On Tuesday, I spoke at the release of The Great Service Divide, a revealing new study of racial discrimination segregation in New York City's restaurant industry. The Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York (ROC-NY), which I wrote about in The Accidental American, sent matched pairs of applicants -- one white, one of color and virtually the same in every other way -- to apply for front of the house jobs in 327 high-end restaurants.

The predictable results are still shocking. The people of color were half as likely to get offers, and less likely to get interviewed in the first place. The interviews of white applicants were more work focused and less skeptical about the truth of their resumés. The vast majority of managers were white males. Hence, we see the path to the racial hierarchy of restaurants, obvious to all who choose to look.

Read the rest of the article at the Huffington Post.

Attorney General Eric Holder's speech to Justice Department employees urging the country to suck it up and have those hard conversations about race generated the predictable accusations from the pundit crowd, both conservative and liberal. Why is he still trying to make white people feel guilty?! We just elected his boss! The media reaction largely proves Holder's point. Rather than actually talking about the causes and consequences of our racial divide, the story has been that this speech has created the latest "controversy" for the Obama administration, starting with the AP article highlighting the "nation of cowards" quote. Apparently, there's only room for one black man at the highest levels of government taking the nation to task on race, and that man can do it once a year at most.

Read the rest of the article at the Huffington Post. 

Earlier this week the New York Times reported that even as many states have skyrocketing unemployment, their welfare rolls are shrinking. As a researcher for a racial justice think tank, I've been traveling the country collecting accounts of how this recession is playing out in the lives of every day people. Millions who are out of work, losing homes and struggling to stay afloat are nevertheless denied access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The punitive rules established after twenty years of racially coded frenzy to "end welfare as we know it" have left Americans with no safety net during this deepening economic crisis.

Read the full article at the Huffington Post.

Two weeks ago, like many of you, I celebrated the election of the first person of color as President of the United States. Today, the possibilities seem endless.

People are questioning the wisdom of the free market. Americans are demanding a government that is transparent and accountable. They're responding to the message that real change starts and ends with all of us. We have the opportunity now to put forward our biggest ideas and move all of our institutions.

But there are huge challenges as well.

Read the rest of the article at the International Business Times.