That deeply American ideal of community values, that all people are inherently equal and interconnected, is what we need to be reminded of, regardless of the messenger.

Sally Kohn, Movement Vision Lab, in Huffington Post

Recently in the New York Times, Gloria Steinem argued that if Barack Obama was a woman, he wouldn’t be elected. That’s probably true. Ms. Steinem then concludes that gender “is probably the most restricting force in American life.” That’s definitely false. Or, rather, a false choice. The reality is that racism and sexism are both profound and pervasive throughout our society. Ranking different forms of oppression is a ridiculous waste of time. We should be working to eradicate all forms of oppression, not deciding which one takes precedence.

In other words, just because Senator Obama was (at the time of Ms. Steinem’s op-ed) surging above Hillary Clinton doesn’t mean that racism has taken a back seat to sexism in the American body politic. Voter preferences may actually have to do with perceived differences on the candidate’s positions. Or they may have to do with how each candidate uses their identity: Senator Clinton highlighting her uniqueness as a woman in appealing to women voters, Senator Obama emphasizing how his experiences as an African American give him a more universal insight on unity and solidarity that applies across race. It’s not to say one approach is right or wrong but merely different takes on their marginalized identities not merely different identities between these two candidates.

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The Connerly-inspired efforts currently being advanced in Nebraska and 4 other states are wholly premature.

Jose J. Soto, InMotionMagazine.com

Efforts to eliminate affirmative action as a tool for attaining equal opportunity and social justice are current and active in five states (Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma). The time will come when affirmative action should be eliminated, and when that time comes I will ardently champion its elimination. I believe, however, that time is not yet here.

In Grutter v. Bollinger [539 U.S. 306 (2003)] the U.S. Supreme Court opined, through Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, that attaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body was a sufficiently compelling interest to warrant taking race into account in making admissions decisions to higher education. The majority opinion in Grutter stated that "(w)e expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today."

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Nick Meyer, ArabAmericanNews.com

Two Muslim women from Detroit are jointly suing fast-food giant McDonald's for $10 million for alleged acts of discrimination against them in the hiring process involving their rights to wear a hijab at work.

The suit, filed on their behalf by Dearborn lawyer and chairman of the Michigan Advisory Board for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Nabih Ayad, with support from Dawud Walid, Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), was announced at a press conference on Thursday, July 24. The conference was held in the parking lot where the new CVS store is being built next to the McDonald's where the alleged incidents took place, on Ford Road near Schaefer Road in Dearborn. The restaurant serves halal chicken.

The two women are Toi Whitfield, a 20-year-old African American from Detroit, and Quiana Pugh, a 25-year-old African-American from Detroit. Both are Muslims and both claim to have been denied employment by McDonald's because of their head scarves. The plaintiffs did not know each other prior to the lawsuit, but both ended up with attorney Ayad through a "friend-of-a-friend" type of situation, according to Ayad.

Whitfield applied for a position at the McDonald's on Ford Road in November of 2006 and had the necessary background, ability and knowledge for the position, according to the text of the lawsuit. It also says that Pugh had the necessary qualifications when she applied in July of 2008 at the same location.

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What is CNN doing interviewing the founder of an online discussion forum that promotes selective breeding of the human species?

David Holthouse, Hate Watch

As part of its ongoing "Black in America" project, CNN posted a story to its website earlier this week titled "Could an Obama presidency hurt black Americans?" Credited to CNN correspondent John Blake, the piece quotes the wit and wisdom of Steve Sailer, identified only as "a columnist for The American Conservative magazine."

Specifically, the CNN story quotes a column by Sailer first published last year in which he opined that Obama offers voters "White guilt repellent."

"So many whites want to be able to say, 'I'm not one of them, those bad whites. Hey, I voted for a black guy for president,'" Sailer wrote.

What the CNN article fails to note is that in addition to writing columns and movie reviews for The American Conservative, Sailer is the founder of the Human Biodiversity Institute, a neo-eugenics online discussion forum where right-wing journalists and race scientists have promoted selective breeding of the human species. He also writes frequently for the anti-immigrant hate site Vdare.com, named for the first white child born in America, and runs a website, isteve.com.

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Related:

Black in America on CNN: Are We There Yet?, Raymond Leon Roker, Huffington Post