Color blind or color brave?
Mellody Hobson, TED 2014
March 2014

The subject of race can be very touchy. As finance executive Mellody Hobson says, it's a "conversational third rail." But, she says, that's exactly why we need to start talking about it. In this engaging, persuasive talk, Hobson makes the case that speaking openly about race — and particularly about diversity in hiring -- makes for better businesses and a better society.

How To Tell Someone They Sound Racist
Jay Smooth
21 July 2008

Jay Smooth, host of New York's longest running hip-hop radio show, the Underground Railroad on WBAI 99.5 FM, talks about racism.

Let's Get to the Root of Racial Injustice
Megan Ming Francis, TEDxRainier
21 March 2016

In this inspiring and powerful talk, Megan Francis traces the root causes of our current racial climate to their core causes, debunking common misconceptions and calling out "fix-all" cures to a complex social problem.

The Origin of Race in the USA
Origin of Everything, PBS
3 April 2018

Do you believe that your race correlates to your skin tone? Because that wasn’t always the case. So how did Americans come to believe that race equals certain visible physical characteristics such as skin color and hair? And why is it that certain ethnic groups that were once considered “non-white” became reclassified as “white”?

Peanut Butter, Jelly and Racism
Saleem Reshamwala, The New York Times
16 December 2016

What is implicit bias? NYT/POV's Saleem Reshamwala unscrews the lid on the unfair effects of our subconscious.

Race Matters
Cornel West
27 April 2001

Cornel West—a self-described intellectual freedom fighter influenced by the Baptist church, American transcendentalism, the Black Panthers and European philosophy—seeks to revive the best of liberalism, populism and democratic socialism. In this talk, West teaches that racial division fosters the poverty, paranoia, fear and distrust that undermine our nation's democratic process.

The Urgency of Intersectionality
Kimberlé Crenshaw, TED
7 December 2016

Now more than ever, it's important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias -- and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe this phenomenon; as she says, if you're standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion, you're likely to get hit by both. In this moving talk, she calls on us to bear witness to this reality and speak up for victims of prejudice.

We Need to Talk About an Injustice
Bryan Stevenson, TED
5 March 2012

In an engaging and personal talk -- with cameo appearances from his grandmother and Rosa Parks -- human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares some hard truths about America's justice system, starting with a massive imbalance along racial lines: a third of the country's black male population has been incarcerated at some point in their lives. These issues, which are wrapped up in America's unexamined history, are rarely talked about with this level of candor, insight and persuasiveness.