The fundamental devaluation of dark skin — 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation — is surprisingly resilient, says Charles M. Blow in an op-ed in the New York Times.  

Anti-black sentiment has risen around the country, according to the polls.

Blow quotes Herman Cain to illustrate how using slavery as an analogy may have become “subversively chic.” Cain, running as a Republican presidential candidate, built an entire campaign around this not-so-coded language, saying that he had left “the Democrat plantation,” calling blacks “brainwashed” and arguing, “I don’t believe racism in this country today holds anybody back in a big way.”   
  
Issues like these are on the table every month at the  Not in Our Town sessions, held on first Mondays at the Princeton Public Library. The next Continuing Conversations on Race, is set for Monday, January 7, at 7:30 p.m.

For this month, the focus is on the values honored by those in higher education. Some believe that everyone has equal opportunity at, for instance, Princeton University. Others may differ. Roberto Schiraldi and Fern Spruill will lead the discussion, focusing on such topics as minority employment, education, and the retail experience. All are welcome to share their views in an open, friendly, and confidential session. 

Nationally, more people are expressing anti-black sentiments. This discussion, as with all of Not in Our Town Princeton’s activities, focuses only on Princeton.