“An Outrage”: Reflections on Racism Past & Present

“An Outrage” is a documentary film about lynching in the American South, directed by Hannah Ayers and Lance Warren. Beginning with the end of the Civil War, and well into the middle of the twentieth century, the extralegal and socially sanctioned practice of lynching claimed the lives of at least 3,959 African American men, women and children.

Renowned author Ernest Gaines is a descendant of slaves who was raised in on a former Louisiana plantation. Keith Clark says Gaines many novels, including A Lesson Before Dying and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, launched America’s interest in exploring African American history.

We share a series of reflections by Charlottesville residents recorded at the Dialogues on Race and Inequity at the University of Virginia.

For many Americans, August 12^th marks a shift in the national conversation about white supremacy and racism. For the people who were injured in the Charlottesville attack that killed Heather Heyer, the 12^th marks day one of a long process of recovery. We share the story of one person who was injured that day.

The Columbia Journalism Review recently convened a panel of journalists for “Race, Racism, and the News” in Charlottesville. We feature an excerpt from the discussion that includes local freelance reporter Jordy Yager, the New York Times’ Jenna Wortham, The Nation’s Collier Meyerson, and Slate chief political correspondent Jamelle Bouie.