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“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” These few words, spoken casually by Sonia Sotomayor at the annual Mario G. Olmos Law and Cultural Diversity Lecture at UC-Berkeley in 2001, came back to haunt President Barack Obama’s nominee for the United States Supreme Court during the spring and summer of 2009. Hard to believe that this brief statement could cause such anguish, particularly among the conservative white senators who form part of the Senate Judiciary Committee, yet they led to days of arrogant grilling by the Senators and weeks of newspaper articles and commentary by television pundits speculating on what Sotomayor meant, whether it would hurt her confirmation, and what it would signal for the new court.

We rush to identify, punish and isolate the racists—like members of a University of Oklahoma fraternity—without scrutinizing racism.

We need to look around our schools and communities with an eye towards equity. And—like our predecessors—we need to find the courage to take a stand together when we see it.

Folklore invites students to explore the curriculum of "real life."

The associate director of Teaching Tolerance urges us to stick with the tough conversations.

The editor of Teaching Tolerance addresses issues of school violence.

LFJ Director Jalaya Liles Dunn contends that “The treatment of children from communities experiencing systemic oppressions—those at the intersection of race, gender, poverty and geography—will determine the fate of our democracy.”

Teaching Tolerance director Maureen Costello addresses concerns over the meaning of "tolerance."

This week, another barrier to women’s equality fell. The tony Augusta National Golf Club, home to the Masters Tournament, extended membership to two women, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore. Club Chairman Billy Payne declared it “a joyous occasion,” yet I don’t feel the urge to jump for joy.