Boyce and Roland going at it on CNN
Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University speaks with Roland Martin and Rick Sanchez of CNN. The conversation gets quite heated. Click here to watch the video!
News: Dr Boyce Watkins on CNN American Morning – 7/29/09
Click here to watch Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University on CNN American Morning with Dr. Michael Fauntroy
Latest News: Dr Boyce Set to appear with Montel Williams Thursday – 7/30/09
Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University will appear on the Montel Williams Show on Air America radio Thursday, July 30, 2009. For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com.
News: Dr Watkins Speaks Up on Anderson Cooper 360 – 7/27/09
Watch Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University on Anderson Cooper 360 speaking on the problem of racial profiling. Click here to watch!
Black News: Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Boyce Watkins Talk
Click here to listen to Rev. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Dr. Boyce Watkins (Syracuse University) talk with Harvard Law Professor, Charles Ogletree
On Anderson Cooper 360 Tonight – 7/27/09: Dr Boyce Watkins Talks Gates and Racism
Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University will appear on Anderson Cooper 360 Monday, 7/27/09 at 10 PM EST. For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com.
News: Dr Boyce Watkins on MSNBC – 7/25/09
Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University speaks on MSNBC – click here to watch!
News: Dr Boyce Watkins Speaks with Rick Sanchez – CNN
Syracuse University Professor Dr Boyce Watkins speaks with CNN’s Rick Sanchez about Obama’s Mistake.
Click here to watch the video.
News: Dr Boyce Watkins Speaks with Anderson Cooper – 7/25/09
Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University and Anderson Cooper discuss the case of Harvard Professor, Henry Louis Gates. Click here to watch the video!
Hearing from others: Dr. Peniel Joseph Talks About the Gates Case
With the Gates fiasco, the rosy glow has faded
AP Photo, Cambridge Police Department
My first reaction to watching the unfolding Saga of Skip Gates’s Cambridge Arrest was that America’s postracial bubble, like its recent economic troubles, was about to pop. The fact that some observers had never bought into the story of a race-free America purged of its past sins by a watershed presidential election had done little to diminish either that narrative’s moral resonance or political weight.
Since America’s racial disparities remain as deep-rooted after Barack Obama’s election as they were before, it was only a matter of time until the myth of postracism exploded in our collective national face. That they would rear their ugly head in the form of an intellectual and racial cause célèbre is fitting, since black scholars and activists have been engaged in a robust debate over the meaning of race in the Age of Obama.
Suddenly Obama’s recent declaration before the NAACP—that American blacks have come farther than at any other time in our country’s history—seems suspect, our national progress undone by the fact that Gates’s predicament has become a metaphor for the nation’s legacy of racial discrimination.
Your Black News: Henry Louis Gates 911 Tapes Released
Just out. Listen to the audio from the 911 call on Henry Louis Gates’ Arrest by clicking here.
News: Montel Williams Speaks with Dr Boyce
Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University spoke with TV and radio show host Montel Williams on Monday. The conversation focused on race and racial profiling. They are going to also speak on financial advice in the future.
Dr Boyce Watkins, Roland Martin, Anderson Cooper: Transcript
COOPER: Professor Watkins, do you believe this is an issue about race, or do you think this is an issue of two people with — with big egos or clashing egos?
WATKINS: I think that the answer is that we don’t know.
And that is the problem, that we were making bandwagon assumptions based on things we didn’t know. Look, either Sergeant Crowley violated procedure or he didn’t. If he did violate procedure, he either violated it because Skip Gates was black or for some other reason.
But the truth is that we can’t read this man’s mind. And, so, the truth — the reality is that this could have happened to someone of another ethnicity, potentially, particularly when you look throughout Sergeant Crowley’s record.
And I assume that he wouldn’t be teaching classes on racial sensitivity if he had a record of arresting black men for no reason. Now, I’m not trying to say that this did not happen in this case. I’m not anybody is a liar.
But what I’m saying is that we can’t use this case as a — some sort of poster child for racial-profiling issues across America, because there is real racial profiling that goes on, on places other than Harvard University, because I guarantee you this much.
