Opinion: GOP’s latest push to silence discussion of race wouldn’t sit well with Mom
Criticize Critical Race Theory if you must. But Republicans cannot legislate away the lasting impact of slavery and racism on American history.
Otis Sanford
Columnist
Otis Sanford holds the Hardin Chair of Excellence in Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Memphis. Contact him at 901-678-3669 or at o.sanford@memphis.edu. Follow him on Twitter @otissanford.
There are 129 articles by Otis Sanford :
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June 2021
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Opinion Opinion: With Confederate monuments gone, racist diatribes follow
An incident at Health Sciences Park goes beyond one opportunistic racist hothead with more Confederate flags than he has sense. It’s emblematic of the growing white resentment to America’s reckoning with race.
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May 2021
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OpinionOpinion: Governor silent about law banning classroom discussion of race
Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill May 24 without comment. Because what could he really say that makes sense? His first and apparently only attempt to explain the rationale for the law would have been fine for a White Citizens Council meeting in the 1960s.
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Opinion Opinion: New Wells documentary speaks to today’s reckoning with race
Ida B. Wells’ words and actions put to shame efforts by state legislatures today – including ours in Tennessee – to ban the teaching of systemic racism and its detrimental impact on people of color.
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Opinion Opinion: Legislature’s rush to end teaching of systemic racism lacked thought and research
Within the span of about three days, the House and Senate imposed their Caucasian-centered, conservative will on what can and cannot by taught in schools about racism’s sordid history and harmful impact.
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April 2021
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Metro Sanford: Judge Harry Wellford left a legacy of leadership in politics and the law
The judge deserves to be remembered as one of the most consequential public figures in Memphis during the second half of the 20th century, says Otis Sanford.
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Opinion Opinion: Strickland’s pick for police chief represents the change Memphis needs
CJ Davis will draw on her 28 years in the Atlanta Police Department, where she rose to commander of the Strategies and Special Projects Division. Isn’t that what Memphis needs, new strategies for fighting crime and making MPD more a part of the community?
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Opinion Opinion: The Chauvin verdict is about more than one bad cop
Derek Chauvin’s conviction should continue the reckoning on race that started after Floyd’s murder shocked the world 11 months ago. A reckoning we have longed for since the night Thomas Moss and his companions were taken out and lynched in Memphis.
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Opinion Opinion: Note to mayor — make a splash when choosing police director
When it comes to a diverse pool of candidates, the list of finalists for the police director’s job is a homerun. Three are from inside the department. Three are women and five are African American. But this search comes with plenty of challenges.
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OpinionOpinion: Derek Chauvin trial is must-see TV thanks to legendary Memphis lawyer
As I have watched the evidence meticulously unfold against Chauvin, I have also thought about the highly-respected late Memphis attorney S. Shepherd Tate and the role he played in making televised trials possible.
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March 2021
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Opinion Opinion: Waste Pro has got to go
It’s time for the city to cancel its five-year, $33.1 million contract with Waste Pro.
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Opinion Opinion: Ford’s handling of Junior Achievement grant reminiscent of past scandals
An independent investigation by attorney Brian Faughnan flatly accuses Ford of deliberately deceiving his fellow commissioners by failing to disclose to them his obvious conflict of interest. To call Faughnan’s report damning is an understatement.
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Opinion Opinion: Legislative roadblocks to voting are reminders of our shameful past
Voter suppression is very much alive and well in 2021. The cruel violence that once accompanied it has been replaced by underhanded legislative tactics at various statehouses controlled by Republicans.
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OpinionOpinion: Vaccine blunders make Harris vulnerable in 2022 reelection bid
The vaccine distribution debacle on Mayor Lee Harris’ watch will figure prominently in the GOP campaign to retake his office, the party’s Shelby County executive director says.
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Opinion Opinion: Voter suppression efforts still on the minds of state GOP lawmakers
Among the misguided proposals presented at the Tennessee Legislature, none would have as much negative impact on the majority of Tennesseans as the bill introduced last week to abolish early voting in the state.
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February 2021
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Opinion Opinion: It’s big oil vs. defiant communities in major environmental dispute
In this fight, Black people and white people are on the same side. So are local politicians who don’t always agree on matters of public policy.
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OpinionOpinion: Two years in, Gov. Lee is still pandering rather than leading
But when it comes to serving up political red meat – in both coded and straightforward language – to far right conservatives, Lee has perfected that nicely.
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OpinionOpinion: Legacy of George W. Lee is instructive for today’s GOP
Lee encouraged Black Memphians to support Democrat Lyndon Johnson in 1964. But when emerging Black leaders in Memphis pleaded for Lee to officially abandon the Republican Party and become a Democrat, he graciously declined.
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January 2021
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OpinionSanford: Tennesseans, politicians and others must answer for insurrection
As we look ahead with hope, we must also look back and demand accountability.
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OpinionSanford: At this swearing-in, unity is missing, replaced by anxiety
On Jan. 20, 2009, there was remarkable unity and mutual respect among those in an inauguration crowd estimated at 1.8 million. Now, 12 years later, Jan. 20 promises to be a day of anticipation mixed with anxiety.
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Opinion Sanford: Amid the chaos, the David Kustoff I knew is missing in action
“I never thought that the trappings of congressional power or Trump’s dominating and vindictive personality would turn the principled guy I’ve known and liked for years into a political lapdog.”
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OpinionOpinion: Cries of election fraud are less about facts, more about race
At the heart of claims by Trump and his horde of conspiracy theorists is that it was statistically and historically impossible for Trump to lose the election, other than through fraud. How could they believe such grand-scale treachery occurred? The answer, sadly, is rooted in race.
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December 2020
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OpinionOpinion: A year of despair and dissension still gave us bright spots
With so much tragedy, dissension and despair, it’s difficult to find many positives about 2020. But they do exist.
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Opinion Opinion: Rev. Netters taught us to how to lose with grace, serve with humility
The Rev. Dr. Netters is one of the most revered figures in Memphis history, a legacy highlighted by his 1967 election to serve as one of the first three African American City Council members.
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OpinionSanford: As Republican leaders fiddle, democracy hangs in the balance
Trump’s inexplicable refusal to accept the outcome of a fair election, combined with the shameful complicity from elected Republican leaders, is driving our country to the brink of chaos.
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