Independent since 2002 Issue No. 1102 Week of November 7, 2026 Get the free email dispatch →

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Guest Commentator

Dr. Elwood Watson, PhD

BlackCommentator.com Commentator, Dr. Elwood Watson, Historian, public speaker, and cultural critic is a professor at East Tennessee State University and author of the recent book, Keepin' It Real: Essays on Race in Contemporary America (University of Chicago Press), which is available in paperback and on Kindle via Amazon and other major book retailers. Cotnact Dr.Watson and BC.

145 pieces

Cover Story

Far Right Blames Left for Minnesota Shootings

By Dr. Elwood Watson, PhD Guest Commentator

The current Republican Party has become so rapacious, barbarous, and amoral in its blind thirst for power that it seems determined to attack and, if possible, overturn any social movements and political norms established in our constitution’s fabric.

The fact is that it took little time for Republican pundits, politicians, influencers and other right-wing sycophants to blame Democratic politicians and liberals for the assassinations…

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Commentary

Michael Tait and Christian Nationalism Hipocrisy

By Dr. Elwood Watson, PhD Guest Commentator

if Christian nationalism were successful in becoming the norm, it would abolish our current constitution and fragment our democracy.

Some of you are probably aware that Christian music legend Michael Tait, whose hit song “God’s Not Dead (Like a Lion)” became a symbolic tune for…

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Commentary

Right Wing Stops Santa Ono’s Bid for President of the University of Florida

By Dr. Elwood Watson, PhD Guest Commentator

They are attacking higher education with a viciousness not seen since the McCarthy era.

Santa J. Ono recently received an opportunity to serve as president of the University of Florida. It was a position for which the university’s board of…

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Commentary

The Democratic Party and Young Men

By Dr. Elwood Watson, PhD Guest Commentator

manufactured, disingenuous propaganda is unlikely to seduce younger people.

You have probably been bombarded with messages about how the Democratic Party is frantically attempting to regain young men’s support. As a professor who teaches courses…

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Commentary

South Africa and 47

By Dr. Elwood Watson, PhD Guest Commentator

To tell it like it is, the current dynamics of American race relations are nothing short of unsettling and disturbing.

Last week, President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met at the White House. What began as a cordial exchange of comments between the…

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Guest Commentary

The Confederate Flag Is Evil

By Dr. Elwood Watson, PhD Guest Commentator

There is nothing admirable about its sinister and rapacious history. There is nothing ambiguous or positive about its scurrilous message.

Recently, I was heading home from one of the local coffeehouses that I frequent on a regular basis. Along the way, at one specific intersection, there…

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Guest Commentary

Harboring Fanatical Levels of Hostility and Hatred Toward Non-White Christians

By Dr. Elwood Watson, PhD Guest Commentator

Apprehension about engaging in racially inflected behavior has all but evaporated for many individuals who inhabit this political and cultural sphere.

Earlier this month, Shiloh Hendrix, a White woman from Rochester, Minnesota, was caught on camera in a local park playground using the N-word toward a five-year-old…

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Guest Commentary

Teaching Students To Think for Themselves

By Dr. Elwood Watson, PhD Guest Commentator

The curriculum heavily promotes Christianity and Christian principles and theology.

This upcoming 2025–26 academic school year, thousands of high school students in Oklahoma will be required to “learn” about President Trump’s discredited claims that fraud marred…

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Guest Commentary

Interracial Adoption

By Dr. Elwood Watson, PhD Guest Commentator

Former President Barack Obama is a prime example of a person who has moved in both worlds. He was raised by his White grandparents, married a Black woman, and developed friendships with people across racial lines.

What do Sandra Bullock, Madonna, Tom Cruise, Jane Fonda, Stephen Spielberg, Michelle Pfeiffer, Angelina Jolie, and some other celebrities have in common? If you are one…

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