The dominant story about race in the United States goes like this: in the past, we had troubling racial patterns, including genocide, slavery, and segregation. Then heroic individuals took spontaneous action and showed America the error of its ways. We changed all of our racist laws and became colorblind, evidenced by the election of President Barack Obama. When race is evoked today, it is only by people of color aiming to avoid responsibility and gain “special rights.”
Rinku Sen
Rinku Sen, president and executive director of the Applied Research Center (ARC) and publisher of ColorLines, is the author of The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization and Stir It Up: Lessons in Community Organizing. She is the Chair of the Media Consortium, an association of progressive independent media outlets, and the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards for activists and journalists.
