Professor Whaley Post: Painter Discussion Questions: 349-376; 377-393

1. Painter brings up several controversial issues of the 1980s. The first is how the "me" decade of the 1980s helped to dissolve former focuses on social movements, and programs such as affirmative action used to address past discrimination divided people. Is "diversity" the answer to affirmative action? (351) What about reparations? (357-358)
   
2. Why do you think there are not more Black conservatives as defined by Painter? Do you think Black conservatives are unfairly accused of being "less Black?" Is or should Blackness be tied to a particular political position, practice, or party? (353)
   
3. The Hammons painting on page 353 suggests that Jackson would have been more palatable to voters had he been white. Do you think this is true? Does our recent election disprove Hammons' opinion?
   
4. Why are the numbers of African American women being incarcerated going up? (384)
   
5. Did any of the statistics Painter provided in her last chapter surprise you? If so which ones and why? Painter writes that it would take 200 more years for Black families to rise to the number of White families in terms of wealth. What evidence does she provide for this? Do you think this is an overstatement?
   
6. Painter suggests that the incarceration of Black Americans is still predicated on social problems and unfair policies for particular types of charges. Do you agree? What evidence does she provide? If we were too look at other things besides drugs would the findings be the same?
   
7. On page 389, Painter includes a Boondocks comic strip about multiracial identity. Painter provides a lot of statistics about how people identify as well, and the implications. Should there be a multiracial category on the US census?