Topic of the day: race.
1. Baylor study links Christianity with racial prejudice.
2. Uh, when was that golden age of liberty you’re nostalgic for?
3. Those least likely to attend college are those who would gain the most from a college degree.
4. To what extent do politicians reward members of their own ethnic or racial group?
5. AP: Black conservatives are really taking heat for their involvement in the mostly white tea party movement — and for having the audacity to oppose the policies of the nation’s first black president.
6. A review of Whistling Vivaldi: And Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us by Claude M. Steele. See also Ta-Nehisi Coates on the necromancy surrounding the Civil War, and what it means for us today.
7. A century ago, nations were thought to be defined by ethnicity, language and culture. But in more recent years, many historians have become convinced that what truly binds a people together is a shared sense of the past. So what happens when Virginia’s governor says slavery isn’t “significant” enough to be included in his declaration of Civil War History Month? (He “focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia.”) See also Meacham’s piece in the NYT.