Melissa Harris-Perry

Contributing Editor

MHarrisPerry

Melissa Harris-Perry is the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair and Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs and the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Wake Forest University. She is also the co-host of The Nation’s System Check podcast.

To Whom Apologies Are Really Due

To Whom Apologies Are Really Due To Whom Apologies Are Really Due

Ginni Thomas's insistence that Anita Hill apologize is an apt metaphor for the long history of blaming black women for social ills.

Oct 27, 2010 / Column / Melissa Harris-Perry

Fighting for Change, Longing for the Sea Fighting for Change, Longing for the Sea

Predictable Democratic losses in November aren't what we should fear. The real danger is in a political environment unable to build even the most tenuous bridges across partisan di...

Sep 30, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Melissa Harris-Perry

What Are Words Worth?

What Are Words Worth? What Are Words Worth?

Speech is not the only, or even the most powerful, conduit of racial liberation—or racial oppression.

Sep 2, 2010 / Column / Melissa Harris-Perry

Finding Racial Inspiration in the Shirley Sherrod Story Finding Racial Inspiration in the Shirley Sherrod Story

The Sunday morning pundits have renewed my frustration with our national reaction to the vilification of Shirley Sherrod. It seems we are insisting on focusing exclusively on the p...

Jul 25, 2010 / Melissa Harris-Perry

Katrina Is Not a Metaphor

Katrina Is Not a Metaphor Katrina Is Not a Metaphor

When we reduce the devastating hurricane to fiction—even really good fiction—we risk making it little more than a trope.

Jul 14, 2010 / Column / Melissa Harris-Perry

You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught

Despite conservative attempts to whitewash what they learn in school, young Americans are a diverse and tolerant bunch—and they know it.

Jun 9, 2010 / Column / Melissa Harris-Perry

Believing in Justice, Blaming the Victim

Believing in Justice, Blaming the Victim Believing in Justice, Blaming the Victim

Those who most strongly believe that the world is fair are most likely to reconcile their distress about unearned suffering by blaming the victims.

May 13, 2010 / Column / Melissa Harris-Perry

Did Kagan Discriminate Against the Military? No! Did Kagan Discriminate Against the Military? No!

Melissa Harris-Lacewell explains why Elena Kagan’s decision to deny military recruiters equal access to Harvard Law School was the right one.

May 12, 2010 / Melissa Harris-Perry

Nightline asks why black women can’t get a man Nightline asks why black women can’t get a man

On Wednesday ABC's Nightline offered a cartoonish and superficial discussion of black marriage.

Apr 22, 2010 / Melissa Harris-Perry

On Dorothy Height’s Passing On Dorothy Height’s Passing

I prefer to remember Height's voice rather than her iconic status.

Apr 21, 2010 / Melissa Harris-Perry

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