John McWhorter — Reckoning with the Relics of Racism

<p>John McWhorter is back for this week’s episode of The Glenn Show. In it, we discuss <strong>John’s new gig</strong> writing a newsletter for the <em>New York Times. </em>Anyone wondering whether he’s being stifled by the paper’s editorial sensibilities will be glad to hear the answer is a definite “no.” We spend a while discussing John’s recent piece about <strong>the removal of a “racist” rock</strong> from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus after administration gave in to student activists. From there we move on to a broader discussion of the historical relationship between<strong> the slave trade and American universities</strong>. We ask whether modern universities are <strong>morally culpable for the sins of the distant past</strong>. The scope broadens even further as we ask whether we can ever truly extricate <strong>the benefits of the modern world</strong> from <strong>histories of brutality and genocide</strong>. And finally, we move on to a discussion about <strong>black conservatives and accusations of “selling out.”</strong> This has particular relevance for the case of Larry Elder, a black conservative who is currently nipping at the heels of Gavin Newsom in the California governor’s recall.</p><p>This is a deep and provocative discussion, and I hope you’ll join in by commenting below. Let me know what you think!</p><p><em>This post is free and available to the public. To receive early access to TGS episodes, Q&amp;As, and other exclusive content and benefits, click below.</em></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaHKrzIOuqQ&#38;t=0s" target="_blank">0:00</a> John's new gig writing for the New York Times </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaHKrzIOuqQ&#38;t=301s" target="_blank">5:01</a> Wisconsin students get a "racist" rock removed from campus </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaHKrzIOuqQ&#38;t=999s" target="_blank">16:39</a> Are present-day universities morally accountable for their involvement in the slave trade? </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaHKrzIOuqQ&#38;t=1598s" target="_blank">26:38</a> Debating the legacy of Christopher Columbus </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaHKrzIOuqQ&#38;t=2418s" target="_blank">40:18</a> Can we extricate modernity's benefits from its history of brutality and genocide?</p><p> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaHKrzIOuqQ&#38;t=3052s" target="_blank">50:52</a> Is California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder a sellout? </p><p>Links</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/john-mcwhorter" target="_blank">John's new </a><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/john-mcwhorter" target="_blank"><em>New York Times</em></a><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/john-mcwhorter" target="_blank"> newsletter</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/opinion/antiracism-university-wisconsin-rock.html" target="_blank">John’s piece, “The Performative Antiracism of Black Students at the U. of Wisconsin”</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/31/opinion/lets-talk-about-sellouts.html" target="_blank">John’s piece, “Let’s talk about ‘Sellouts’”</a></p> <br /><br />This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://glennloury.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">glennloury.substack.com/subscribe</a>