SOTU as National Rorschach Test SOTU as National Rorschach Test
A contemporary State of the Union address is less an assessment of our national circumstances than it is a collective Rorschach test: an inkblot given meaning by the viewer more th...
Jan 28, 2010 / The Notion / Melissa Harris-Perry
How Barack Obama is like Martin Luther King, Jr. How Barack Obama is like Martin Luther King, Jr.
All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem. –Martin Luther King, Jr. Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomina...
Jan 18, 2010 / The Notion / Melissa Harris-Perry
On Reid and Racism On Reid and Racism
Joe Biden once remarked that Barack Obama was "clean" and "articulate." He is now Vice President. During the Democratic primaries Hillary Clinton invoked Rober...
Jan 11, 2010 / The Notion / Melissa Harris-Perry
Who Are You Calling Crazy? Who Are You Calling Crazy?
Madness was a recurring theme in American politics last year. I received daily calls, emails, texts, and tweets from folks on the Left declaring "these Republicans are crazy,"...
Jan 5, 2010 / The Notion / Melissa Harris-Perry
The Princess Principles for New Orleans The Princess Principles for New Orleans
Disney's The Princess and the Frog opened last week. It showcased Disney's first African American princess, prompted significant merchandise sales, and provoked racial and femini...
Dec 21, 2009 / The Notion / Melissa Harris-Perry
I’m Dreaming of a Black Christmas I’m Dreaming of a Black Christmas
On Sunday night I indulged two of my favorite obsessions, the Christmas holidays and sentimental Americana, by watching Oprah Winfrey's special "Christmas at the White House...
Dec 14, 2009 / The Notion / Melissa Harris-Perry
On the New York Senate Marriage Equality Vote On the New York Senate Marriage Equality Vote
On December 2, the New York Senate passionately debated marriage equality. It was a compelling display of legal, moral, and political reasoning. Compared with the anemic, corporate...
Dec 4, 2009 / The Notion / Melissa Harris-Perry
Psalm 137 Psalm 137
I was in a pew at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, on September 16, 2001. Although I was never a member of this now infamous congregation, I did attend Trinit...
Dec 2, 2009 / The Notion / Melissa Harris-Perry
Bad Black Mothers Bad Black Mothers
Bad black mothers are everywhere these days. With Michelle Obama in the White House, consciously and conspicuously serving as mom-in-chief, I expected (even somewhat dreaded) a r...
Nov 25, 2009 / The Notion / Melissa Harris-Perry
Will a Racial Divide Swallow Obama? Will a Racial Divide Swallow Obama?
On Sunday I went to the Prudential Center in Newark to hear President Obama make the case for Governor Jon Corzine's reelection here in New Jersey. Already a strong supporter of Go...
Nov 2, 2009 / The Notion / Melissa Harris-Perry