Reflections on Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond By Bob Gordh Before offering some observations about Matthew Desmond’s recently published book, Poverty, by America, let me briefly indicate where I am coming from. I am a socialist. I hope and work for a radically different and better world than the…

Working for Radical Change Neither Inside Nor Outside of the Capitalist System By Bob Gordh I am a socialist. I hope and work for a radically different and better world than the one we have now. In this essay I will focus on the part of the world I know…

Introduced and assembled by Bob Gordh As is well known, the political system of the United States, though popularly referred to as a democracy, actually falls far short of being a genuine democracy, a government by the people. For starters, there’s the electoral college that allows presidents to be elected…

In Praise of The Other Talk, by Brendan Kieley Bob Gordh I am writing to recommend a book for use within the SMMUSD that I believe would aid significantly in carrying out the district’s stated intention to provide its students with an anti-racist, pro-racial justice curriculum. The Other Talk: Reckoning…

Worse than Caste: 3 Tiers of Racist Ideology Bob Gordh I’ve been reading and pondering two recent books about race: Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson, and Afropessimism, by Frank B. Wilderson III. Though their authors’ last names differ by just a single letter, the two books could hardly be more different…

Derek Chauvin and Anti-blackness There is something even more terrible than white supremacy that has plagued the lives of Black Americans throughout American history and that still plagues their lives today. That “something”, Frank B. …

An Argument for Reparations for Black Americans By Robert Gordh There has been increasing discussion of late, in such places as magazine articles, blogs, and talk shows, of the possibility of reparations to African Americans for the many and massive crimes America has committed against them and their forebears. Such…

An Argument for Reparations (Condensed version) By Robert Gordh As long and as hard as the still unfinished struggle to eliminate discrimination against African Americans has been, it is tempting to think that if and when that goal is achieved, racial justice will finally prevail. In fact, however, even if…

In Praise of a Commitment to Antiracism: An Open Letter to the Superintendent and Board of the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District Dear Dr. Drati, Dr. Mora, Dr. Hawkins, Dr. Shelton, Mr. Howard and Members of the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District School Board: We have read ”Superintendent’s Message: Commitment…