It is understood that slavery and violence are both symptoms of a larger structural presence of inequality.  Based on this understanding, slavery and violence are both examples of tools of victimization.  What allows us to victimize others is our ability to think less of those we victimize, and to separate ourselves from those we victimize (Iadicola & Shupe, 2003).  Iadicola and Shupe discuss inequality as a social construction based on differences; these differences are physical, racial, cultural, intellectual, and psychological.  Further, the social construction of these differences manifests through systems of access to more subliminal social constructions such as political monopolies, rights, and privileges.  To the extent that we live and abide by a social order derived from the structure of these social constructions, we are institutionalizing inequalities.

Human Rights: Abridgement (The Administration's Argument)

Suspending Human Rights in order to win the war on Global Terrorism is a matter of emergency management regulation.  That is, in the event of an emergency, the state must be prepared to rummage through the civilian population in order to seek out and defend the civilian population against the terrorists who hide among them.  Anything short of racial profiling makes it difficult for the state to know (exactly) who is and who is not a terrorist and Human Rights proves to be an increasing impediment for the state to play offense.  Moreover, the enemy in the war on Global Terrorism is one that wears a civilian mask, whose fundamental distinction from regular civilians is ideological, and therefore cannot be found in a uniform, flag, or currency.  Instead, the distinction is found in the enemy’s words, networks, and actions.  

Extraordinary Rendition refers to the apprehension (kidnapping) and extrajudicial transfer of suspected "terrorists" from foreign countries to third party countries where they are tortured for information. The practice is usually carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This is allowed to happen through secret treaty agreements between executive branches of foreign governments.  Extraordinary Rendition is controversial because of its association with torture, a Jus Cogens violation of Human Rights.  The Bush Administration publicly denies having engaged in torture while evidence and the lack of transparency in US foreign/war policy suggests otherwise.  

Some Things We Should Know About Modern Slavery:

According to Kevin Bales, author of 'Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy', "slavery" is defined as the complete control of a person through violence or the threat of violence for [Economic Exploitation], a situation in which the enslaved person is paid nothing beyond basic subsistence, and cannot walk away.

A "slaveholder" refers to the "new slavery" wherein one manages a person as a slave without getting caught.  A "slave owner" refers to "colonial slavery" wherein one owned a slave in the legal sense before the abolition of slavery.  The term that best describes new slavery is "slaveholder" because of the illegalization of slavery pursuant to Jus Cogens and other abolitionist reform efforts.

After the Kentucky and West Virginia blow-outs, many voters and those in the media found themselves looking askance at Obama's poor showing among rural white America.  Desolved by their addiction to raising questions about matters they themselves can only answer with speculation, the media asked, "Well, why didn't he campaign in those states?".

One West Virginian diarist who claims to be an Obama supporter had a rather scathing list of why Obama lost Virginia.  To put it simply, the diarist believes that Obama's loss was his own doing.

With much mass media discourse about Obama's capturing of the African-American base and his failure to make inroads with blue-collar workers, one would think that these groups were completely seperate and unrelated.  Such a notion implies some great economic chasm between African-Americans and blue-collar voters as if one group were more wealthier than the other.  It proves to be yet another imaginary narrative thought up by a press-core anemic in its ability to intertwine social realities with responsible journalism. I realize this may come as a surpise to many in the press, but African-Americans do actually work blue-collar jobs.  

Imagine that...

In New Orleans, the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Wards, for example, have for decades been home to a majority of the city's blue-collar African-Americans: waiters, construction workers and custodians.

Amid an unforgiving discourse of false accusations on Obama's faith, we see the powers of religious ethnocentrism and xenophobia permeate the mass political media.  Yet again, the MSNBC & CNN line-up of Matthews, Carlson, Matthews (again), Olbermann, and Abrams for MSNBC and Blitzer, Dobbs, Sanchez, King, and Anderson for CNN are all poised to bring unnecessary attention to a religious undercurrent of bigotry that perpetuates American regressionism.

In her Toledo news conference, Mrs. Clinton was also asked to comment on a statement she made on the CBS News program "60 Minutes" on Sunday night, when asked if she believed Mr. Obama was a Muslim. (Mr. Obama is a member of a Christian church in Chicago.)  "There’s nothing to base that on, as far as I know," Mrs. Clinton said on the television program.

---Per the NY Times

Reportedly, African-American leader, activist, and best-selling author Tavis Smiley has been getting a severe backlash from the black community because of the critical tone he took of Barack Obama for declining his invitation to the State of the Black Union Address 2008 in New Orleans.

Narrated by British Historian Basil Davidson, Africa: The Story of a Continent attempts to correct historically bigoted and supremacist attitudes about Africa and its indigenous populations.  Using the "different but equal" model, Davidson alludes to civilization as a premise to anchor his argument of pre-colonial African advancement.  Davidson explains throughout the film, that contrary to the accounts of European thinkers, Africans were indeed the pioneers of civilization who harnessed a rich and extensive history to prove it. Rich in abundant resources, cultures, languages, customs, and laws, the film argues that Africa is without a doubt not only the birthplace of civilization as humanity knows it, but the birthplace of humanity itself.

While blatant sexism reduced the roles of women in the Civil Rights Movement, the impact of women leaders in the struggle for racial equality cannot be minimized.  Were it not for the work of many women, the Civil Rights Movement would not have been such a formidable success. Although many stand familiar in the legacy of Rosa Parks, her contribution along with that of other notable women is often pushed back into the contexts and shadows of her male peers. Would bringing more attention to the accomplishments of women activists of the Civil Rights Movement mean reducing the roles of Dr. King, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young Jr., James Farmer, and John Lewis? If so, what then do we say to the legacies of Dorothy Height, Fannie Lou Hamer, Mary McLeod Bethune, Ella Baker, and even Eleanor Roosevelt? Why are there no holidays in their name and honor?

It can be said that leaders of the Civil Rights Movement set out to overcome and reform one specific incarnation of oppression --- racism --- directing energy chiefly on racial inequality, hatred, segregation, and mitigating in hopes of eliminating institutionalized bigotry.  But, did the Civil Rights Movement set out to do more?  While formidable legislation was passed, barriers were broken down, and glass ceilings were shattered, many other matters of change went untouched and took a back seat to issues of race within this movement, including gender, and sexuality.

I've never known Race Relations in the US to be a card game.  Aside from this nation making remarkable racial progress over the past 40 years, I wasn't aware that there was some sort of card game being played by notable catalysts for racial change and progression.  With the past big blow-up over Senator Clinton's remarks about Dr. King, President Johnson and the Civil Rights Movement, a slew of mass media pundits have talked about this supposed "Race Card" as if it were the winning spade.  
Playing the race card: Trump or Joker?

While Communism once had America seeing "Red", now the discourse on Amnesty has America seeing "Brown".  A national foul sentiment of the "Si Se Puede" generation has America treating its southern most border with social, cultural, and linguistic pesticide as if it had a roach problem. With every effort defeated to pass legislation offering alternatives to mass deportation, America has made it clear that it is even willing to fence off its sewers in order to prevent them from becoming "unlawful" paths to citizenship. And with African-Americans participating in anti-immigration protests with the Minutemen (because of the "for once it is them and not us" syndrome), we've clearly sent a message to Latin America about who has the monopoly on the Underground Railroad. Black Activists Join To March with Minutemen