds blue and white sign the reads, "Keep abortion legal."
Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Marcela Howell, Jessica González-Rojas  Jan 22, 2019 11:59AM EST

How the Promise of Roe v. Wade Left Women of Color Behind [OP-ED]

Roe has never been full of promise for women of color, immigrant women and women with low incomes. But if the Trump administration gets its way, we have the most to lose.
Light brown hijabi woman wears taupe headscarf, tan sweater and black dress, looks down at cell phone in her hands
Carmen Scurato, Jessica J. González  Oct 25, 2018 3:39PM EDT

The Best Way to Protect Free Speech Online? De-Platform Hate. [OP-ED]

Internet companies must stop ignoring the racism and other forms of hate that are prevalent on their platforms and acknowledge that the hateful discourse of the few silences the speech of the marginalized many.
Black people stand in line outside gray building that reads "Rose ice and coal co." Black man in foreground holds bag of ice.
Alicia Bell, Collette Watson, Amy Kroin  Oct 18, 2018 10:28AM EDT

It's Time for a Narrative Shift in Post-Disaster Journalism [OP-ED]

Examining news coverage following Hurricane Florence illustrates how post-disaster narratives can compound and perpetuate deep histories of racial and economic oppression.
Dozens of people hold and rally around a massive red sheet with "We believe all survivors" printed on it in navy blue.
Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Marcela Howell, Jessica González-Rojas  Oct 4, 2018 5:54PM EDT

This Is a Defining Moment for Women of Color Who Survived Sexual Violence [OP-ED]

“We saw an educated White woman with financial, legal and familial support testify about being sexually assaulted, and then face the emotionally exhausting experience of being cross-examined for hours and disbelieved by many Senators. We got the message: If they won’t listen to her, it will be even worse for us.”
Awkwafina. Asian-American woman with blond hair, wearing red and white top
Muqing M. Zhang  Aug 22, 2018 6:02PM EDT

Performing Blackness Won't Fill Our Asian-American Culture Deficit [OP-ED]

The fight for media representation has become one of the most prominent rallying cries among Asian Americans. But if we wish to subvert White hegemony, we must step away from the imitation of Whiteness’ exploitation of Blackness.
Large gold fountain in front of white, tan and gold house with massive white columns. Two women walk toward each other, arms above their heads
Iimay Ho  Aug 16, 2018 2:25PM EDT

How This Crazy Rich Asian Fights Wealth Inequality and the Model Minority Myth [OP-ED]

Resource Generation’s Iimay Ho: “I’ve been looking forward to the release of ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ but I’m not surprised that Warner Bros. took a bet on a movie where rich Asians show they can act like rich White people and reinforce the model minority myth.”
A handwritten sign that says "This is what democracy looks like"
Glenn Harris  Jun 19, 2018 11:35AM EDT

Racial Equity Here: A Call to Collective Action [OP-ED]

Race Forward president Glenn Harris: “In order to truly dismantle structural racism we must abandon the business-as-usual mindset that envelops whole sectors.”
Black woman with dredlocks in front of a Starbucks.
Glenn Harris  May 29, 2018 11:30AM EDT

On Starbucks: Looking Beyond Implicit Bias Training to Systemic Solutions [OP-ED]

Race Forward president Glenn Harris on why Starbucks’ mandatory anti-bias training is a good start, but far from a cure for what ails America.
Someone holds sign on back of their head that reads, "WWW not $$$"
Erin Shields, Lucia Martinez  Apr 11, 2018 4:41PM EDT

Broadcasting Hate: How Trump Used the FCC to Punish the Poor [OP-ED]

Erin Shields of Center for Media Justice and Lucia Martinez of Free Press break down what they call the Trump administration’s “war on the poor.”
A Black man wearing a black sweatshirt and red cap over dredlocks and playing a trumpet passes a colorful mural of the Memphis sanitation worker's "I Am a Man" strike
Nina Turner  Apr 4, 2018 10:00AM EDT

It's Our Job to Finish Dr. Martin Luther King's Economic Justice Work [OP-ED]

On the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner reflects on the critical income inequality work he supported and our urgent need to finish it.