A) Introduction to African-American Studies not only examines how issues of race have affected the African-American community and the nation at large in the past. It also explores how issues of race affect current political, social, cultural, and economic structures. Thus, throughout the semester, you will bring to my and your classmates' attention your assessments of the racial components behind various current events that you encounter through online, print, radio and/or television media outlets. To complete this series of assignments, you will have to search out and analyze at leastfour different news stories involving race in America. You will draft a1-2pages brief Current Event Report for each of these stories. The reports should provide specific details about where the stories were reported (i.e. exact weblinks, newspaper or magazine citation, etc.). They should also contain brief summaries of the stories' contents and analyses of why the stories are significant when it comes to understanding how people form their perceptions of race and address racial issues in America. There will be a link in Blackboard for you to upload each of the three Current Event Reports. Although there are specific deadlines for each submission, you should not wait until the week that each Current Event Report is due to search out a story. You can and should be searching out the racial dimensions of current news stories throughout the semester.
B) In regards to the comments he put forth in his "Pound Cake" speech at the 2004 NAACP gala, was Bill Cosby right? Are blacks in the lower economic echelons primarily causing their own problems, or are they primarily the victims of the racism and classism of American society? Were Cosby's comments just blunt truths, or were they examples of the misleading appeal of respectability politics? Use and specifically cite details from the assigned readings and media to advance your argument. (How do recent revelations about Bill Cosby's personal life affect your impressions about him making the claims he did in the "Pound Cake" speech?).