Among the long list of things racism has completely ruined, I’ll admit that using the word “articulate” as a compliment for black men ranks pretty low in significance. Still, this clip featuring Feministing’s own Mychal Denzel Smith talking race relations on CSPAN alongside Armstrong Williams and host Steve Scully makes me regret the word’s popularity among a certain kind of insidious hater, because, as I think you’ll see, Smith embodies it perfectly. Here he is, putting into words the anger, indignance, and disbelief that so many of us are feeling in the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict:

“Looking at the verdict, what happened was, to my mind, a lack of respect for black life. Trayvon Martin was put on trial during what ...