Column: Washington’s slur is an easy call, but ‘Blackhawks’ has value
Now that Washington's NFL team has announced its "retirement" of the racial slur that has been its brand name since 1933, I am tempted to gloat a little. I feel...
Home > Reviews
All Stories
Column: Trump plays politics with Chicago crime, a game only criminals win
In this summer of many discontents, my biggest frustration is the way every major crisis seems to open up another culture war. It wouldn't be so annoying if we also...
Column: Trump’s new culture war sounds a lot like his old one
President Donald Trump likes to call himself a fighter. That's true, although he tends to show it by taking on easy targets, whether he needs to or not. For example,...
Column: Think twice before you topple that old statue
When I first heard that hot-headed vandals had knocked down a statue honoring a Confederate leader or a slave trader, I confess that I felt a twinge of satisfaction. Slavery...
Column: Does President Trump still want to win? Where’s the mojo?
Well, does President Donald Trump approve of what news media are calling the "white power video," or doesn't he? That burning question arose after the president retweeted a video over...
Column: What my collection of racist memorabilia teaches
News that Quaker Oats is dropping the image of Aunt Jemima from its syrup and pancake mix packaging has special meaning to me. I collect souvenirs of racism. I used...
Column: Chicago can ‘partner’ with its police, with their help
Even before the carnage-infested Father's Day weekend was finished, the predictable emails from readers began to flow in. "Where's Black Lives Matter now?" they asked in so many words. The...
Column: Father’s Day reminds me of who taught me about fatherhood
Father's Day has taken on special significance this year. A national conversation on race has boiled up on screens, on paper and in the streets since George Floyd's death May...
Column: The Supreme Court surprises us with fairness in LGBTQ decision, but will it last?
What a relief. Monday's Supreme Court decision that protects Americans from being fired because of sexual orientation actually turned out to be fair. Even better, I agreed with it. Advocates...
Column: Our Civil War never ends. It’s not even intermission.
Sometimes I think that maybe the Civil War is over. But then something comes along to remind me how, in many minds, the war never really ended. Once it was...