“Am I Racist Because…”

VIDEO CLIP:  Join Larry and the guests as they heatedly debate racial profiling.

As the forewoman in a controversial Florida murder trial, Dale felt pressured to return a ‘Guilty’ verdict for the black defendant. Looking back, she feels that black males are often mistreated in the legal system and wishes she had stayed her ground. Leo, a civil rights attorney, says that he is appalled that Dale didn’t bring forth the presence of reasonable doubt. He also feels that the reason more whites aren’t in jail is that our judicial system is racist.

In the debate about racial profiling, Reggie is an opponent and Michael is a proponent. Having been a policeman for 30 years, Reggie was devastated when he was racially profiled by other cops even though he was wearing his badge. Michael Levin, a professor of philosophy and author, says the cops were in the right. He believes that since the crime rate is proportionately high for black males that it makes sense that they would be stopped or suspected more often.

Video Clip: Join Larry and the guests as they heatedly debate racial profiling.

Affirmative Action Debate: Greg, Lynne & Andrea

Though affirmative action has been in action since 1965, it is still the subject of heated debate. Many believe it robs deserving students of a chance at a top education, while others believe it is the only way for minority students to have a fair shot. Lynne is a prime example of affirmative action success. She went to a sub-standard inner city school and says affirmative action opened the door for her to get an excellent college education and a Stanford fellowship. Greg argues an opposite case, saying he was turned down for a job that required bi-lingual abilities even though he himself is bi-lingual.

UC-Berkeley student Andrea shares Greg’s anti-affirmative action views and staged a bake sale to make her point. At the bake sale, Caucasians were charged $1.50 for cookies, while African-Americans were only charged $.25. The metaphor of the sale was meant to show students and faculty that it is unfair to favor one race over the other.

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