The hottest Race Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Culture Topics

The Path to Equality

Glenn Loury • 1646 implied HN points • 12 Nov 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race
  1. Strong family structures and education are key factors in determining success
  2. Adhering to 'The Success Sequence' can be crucial for young people
  3. Households led by single parents may face disadvantages and need attention

What would a third Trump impeachment look like?

Can We Still Govern? • 154 implied HN points • 15 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race
  1. Major historical impeachments share a pattern: they often follow moments of racial or political realignment and involve election interference, abuse of executive power, and attempts to delegitimize opponents.
  2. Trump’s second term stands out for its aggressive politicization of the bureaucracy and use of agencies and enforcement in racially charged ways, which could create grounds for impeachment similar to past cases.
  3. A third impeachment would be as much political as legal: Democrats would need House control and must weigh the political costs, but a clear mix of racial backlash and abuse of state power can sometimes build the coalition to move forward.

Due North

Black Music and Black Muses • 727 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Race
  1. Children of famous parents like North West and Blue Ivy inherit both spectacle and talent, performing what they are given.
  2. Grooming and understanding in relationships can hold complexities, influenced by societal norms and individual experiences.
  3. Celebrities like Michael Jackson faced grooming, identity struggles, and the pressures of performance throughout their lives.

February 8, 2026

Letters from an American • 30 implied HN points • 09 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race
  1. McCarthy and others used fear, loud accusations, and selective leaks to grab headlines and gain political power, staying ahead of fact‑checking until the public finally turned against them.
  2. The belief that elites or outsiders are destroying the nation evolved into the Great Replacement idea, rooted in older racist and eugenic thought and fueling white‑supremacist movements and violence.
  3. Recent political leaders and advisers have revived and weaponized anti‑immigrant and racist narratives to block compromise and push exclusionary policies, repeating tactics that trade truth for power.

CLEOPATRAAAGHHHH

History, etc • 1454 implied HN points • 21 Apr 23
🎭️ Culture Race
  1. Historical TV shows can easily spark controversy through race-based casting.
  2. Acting allows for pretence and make-believe, regardless of historical accuracy.
  3. Casting decisions in historical dramas may upset due to societal biases or political motives.
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Narrow decisions, broad goals

Adam's Legal Newsletter • 239 implied HN points • 29 May 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race
  1. The South Carolina redistricting case was decided 6 to 3, with a majority opinion written by Republican-appointed Justices and a dissent by Democratic-appointed Justices, showing a split along party lines.
  2. The decision-making in cases like _Alexander_ and _Cromartie II_ was influenced by the broader legal context surrounding partisan and racial gerrymandering issues, leading to close calls among the Justices.
  3. Judges tend to apply their ideological views to non-ideological issues when those issues are close, as seen in the standing decisions related to ideological issues in cases like the student loan disputes and _Alexander_.

On Terrorists and Freedom Fighters

Pen>Sword • 838 implied HN points • 13 Jan 24
🌍 World Politics Race
  1. The film 'The Battle of Algiers' showcases the struggle of people fighting for independence and challenges the labels of 'terrorist' and 'freedom fighter' in colonial contexts.
  2. Laws in colonial and settler colonial states often delegitimize self-determination and dehumanize resistance, labeling it as 'terrorism' along racial lines.
  3. Racial dynamics play a significant role in how individuals involved in conflicts are perceived, with white actors more easily perceived as 'freedom fighters' while non-white individuals are often labeled as 'terrorists'.

Beyond Periods.

Wild Holy & Free • 2198 implied HN points • 28 Jul 23
🎭️ Culture Race
  1. Having a period doesn't define womanhood, it's about autonomy and self-definition.
  2. Trans women show how to define womanhood beyond societal expectations and curses.
  3. Supporting trans rights is not just moral, but also protects everyone's dignity and rights.

January 31, 2026

Letters from an American • 39 implied HN points • 01 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race
  1. Some current leaders are arguing that immigrants and working people should be treated as a permanent foreign labor class without full political rights, an idea that echoes the 19th-century “mud-sill” caste theory.
  2. Powerful elites and officials are showing signs of acting with impunity—through secret financial deals, connections to abuse networks, and heavy-handed federal force—while also trying to recast victims or protesters as the real threat.
  3. There is active resistance to that hierarchical vision: legal rulings, public protests, and unexpected election results show many Americans pushing back in defense of equal political rights and the free-labor ideal.

