Race, Identity & Culture

Atlantic writer Clint Smith grew up surrounded by Confederate iconography, being told that the Civil War wasn't about slavery. He shares a poem from his forthcoming book, How the Word Is Passed.

Commentator Zahra Noorbakhsh remembers when a personal crisis and a tragedy across the world coincided and how community and ritual helped her through.

A rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes made comedian Zahra Noorbakhsh uneasy about performing live. Then she remembered a childhood experience that helped her regain her footing.

The flap over Don Imus' characterization of the Rutgers women's basketball team and his subsequent firing has linguist Geoff Nunberg thinking about how we make distinctions in language. Is offensive speech always unacceptable, or are there shades of difference depending on the context?

There have been several waves of pop music in New Orleans since World War II, with each one subsiding as its celebrated musicians realize they can't make a living in the city they grew up in. In 1960, another of those waves crested, and with it came a pioneering effort for racial equality. Ed Ward has the story of AFO Records: All For One.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg comments on false etymologies and race.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg comments on the how dictionaries have chosen to define words considered to be offensive or derogatory to groups of people.

Commentator Gerald Early comments on "The Future of the Race."

Commentator Gerald Early considers Black History Month.

Commentator Gerald Early reflects on his wife's work with the Junior League of St. Louis. She is the first African-American woman to be elected president of that city's chapter.