By Lori Adelman • @ladelman • 10 years ago

Don’t miss Mychal Denzel Smith talking race relations on CSPAN

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 was supposed to be George Zimmerman’s trial. His character was assassinated, his parents had to sit there as… George Zimmerman’s defense team put on one of the most racist defenses that I’ve seen in the courtroom.”

Check out the whole conversation in the clip above. There is a full transcript of the clip available on CSPAN’s website here.

Brooklyn, NY

Lori Adelman started blogging with Feministing in 2008, and now runs partnerships and strategy as a co-Executive Director. She is also the Director of Youth Engagement at Women Deliver, where she promotes meaningful youth engagement in international development efforts, including through running the award-winning Women Deliver Young Leaders Program. Lori was formerly the Director of Global Communications at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and has also worked at the United Nations Foundation on the Secretary-General's flagship Every Woman Every Child initiative, and at the International Women’s Health Coalition and Human Rights Watch. As a leading voice on women’s rights issues, Lori frequently consults, speaks and publishes on feminism, activism and movement-building. A graduate of Harvard University, Lori has been named to The Root 100 list of the most influential African Americans in the United States, and to Forbes Magazine‘s list of the “30 Under 30” successful mediamakers. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Lori Adelman is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Partnerships.

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