Shut up About Race and IQ

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 5144 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race
  1. Discussions about race and IQ often lead to the clash between differing ideologies, with individuals having strong motivations underlying their beliefs and interpretations.
  2. Accepting group differences doesn't rigidly determine an individual's political views; people can have diverse perspectives, even if they agree on certain facts.
  3. Implementing ideological changes in society often involves motivating individuals based on a larger vision or political agenda, rather than directly debating opposing beliefs.

What DEI Isn’t

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1474 implied HN points • 11 Feb 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race
  1. DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) isn't just about hiring minorities for the sake of it. It's more about creating an inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives.
  2. The discussion around DEI often misses the point of what true inclusion means in practice. It's not only about having diverse faces in a workplace.
  3. Real inclusion involves actively engaging with and understanding different backgrounds, rather than superficially checking off boxes. It's about making everyone feel genuinely welcome.

Genetiken förändrar vår syn på ras

Rak höger med Ivar Arpi • 589 implied HN points • 07 Feb 24
🌍 World Politics Race
  1. Genetics has revealed greater differences between people than previously thought, challenging both racist and politically correct beliefs.
  2. Historical migrations and cultural exchanges are being reevaluated in light of DNA research, overthrowing old theories.
  3. Recent genetic studies have shed light on demographic movements, such as the Indo-European migrations, significantly impacting our understanding of human history.

Diversity's Betrayal

Glenn Loury • 2579 implied HN points • 23 Apr 23
🎭️ Culture Race
  1. Embracing discomfort is necessary for personal growth and development.
  2. Encountering diverse ideas and perspectives is crucial for a well-rounded education.
  3. Seeing representation in positions of power can impact one's comfort and success, but true progress lies in embracing diversity beyond one's own identity.

Slaves Were More Than Mere Victims

Glenn Loury • 1607 implied HN points • 10 Aug 23
🎭️ Culture Race
  1. The Florida Board of Education's new guidelines for teaching African American history caused controversy.
  2. Critiques of the curriculum were deemed misplaced.
  3. John McWhorter and Glenn Loury shared their perspective on the situation.

The Owner of the LA Times Takes the Red Pill

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1326 implied HN points • 05 Feb 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race
  1. Patrick Soon-Shiong bought the LA Times around two years before the newspaper faced serious issues regarding race and coverage. This came after the death of George Floyd and similar events across the country.
  2. The LA Times newsroom experienced a lot of conflict and emotion as staff members grappled with their past reporting and its impact on community violence. There was a strong push for change in how they approached their journalism.
  3. Supporting independent journalism, like that of the LA Times, is important and can be costly. Subscribing to these publications helps keep important conversations and investigations alive.

Race, Homicide, & Data

Peter Boghossian • 1041 implied HN points • 02 May 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race
  1. The news media and public figures can create inaccurate narratives that influence perceptions.
  2. Educating people about accurate data is crucial to addressing social issues like crime and policing.
  3. Examining and fact-checking data can reveal insights that challenge popular movements and ideologies.

Real Rooney Rule Has Never Been Tried!

House of Strauss • 28 implied HN points • 03 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Race
  1. NFL media and insiders are again focused on racial representation after this hiring cycle produced no Black head coaches.
  2. Critics say the Rooney Rule and the league’s racial-bureaucracy approach are flawed and haven’t been truly tested, so the NFL should rethink how it handles race in hiring.
  3. Race labels are messy—cases like Mike McDaniel show that official definitions don’t match public perception, which makes the whole system feel arbitrary.

Pity the Poor Bastards Who Have to Try to Racially Balance Every Big Event

I Might Be Wrong • 19 implied HN points • 10 Feb 26
🎭️ Culture Race
  1. Entertainment often forces racial "entry points" into shows to try to make every group feel represented, which can create tokenism and awkward shoehorning of performers.
  2. Every booking gets read as a win or loss by different political and racial camps, so backlash happens no matter who is chosen and the debate becomes a zero-sum culture war.
  3. Executives are stuck trying to please everyone, an impossible task, and the better solution is to stop prioritizing race as the main factor and treat culture as different expressions of shared experiences.

My Greatest Fear

Daniel Pinchbeck’s Newsletter • 14 implied HN points • 10 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race
  1. Signs like racist propaganda, violent incidents, and policy moves are normalizing dehumanization and could be preparing society for harsher, more organized repression.
  2. A small but powerful class of wealthy, amoral elites is manipulating institutions and media while revelations expose deep corruption, making authoritarian strategies more feasible.
  3. Humanity faces ecological overshoot and must choose between chaotic collapse, a cooperative managed descent, or a violent techno‑fascist response, and current trends raise the risk of the worst path emerging.

