Word: thernstrom
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...students accusing Thernstrom have not gone so far as to classify him as a racist. But the euphemism "racially insensitive" seems insufficient cause for the uproar; their actions indicate a feeling that he is more than merely insensitive. Insensitivity is a matter for discussion; racism is a matter for offense and complaint. Implications that someone is a racist should not be expressed in any situation without clear cause...
...Thernstrom presented material which may have seemed surprising or even unappealing in its unconventionality. For example, he cited the fact that Black earnings between the 1940's and 1980's grew almost twice as fast as white earnings, contradicting widelyheld theories that race relations during this period improved slowly. But his observations, while controversial, added a new dimension to the subject matter...
STUDENTS have cited Thernstrom's attitude toward slavery and the Jim Crow system as indications of a biased and insensitive standpoint. One student in the course has said that Thernstrom "painted a benevolent picture of slavery." But this accusation is short-sighted and fails to capture the essence of Thernstrom's approach to slavery...
During one lecture, Thernstrom discussed recent scholarship that emphasized the positive ways slaves adjusted to their conditions, such as the development of a distinctive slave community and the growing importance of slave families. These seem more like statements of fact than insensitivity. Thernstrom never said that slavery was good; he merely spoke about different approaches scholars have taken to the subject. One may not agree with those viewpoints, but there is no reason why students should not be exposed to them...
...time did Thernstrom downplay racism in American history. He described the Jim Crow system in plain terms that any new-comer to the subject could have understood. He stated clearly that is was an unfair and unequal system that failed to provide a solution to the problem of race relations...