MARTIN: Anderson…
WATKINS: Skip Gates is a guy who knows he is Skip Gates.
And being a black professor at Harvard, with all the money that Skip has, I guarantee you he has probably got more privilege than most white Americans have anyway.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: Anderson, race — race is involved, because you all — look, when you step back and say, here, you have an African-American professor in his home. The cop comes there.
The black officer said, I think it may have been — differently if it was an African-American cop with this actual black male here. What we have to learn here is, what is going through a black man’s mind when this kind of thing is happening?
Again, people say, well, it needs to be overt. Well, people all self-perceive things differently. What is implied? What is inferred? And, so, here, he is standing here saying, this is how I am interpreting this.
We cannot dismiss that and say, well, that is not relevant. It is relevant, because it happens every day. People make assumptions. Women make assumptions based upon, well, is this happening to me because I am a woman? Is this happening to me because I am Hispanic? COOPER: But some assumptions are correct and some assumptions are not.
MARTIN: Absolutely. But that’s why we can’t…
WATKINS: Right. Absolutely.
MARTIN: That’s why there is no hard-and-fast rule to say, well, was race a role?
It could have been a role. And, so, we have to examine that. That is why the conversation is so important, so we can understand the give-and-take and what people feel and what they experience and what perception is.
WATKINS: And — and we — and we have to understand that — that racial healing is something that is going to require patience.
I think that Dr. Gates and all of us…
MARTIN: And work.
WATKINS: Let’s assume Dr. Gates is right about this. He needs to ask himself a question: What would Martin Luther King do? How would he handle this?
Would he say, I demand that he — he should beg me for my forgiveness, and I might give it to him?
(CROSSTALK)
WATKINS: Or would he say, look, I forgive you?
Because, remember, the disease of racism, Roland, it affects all of us. All of us are victims of this.
MARTIN: Oh, I agree, Boyce. I…
(CROSSTALK)
WATKINS: And, so, you know, when you’re…
(CROSSTALK)
WATKINS: … who may or may not do something wrong, you have got to at least approach that situation with strength and understanding at the same time.
COOPER: We have got to…
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: A final thought, Roland.
MARTIN: Well, you know, he’s also an African scholar. He also may say — for a look at how Malcolm X looks at it. Look, we can all try to hold Dr. King up, but the bottom line is, Skip Gates is not Dr. King. He is Skip Gates. He has to look at it from his perspective, and no one else’s.
COOPER: Well, we’re going to leave it there.
Roland Martin and Boyce Watkins, good discussion, as always. Thank you, gentlemen.
As always, a lot more to see online at AC360.com, including a new blog posting from Professor Watkins. It’s a good read, and a complete copy of the arrest report, which is also fascinating to read.
Players Finally Sue the NCAA
I’ve written extensively about the NCAA and what I perceive to be their consistent efforts to exploit the black community. They spend millions on public service announcements to protect their deception, but eventually the athletes and the public are going to wise up to what they are doing. The truth is that college athletes should be paid for the same reasons that any actor in a Hollywood blockbuster film would expect to receive compensation. The problem is that the families of athletes don’t quite know how to organize and fight for their power. So, when I read about the recentlawsuit against the NCAA for allegedly misusing the images of athletes for videogames, I was a very happy man.
Let me break it down for you:
Based on my 16-years of experience as a college professor (I currently teach atSyracuse University, a school that earns millions off black families every year), collegiate athletics is not, in my opinion, about amateurism and it’s not about education. It’s about making money. Period. Many athletes are admitted to college every year and they would not be granted admission were it not for their ability to play sports and make money for the campus. Making money is not a problem, but the problem comes with the fact that universities do not share this revenue with the families of the players.
