Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

Cornell West is black. Barack Obama is half black. West criticizes Obama for not doing enough for black people. Derrick Jackson, who is black, criticizes West for criticizing Obama. Wouldn't it be nice if progressives stopped thinking in terms of race? They won't, of course; they're obsessed by it. They want people to be classified by race; they want people of certain races to be given preferential treatment in hiring and admissions; they evaluate programs and policies by their racial impact; they accuse critics of black politicians of being racist; they want congressional districts gerrymandered by race; and so on. Martin Luther King Jr is rolling over in his grave. He wanted a colorblind society, not a color-obsessed society. In King's day, it was conservatives who thought in terms of race. Today, it is progressives.