Part One:
We speak again with Bob Hennelly, reporter at Salon.com, Insider-NJ, the Chief-Leader, and @stucknation. We discuss his recent article: “How Many will Perish in the Canyon of Our Growing Red/Blue Divide?” It is not clear why many Americans seem to identify their political party with their willingness to follow medical advice to protect themselves and their loved ones from COVID-19. Whatever the reason, such politicization has caused huge amounts of suffering and death in this country, and will continue to do so if things don’t change between the election and the inauguration of a new president.
The spikes climb higher every day, and more than 100,000 Americans may die before Joe Biden is sworn in, before he can even begin to put new policies in place.
Part Two:
We speak with Nolan Cabrera, Associate Professor of Education at the University of Arizona, about his article in the Conversation: “Although Now Required by California Law, Ethnic Studies Courses Likely to be Met with Resistance.” Prof. Cabrera describes the up-and-down history of ethnic studies in U.S. higher education: students and progressive academics advocate for such programs, and their universities and conservative professors continue pushing back.
We note that today’s Harvard Crimson describes the latest efforts at that Ivy League institution. Ken was a student there 50 years ago when, after a university-wide strike, Harvard agreed to its first Black Studies Program. Even then, Harvard complained that it would have difficulty finding Black faculty whose academic “qualifications” would be of sufficient “caliber” to join this illustrious faculty. And any new hires would have to be strictly “academic” and “scholarly,” certainly *not* focused on the real-world experiences of minority individuals or their efforts to participate in American politics or the economy.
“Yet, it is only when a man is able without bitterness or self-pity, to surrender a dream he long cherished or a privilege he has long possessed that he is set free—he has set himself free—for higher dreams, for greater privileges.”
