Race Issues

Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake dedicated a song to Trayvon Martin during their concert at Yankee Stadium Friday night. In a video captured by a member of the audience, as the couple began their last song of the evening - "Forever Young" - Jay-Z yelled to the crowd, "Everybody put a cell phone and light it up. Let's light the sky for Trayvon Martin tonight in here":

Kicking off a day of nationwide protests of the George Zimmerman verdict, hip-hop stars Beyonce and Jay-Z joined Al Sharpton and Trayvon Martin's mother at a rally in Harlem Saturday. The New York Post reported:

Syndicated columnist Pat Buchanan had some harsh words for Barack Obama’s address Friday concerning race and the George Zimmerman verdict. Appearing on PBS’s McLaughlin Group, Buchanan said Obama’s comments were “insidious” adding, “The President has taken sides in what is becoming unfortunately a pretty nasty racial dispute in this country.”

Imagine that FDR, in his first inaugural, instead of rallying Americans with the notion that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself," had stoked the nation's unease by harping on how bad the Depression was.  If Mike Allen had been around in 1933, perhaps he would have defended FDR by writing "there was plenty of unease before the speech, so it's hard to blame the President." For that…

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer had some harsh words for Barack Obama’s address to the nation Friday concerning the George Zimmerman verdict. Appearing on Fox News’s Special Report, Krauthammer said the President “reinjected” race into the controversy with his words.

President Obama made a surprise appearance at today's White House briefing. He chose to speak on Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman situation. Byron Tau at the Politico and Ben Shapiro at Breitbart.com's Big Government have initial reports. Let's compare them, shall we?

On Thursday, limousine liberal Chris Matthews took it upon himself to apologize on behalf of all white people for unspecified transgressions. “I’ll just tell you one thing,” Matthews said. “And I’m speaking now for all white people, but especially [the ones] who’ve tried to change the last 50 or 60 years. And a lot of them really tried to change, and I’m sorry for this stuff. That’s all I’m…

NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley made some stunning comments concerning the George Zimmerman trial Thursday. Appearing on CNBC’s Closing Bell, Barkley not only said that he agreed with the verdict, but also that when it comes to race, “I don’t think the media has a pure heart…A lot of these people have a hidden agenda” (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Requiring a photo ID to cast a ballot is tantamount to an "assault on black America" that is "unforgettable, and, you could say, unforgivable." At least according to MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews, who opted to close out his July 17 program -- and lead into veteran race-baiter Al Sharpton's PoliticsNation -- with a screed against his native Pennsylvania's voter ID law, the…

In a Tuesday interview, actor and comedian Bill Cosby said that it was impossible to prove George Zimmerman was a racist and that as a result, he was uninterested in trying to discuss the killing of Trayvon Martin in that context. “Let’s not go into a racial discussion unless we really have something there,” he told radio hosts Domenick Nati and Nate Foutz.

Back when various Tea Party groups were holding rallies across the country on a regular basis, the left-wing press was eager to mischaracterize them as violent, racist or some combination of the two. It didn't matter even if the allegations were true or not (as in the case of Obama Hitler signs or left-wing fakers pretending to be Tea Partiers). That former attitude is a dramatic contrast to…

Controversial George Zimmerman prosecution witness Rachel Jeantel told CNN's Piers Morgan Monday that the word "n--ga" - when ending with an "a" and not "er" - isn't racist. Yet in an interview with HuffPost Live Wednesday, Jeantel said it was racist when conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said it (transcripts and commentary follow):

Welcome to the Obama administration's cringe-inducing non sequitur of the week. On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder continued stoking the fires of racial resentment over a Florida jury's acquittal of George Zimmerman. In an address to NAACP leaders, who are demanding federal intervention, Holder attacked Stand Your Ground self-defense laws. All together now: Squirrel!

In a "How can he possibly top this?" move, Eric Holder's Justice Department "is trolling for email tips on the former neighborhood watch volunteer (George Zimmerman) as it weighs a possible federal civil rights case against him." What other establishment press outlets besides Fox News will cover this? And if they do, which of them (if any) will note the mountain of exculpatory evidence about…