Dr Boyce, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton on the radio tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, July 26, 2009 at 8:30 am EST, Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University will appear on the Jesse Jackson Show with Rev. Al Sharpton and Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree. The conversation will center around the recent arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates. For affiliate information, please visit www.KeepHopeAliveRadio.com
Dr Boyce: Henry Louis Gates and His “Teachable Moment”
Boyce Watkins
Professor, Syracuse University
I’d hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you are infected with a disease. The disease that has infected you is called racism. The disease is a silent killer, not of our bodies, but of our society. It also deteriorates the brain and makes us delusional, as we sometimes see things that are not really there or refuse to see things that are actually right in front of us. What’s worse is that we know the disease is in the fabric of our institutions, but it is difficult to pinpoint the exact location. This leads to sloppy missteps, embarrassments and damaging accusations.
Henry Louis Gates, the Prominent Harvard University Professor who was arrested this week at his home by Cambridge Police Officer James Crawley, may have been a victim of the disease of racism. Even he has gotten to the point of stating that this story is no longer about race and his buddy, President Obama, has been back-peddling faster than a free safety in the NFL. In the midst of letting go of his allegations of racism against Sgt. Crawley (which I thought was a very good idea) Professor Gates has stated that we should use this situation as a “teaching moment.” It is also my hope that Dr. Gates understands that the first step toward being a good professor is to learn how to be a good student. As a professor myself, I am hopeful that he will allow me to teach the first class.
Making Financial Love…How to do it the right way
Dr. Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University speaks with Free on Power 105.1 about Financial Lovemaking. Click here to listen to the interview!
Obama’s Pitch on Race and Healthcare
10:00 PM on 07/22/2009
Obama responds to questions during a news conference Wednesday, July 22, 2009.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
I found myself enjoying President Obama’s Healthcare pitch to the nation on prime time television, as he explained (as most politicians do) why the world will come to an end if we don’t adopt his policies. His arguments were strong and valid, and he made it clear that he was out to help the middle class by letting rich folks pay the bill. I’m all for that.
I noticed how the president used the words "middle class" about 20 times through the night, and allowed nine different reporters to ask questions, none of them African American. But then again, it might have been tough for President Obama to find black people in the room, since there sure as heck didn’t seem to be very many around.
Less predictable was the racial bombshell that President Obama saved for last on Wednesday night. After being asked about the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, a prominent Harvard University professor, Obama spent just a few minutes reminding the world that he was not only a black man, but that that he was also an alumnus of Harvard University.
The man who some feel embodies the essence of a post-racial America was suddenly willing to candidly discuss race on behalf of his wealthy Harvard associate. What is incredibly ironic is that these were probably the most post-racial comments Obama has ever made, since they further opened the door to class warfare in America.
Dr. Boyce on MSN.Com
I am not Al Sharpton. In fact, I never could be and I don’t want to try. I am also not Henry Louis Gates, a man with an undeniable contribution to the legacy of Black Scholarship in America. I am simply Boyce Watkins, the son of a 17-year-old mother and a father who happened to be a high-ranking police official for the past 28 years. I’ve argued with my father for decades, as his Bill Cosby-like views of the world have often made my face twist with confusion. But I listen to my father, because there is value in seeing other points of view.
When I hear about a Black man being mistreated by police, I take a moment of pause. I think about the horrific statistics on Black males in the criminal justice system, in which we are more likely to be arrested for the same crimes, more likely to be convicted, more likely to be incarcerated and expected to get more prison time than our White counterparts.
Dr Boyce AOL Black Voices Commentary – 7/21/09
The Latest
Dr Boyce: Henry Louis Gates and His Arrest at Harvard
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- Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (2)
Dr Boyce Money: What Can Michael Vick Do Now?
- Previously, I did a piece on Michael Vick and discussed ways in which Michael can get his … Read More
- Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (2)
Are Hip Hop Artists "Bo-Jangling" for the Dough?
- I was on the phone with an artist in NYC the other day. I asked her why she hasn’t released an … Read More
- Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (3)
Dr. Boyce: Michael Vick is Finally Free
- Michael Vick is finally out of prison. He is not just being transferred from one prison to … Read More
- Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (9)
Dr Boyce Money: Steve McNair’s Missing Will
- My heart was broken when I read about the murder of NFL great, Steve McNair. My heart went out to … Read More
- Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (10)
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