In the two weeks since a gunman walked inside a historic black church in Charleston and, after some prayer, shot and killed nine people, two competing narratives about what happened have emerged. Was the shooter a terrorist? Or was he simply a lost and animus-filled individual who committed a one-off […] Read more »
Majority sees Confederate flag as Southern pride symbol, not racist
American public opinion on the Confederate flag remains about where it was 15 years ago, with most describing the flag as a symbol of Southern pride more than one of racism, according to a new CNN/ORC poll. And questions about how far to go to remove references to the Confederacy […] Read more »
White support for the Confederate flag really is about racism, not Southern heritage
The killing of nine black churchgoers by a white gunman, Dylann Roof, in Charleston, S.C., sparked a nationwide debate over the Confederate battle emblem. … Drawing on rare survey data on this subject, we can shed light on this question. We find that white Southerners who support the Confederate flag […] Read more »
A Momentous Week, and a GOP That Needs to Change
The momentous events of the last week can be interpreted in numerous ways. But one thing has become increasingly clear: The Republican Party needs to change. … Simply put, Republicans are loaded up in a car, racing toward a generational cliff with their eyes focused on the rearview mirror, with […] Read more »
Why Gun Control and Abortion Are Different From Gay Marriage
The legalization of same-sex marriage is a potent example of a dominant theme in American history: Over time, civil rights expand, and discrimination ebbs. … As a result, it’s fair to divide the major issues in American political life into two broad categories. In one category are the rights-based issues […] Read more »
Can Hillary Clinton step forward on race without leaving white voters behind?
… Clinton 2008 may have been leery of speaking overtly about gender, race or even the historic nature of her own campaign. But Clinton 2016 plans to put race and other issues of inequality front and center. … So for candidate Clinton circa 2016, the question becomes just how far […] Read more »