I didn't want to write about the Holocaust again. It hurts too much. Surely with so many other things happening in the world, I could just let mention of the 71st anniversary of Kristallnacht pass by unspoken, couldn't I? Just once? Then I read this, reported in the Sacramento Bee about events this week:

Is it possible to find a cultural truth? Will a day come when we accept the good and bad things about our cultural influences? Can we accept our various ancestors without hurt and rancor? Judging from the past year or so probably not. Perhaps learning about our past is much like the Telephone game many of us experienced in a school classroom.

I first became aware of the buzz about Sapphire's debut novel Push in 1995 or 1996. The novel gained attention for its distressing storyline but possibly more because the novelist received a $500,000 advance, a sum unheard of in those days for a first novel. Well, unheard of except that another writer that year had received even more, Jacquelyn Mitchard.

Warning: Rant alert First, I have to say that I had a lovely 'Halloween.' Because I live in a high-rise, all the kids are regulated to going to the mangement office to pick up their candy, so no knocking on my door. I went out for a couple of drinks with friends, talked about business journalism and American politics, went home, did a bit of writing and was in bed by 10. At my age and because I do not have a house to throw a party, I find dressing up kinda pointless.

I've actually been anticipating this two-part, four-hour program with glee since it was first announced that CNN would follow up it's controversial Black in America this summer. But what interested me most about the Docs is what bloggers are saying. As a Canadian, I believe that because of the Immigration debate, y'all Yanks will have a different perspective on the program, so it is Wednesday night, and I'm searching to see what bloggers are saying. And it didn't take me too long.

For Part 1 of this post, which lays a foundation giving context for those who need clarification on meanings of the word "racism" and "racist," please click this link.So, given what happened recently in my state of Louisiana, the Justice of the Peace admitting he won't marry interracial couples and the words he used to defend his views,

This week, CNN's Soledad O'Brien will anchor "Latino in America," the latest installment of her multi-year in-depth reports on America's multicultural identity. According to Baltimore Sun television critic David Zurawik, it's some of her best work:

Did you hear the one about the Louisiana Justice of the Peace who refused to marry an interracial couple? I did. These stories just sort of pile up on us like loads of dirty laundry, and this one took me down the treacherous path of "I am not a racist but."

The Blogalicious conference this weekend in Atlanta was mind-blowingly great. Over 250 bloggers, primarily women of color, " black, white, Latina, Caribbean, Asian-Pacific, and Native-American bloggers, among other nationalities", gathered for the weekend to talk, make connections, support each other in our writing and careers, and celebrate each others' fabulous blogging. The knowledge shared during Blogalicious was phenomenal.



A recent study was just released by the Pew Research Center called Mapping the Global Muslim Population". Most of us know very little about Muslims, with the exception of the limited (and often alarming) views we get from the media. Let's go a little deeper, learn some facts, and hear from some Muslim women bloggers. Here are some interesting facts taken from the Pew report: 1. More than 60% of the global Muslim population is in Asia

Okay, this is one of those posts that even moi - race baiter that I am - is on the fence. Like everyone and their dog, I have actually....willingly turned the channel to Entertainment Tonight to watch the real-life soap opera of the Jon & Kate + 8 saga. Unlike probably many women, whom undoubtedly feel sympathy for a middle-class single mother with 8 kids, I actually side with Jon.

I wrote early this year about my own experiences as a high school student in a magnet program established at a time when magnet programs were one tool in desegregating schools in the U.S. My experience was as a white student in a school where representation by ethnicity was carefully balanced, with no one group constituting more than about 20 percent of the student body.