Between Race Abolition and Racial Essentialism

Glenn Loury • 793 implied HN points • 14 Nov 23
🎭️ Culture Race
  1. Race is a social construct that some are trying to do away with, aiming towards a future of racelessness.
  2. We live in a society where race is a reality and needs to be addressed, finding a middle ground to identify with racial or ethnic communities without confining oneself to them.
  3. Creating opportunities for interaction across different racial groups is key to breaking down prejudices and building understanding.

How Naomi Osaka found her voice

Power Plays • 432 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
🎭️ Culture Race
  1. Naomi Osaka found her voice through social activism and empowerment during her tennis career.
  2. Author Ben Rothenberg's book about Naomi Osaka explores her journey through the lens of the tennis tour.
  3. Osaka's relationship with press conferences shifted over time, from engaging to distressing due to various factors.

Inequality Has Become Its Own Explanation

Journal of Free Black Thought • 50 implied HN points • 23 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Race
  1. Calling disparities "systemic racism" without naming specific policies or institutional practices and showing they caused the outcomes is circular and not an explanation.
  2. Rare acts of discrimination can produce large group gaps in competitive selection processes, so low measured rates of discriminatory acts can coexist with big disparities—but that dynamic alone does not identify a discriminatory system.
  3. Programs like implicit bias training and generic DEI often have weak effects; a more effective approach is structuring decisions so evaluators must consider concrete, job‑relevant individuating information, which greatly reduces biased judgments.

The Braindead War on Perry Hendricks

Going Awol • 319 implied HN points • 20 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Race
  1. Some academics criticized Perry Hendricks without fully reading his work, showcasing the importance of engaging with content before forming opinions.
  2. Hendricks presented a conditional argument about abortion being wrong and its potential benefits in preventing morally questionable actions.
  3. While controversial, Hendricks' views touch on complex ethical debates such as moral luck and the historical context of organizations like Planned Parenthood.

The Brother War

Journal of Free Black Thought • 53 implied HN points • 19 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Race
  1. There is a hidden national crisis of black-on-black violence that kills a disproportionate number of Black men and boys, yet many treat these deaths as isolated incidents instead of a single, widespread problem.
  2. The killings are linked to a crisis of masculine identity and opportunity: broken families, absent fathers, poor schooling, and criminal records shut many young Black men out of legitimate paths to status, leaving guns and gangs as substitutes for dignity.
  3. Community silence and short-term fixes like more policing or recreation programs won’t solve it; reducing the carnage requires rebuilding family stability, promoting education and personal responsibility, and creating real pathways to manhood.

It's Not Racist to be a "Culturist"

Outspoken with Dr Naomi Wolf • 2 implied HN points • 13 Mar 26
🎭️ Culture Race
  1. We are living in an all-out cultural war that is shaping politics and social life.
  2. People are often discouraged from naming or discussing this conflict because they fear being labeled "racist."
  3. Refusing to acknowledge or confront this cultural battle is presented as harmful and can itself be seen as racist, so it’s important to address it openly.

Coleman Hughes on the New Racism

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 2517 implied HN points • 13 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race
  1. Coleman Hughes advocates for a return to color-blind ideals in addressing race issues, which contrasts with current prominent black intellectuals.
  2. President Biden is facing concerns about his age and capability to run for a second term, with a high percentage perceiving him as too old for the role.
  3. There are proposals for encouraging newer and better Palestinian leadership, especially in Gaza, by ensuring reconstruction aid is channeled effectively and used to empower a new elite.

Jordan Peele's Divided Aesthetic

Castalia • 499 implied HN points • 14 Nov 23
🎭️ Culture Race
  1. Jordan Peele's film _Get Out!_ was groundbreaking because it mixed horror with comedy and highlighted the awkwardness and hidden racism in America. It showed that racism is deep-rooted and not just a product of overt actions.
  2. Peele's later films, _Us_ and _Nope_, struggle with the same themes but seem less clear in their messages. While they aim to critique social issues, the storytelling sometimes veers into confusion.
  3. The success of _Get Out!_ has led to a genre of films that exaggerate social issues and trauma, but this can make the realities of those issues seem cartoonish and oversimplified, leading to less effective critiques.

Why owning a home in America is so hard

American Inequality • 589 implied HN points • 10 May 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race
  1. Homeownership in America is becoming increasingly difficult due to rising prices and rates.
  2. Demographics, such as race, play a significant role in homeownership disparities.
  3. Recommendations include increasing affordable housing supply, including rent payments in credit scores, and expanding federal loan programs.