Salon.com • October 21 2026

Jalen Hurts shows the price of being unapologetically Black

Hurts is perhaps one of the most disrespected players in the NFL, as, in Commissioner Roger Goodell’s words, a “face of the league.” National media pundits, Philadelphia media pundits, and even some Philadelphia Eagles fans disrespect him. Of course, Hurts has a cheering section, but their voices are often drowned out by the chorus and echoes of criticism. The narrative was that the 2026 season was make-or-break for Hurts, after a season when some were all too eager to offer “evidence” of Hurts’ share of the team’s offensive woes.

Salon.com • September 29 2026

Colin Kaepernick knows what kneeling cost — and he’d do it again

His protest didn’t make white people comfortable. There were no performative photo-ops with politicians or any ride-alongs with police. There was confrontation. I suspect he anticipated some of the whitelash. After all, Kaepernick didn’t appear shocked that his white family was embarrassed by his protest, with his mother calling it “disgraceful.” What he may not have anticipated was the extent of the cover Black players and notable Black folks gave the NFL.

Salon.com • April 28 2025

Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” is Black history written with lightning

Last weekend was the release of his newest project, "Sinners," a vampire horror film set in the Mississippi Delta in 1932. "Sinners" debuted at number one at the box office, making $48 million domestically, the highest-grossing opening for an original film released so far this
decade. It also received a record 98% movie review score from Rotten Tomatoes. This past weekend, "Sinners" took in $45 million, grossing $122.5 million in North America and $161.6 million globally since its release 11 days ago.

Salon.com • March 31 2025

Signalgate is a consequence of anti-DEI hysteria

The MAGA crowd called for Austin to resign because he failed to share that he had an emergency medical procedure, yet they explain away Hegseth’s failure to keep the details of a war plan confidential. Clearly, the ability to keep a secret wasn’t a qualification for Hegseth
to get the job as defense secretary. What Signalgate, the recent scandal involving the Trump administration discussing war plans in a text thread with a journalist mistakenly added to the conversation, made abundantly clear is that the only qualification for Hegseth is that he was what Mishel Williams calls WEI: white, entitled and incompetent.

Salon.com • November 15 2024

“Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson” perpetuates the long history of profiting from race conflicts in the ring

On the surface, the appeal is finding out if the 58-year-old Tyson can defeat Paul, who’s less than half Tyson’s age. There’s also this: learning if Paul can continue to build his resume as a boxer, defeating real boxers. However, at the lowest common dominator, the intrigue surrounds whether Jake Paul is the next great white heavyweight.
There’s a truism in advertising that sex sells. That’s not the only thing that sells . . . race sells too, especially in boxing.

Salon.com • October 7 2024

One year after October 7: A return to forever

Coates, a renowned writer and social critic, has recently promoted his new book, "The Message," in several intriguing interviews, some contentious. Coates, no stranger to criticism over his previous views from the left and the right, anticipated criticism surrounding his
evolved views on apartheid and genocide in Gaza. In his book, Coates shares that he once held views on Palestinians and wrote in ways that “reduced people, diminished people, erased people.” A major reason, apart from having the ignorance of one without first-hand
knowledge, while no excuse, was a default deferral to the white institutional space that permitted his ascendence to public intellectual.

Salon.com • August 24 2024

A sequel of injustice 60 years in the making

The Biden Administration’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the vice president’s ambiguous posture on the campaign trail made for a potential confrontation between moderates and progressives. However, congressional progressives, from AOC to Bernie
Sanders, have toed the party line and have backed the Harris Campaign. Pro-Palestinian uncommitted activists' protests outside the United Center in Chicago were
smaller than advertised and largely ignored. As for those uncommitted activists on the inside—the thirty delegates as a result of voting uncommitted in the Democratic primary for president—they were delayed… only to be denied.

Salon.com • February 19 2024

Dapping: The overlooked Black celebration that has a long, lifesaving history

Dap is a customary salutation or greeting amongst Black people. It’s a clasping of hands that can morph into additional hand exchanges and/or a bro hug. It’s a Black community tradition first examined in Linguist John Baugh’s 1978 work, “The Politics of the Black Power
Handshakes,” where he noted that “insiders” used the “Black power handshake” amongst their trusted friends, while outsiders were greeted with the “standard handshake,” usually determined by which “norm satisfied the immediate social requirements.”

Salon.com • November 6 2023

Amy Schumer’s misappropriation of Martin Luther King

The comedian shared a clip this week of King expressing the thought that Israel has a right to exist and that antisemitism is wrong. Her share, without comment and amid the backdrop of the Israeli government’s deadly response to the Oct. 7 attacks, was no better than that of an AI picture shared of Dr. King and Donald Trump.
Truthfully, it may be worse.

Salon.com • June 13 2020

Camden is not a blueprint for disbanding the police

In the wake of this pledge, many pundits pointed to the case of Camden, New Jersey. A city known for high crime rates, Camden underwent a major change when in 2013, its municipal police department, the Camden Police Department (CPD), was replaced by a county-run
police unit, the Camden County Police Department (CCPD). However, what happened in Camden and the conversations taking place nationwide around disbanding police aren’t the
same thing.

Salon.com • November 30 2017

Our public schools have a diversity problem

When a study was released recently, finding that white teachers were less likely to expect a black student to earn a college degree, the result was the now-familiar hand-wringing about the diversity of the teaching force. The case for hiring more black teachers, especially in
urban school districts, is one I’ve long made myself. But perhaps the research about a white teacher/black student expectations gap points to a different answer. Maybe it really means that black students should be in schools with black teachers.

Salon.com • August 9 2017

Why the NAACP said “enough” to school privatization

The reaction to the NAACP’s hard-hitting new report on charter schools, calling for tighter regulation and an end to for-profit schools, was swift and furious. Charter advocates and school choice proponents painted the NAACP as out of touch, or worse, doing the bidding of
the teachers unions. These critics are missing what’s most important about the civil rights group’s strong statement. School privatization has allowed state governments to avoid their obligation to educate children of color, especially the poor. The NAACP said “enough” this
week.