What Do You Call a Black Man with a PhD?

I won't answer the question because there's no good way to answer it after the Henry Gates Jr. arrest in Cambridge, MA. A colleague of his wrote an op-ed piece with this title, and he doesn't answer it either.

Prof. Gates gave an interview about his experience, and I'm glad he's outraged. I hope he continues to pursue this and it makes headlines. I urge you to read it, and think about our country. Racism isn't dead, and will never be. And apparently perhaps it isn't that far below the surface.

The election of President Obama was a monumental moment for all minorities in the US. I'm still amazed that it occurred. I'm also slightly sorry I didn't vote for him, but in good conscience, there were other things I was more concerned about. I still worry about Democratic party spending.

I'm little sorry that the issue of race hasn't been more pronounced since the election. It would be nice to have everything color blind, but it isn't. I'm not convinved that Affirmative Action, or Title IX, or many other equality measures should be removed. We're not that enlightened yet, and this event is one sign of that.