Center for American Progress (CAP)
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Washington D.C. — To commemorate Black History Month, Thinking CAP, a podcast from the Center for American Progress, is celebrating the contributions of African American leaders in a three-part series featuring DeRay McKesson, civil rights activist known for his work with Black Lives Matter; Melissa Harris-Perry, professor, author, and former journalist; Ken Morris, the great, great, great grandson of Frederick Douglass and great, great grandson of Booker T. Washington; and others. The interviews examine today’s black experience in the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric. The multi-part series explores topics such as the legacy of racial tensions in Boston; the intersection of sports and race; the legacy of notable civil rights leaders; and why the #MeToo movement looks different for women of color.
In an interview earlier this month, Melissa Harris-Perry told hosts Michele Jawando and Igor Volsky, “The thing we know about black women, white women, and every category except indigenous women, is that they are most likely to be sexually assaulted by men of the same race. So if we tell, then we’re telling on black men—in an environment where the sole behavioral consequence is not to make more room for women, not to make any structural policy changes, not to really shift the world, but just to take down the men. Well, if you’re going to take down Mr. Lauer, me too! But since the men who assault and abuse black women … are men who are structurally positioned in vulnerable ways, we take very little pleasure in watching their destruction.”
The full interviews with McKesson and Harris-Perry can be found here.
