Clarence Lusane

Clarence Lusane is a political science professor and interim political science department chair at Howard University, and independent expert to the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance. His latest book is Twenty Dollars and Change: Harriet Tubman and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice and Democracy (City Lights).

Representative Byron Donalds stands in the crowd as Donald Trump speaks in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, October 19, 2024.

Black MAGA Supporters Have Made Their Peace With Racists Black MAGA Supporters Have Made Their Peace With Racists

The silence of Black MAGA supporters in the face of Trump’s and Vance’s bigotry during the campaign has carried over to the second Trump era.

Apr 2, 2025 / Clarence Lusane

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is GettyImages-2194583291.jpeg President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 21, 2025.

The White Nationalist in Chief’s Return to Power The White Nationalist in Chief’s Return to Power

No president in the post-civil-rights era has been as racially aggressive as the now-47th president.

Feb 7, 2025 / Clarence Lusane for The Nation

Vice President Kamala Harris

With Kamala Harris in the Race, Donald Trump Is Running Scared With Kamala Harris in the Race, Donald Trump Is Running Scared

What Trump assumed barely a month ago would be an essentially uncontested victory has been transformed into his worst nightmare.

Aug 22, 2024 / Clarence Lusane

Donald Trump in 2016

Don’t Believe Trump When He Claims He’s Not Racist Don’t Believe Trump When He Claims He’s Not Racist

Trump does not deserve a single Black or Hispanic vote. Nada. None.

Jul 11, 2024 / Clarence Lusane

Black MAGA Is Still MAGA to the Core

Black MAGA Is Still MAGA to the Core Black MAGA Is Still MAGA to the Core

Trump’s strategy for the Black vote has been high on empty symbolism and low on specific policy benefits for the Black community.

May 22, 2024 / Clarence Lusane

Former president Donald Trump speaks during a visit to a Team Trump Volunteer Leadership Training, at the Grimes Community Complex in Grimes, Iowa, on Thursday, June 1, 2023.

Donald Trump Makes a Mockery of the Constitution Donald Trump Makes a Mockery of the Constitution

His determination to put the 14th Amendment in the trash can of history should draw the most concern.

Feb 15, 2024 / Clarence Lusane

Donald Trump in 2016

The Catastrophe of a Second Trump Presidency The Catastrophe of a Second Trump Presidency

Should he somehow, despite four criminal indictments and multiple trials, return to the White House, we can’t say we weren’t warned.

Dec 8, 2023 / Clarence Lusane

Donald Trump in 2016

It’s No Mystery Why Racists Have Fallen in Love With Trump’s Republican Party It’s No Mystery Why Racists Have Fallen in Love With Trump’s Republican Party

The KKK did not choose to support Donald Trump because he was a Republican—but because they agreed with the ideas that he and other far-right politicians spout.

Oct 11, 2023 / Clarence Lusane

Donald Trump is greeted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

Focusing on the Differences Between DeSantis and Trump Is Plainly Absurd Focusing on the Differences Between DeSantis and Trump Is Plainly Absurd

In the areas where Americans would be most severely affected, there’s hardly a fly’s hair of separation between them.

May 25, 2023 / Clarence Lusane

A photo of Harriet Tubman

What We’ll Be Celebrating When Harriet Tubman Appears on the 20-Dollar Bill What We’ll Be Celebrating When Harriet Tubman Appears on the 20-Dollar Bill

Constantly underestimated, she risked her life and freedom to liberate others and was committed to building a political system that endowed women and people of color with the same ...

Mar 31, 2023 / Clarence Lusane

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