Toward a Post-Progressive View of Race Relations - Part 1: How George Floyd’s murder is growing-up AmericaPart 2: Reading Ibram X. Kendi and Thomas Sowell

The videotaped murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police and the subsequent two weeks of demonstrations has galvanized the nation. In part 1 of this episode (00:10), I look at the evolutionary potency of the events of the last two weeks, which have brought into searing clarity the realization that a part of the American family has been grievously discounted and mistreated. And that we as a country passionately desire to set things right. I describe a resulting turn of the “spiral of development” regarding race, with red behaviors becoming more constrained, traditionalists becoming more professional, and modernists becoming more sensitive and humane. In part 2 of this episode (12:50), I look at the continued development of the leading edge of society: postmodernism. What might growth beyond contemporary political progressivism look like? I attempt to flesh this out under the guidance of two leading African American intellectuals, Ibram X.Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, and Thomas Sowell, author of Black Rednecks and White Liberals. Though each of these men come from opposite poles of contemporary American politics, both bring essential truths to the table. Integrating them reveals a more complete understanding of America’s tragic racial legacy and the unique role of Black America in building an ever-more vibrant nation of ever more vibrant people.