for the shout-out. This is a great series you are offering and I'm grateful to be getting a wider view of allies in the progressive blogspace thanks to your efforts.

My interpretation:

Video 1: Gravel is starting a fire in America. The fire of change.
Video 2, Act 1: Gravel is confronting America with his clarity, honesty and sincerity. He's looking silently into the soul of each American and wants you to look deeply, deeply into his.
Video 2, Act 2: Gravel is throwing a big, disruptive rock into the placid pond of American political discourse and generating ripples of enlightenment all over the US of A.

Brilliant...It's the anti-commercial!I don't know about you. But I'm convinced. Mike Gravel -- please be my president! Burn me up with your fire of change!!!

That's interesting commentary, janinsanfran. In CA, they've also negun to stop using the term "minorities" because the term means something very different there. This is a good piece and I agree that Dems would do well to acknowledge and understand the growing advantage of their changing constituency. Lest the GOP get wise out of desperation and shift their strategy towards skimming off ethnic groups that feel unheard, underserved or taken for granted from Dems.

Thanks for the recommendation, OE2008. I'll try to be clearer on that in the future.

Thanks Pachacutec. I've been following the conversation on the topic of diversity in the blogs with some interest. Your commentary has been useful in moving the conversation forward. I'm glad that Chris has led a courageous discussion and been honest about his opinions, even if I may not agree with some of his premises. I think that both FireDogLake and MyDD have worked hard to open the conversation to minority participants including Steve Gilliard on FDL, Spencer Overton of BlackProf, Jack Turner and myself from Jack and Jill Politics.

Inclusion is a progressive value and it's critical to walk the walk and lead by example. Otherwise, are you just talking the talk of diversity? Inclusion is still a conscious act in America which is why many minorities see affirmative action as important to maintain.

Another thought: over the past six months, there's been a real blossoming of black progressive political bloggers. Maybe a few were recruited but most I think have launched on their own to participate. Some have been welcomed with open arms and others have shocked progressive whites with opinions popular in the black community that whites don't always hear so openly.

Ultimately I wonder if black bloggers will face the class vs. caste question ourselves. African-American bloggers, I can surmise, tend to be well-educated with above average incomes. Yet many would have them represent all African-Americans on certain issues. Is that fair to the underclass who sometimes may have different priorities and problems than those who have "made it"? We may have a lot in common culturally and even socially but economically, for example?

My final thought: I think Jenifer's construct is a good checklist not only for blogs but for progressive organizations as well.

Jerome, I agree with you. Instead of sweeping it under the rug and treating Obama "differently", it seems like CBSNews would do well to cover the story of what's happening on their site. Try to interview some of these creeps, even on TV, and show them for who they are. For example, racism is less tolerated publicly at least. So then, who is really behind the racist comments? Has a group of racists loosely organized itself to attack him there? Is some other larger group involved or are these just hate-filled individuals to whom cynical competitive (conservative?) campaigns may soon attempt to appeal?

Blocking comments on Obama stories will not stop racism nor will it stop racist comments. Those people will find other outlets either on or off CBS' sites. Racism is real and does impact the presidential race. But to what extent? I would think that CBS would be interested to find out and share with its viewers and readers. And CBS should allocate the internal resources necessary to have clean, moderated discussions if they are going to host them -- or recruit community moderators from their readership as Jerome suggests. It's frustrating that CBS would not see this as an opportunity to build traffic to their site AND awareness about racism rather than looking for ways to avoid their own audience's feedback.

The bottom line: they aren't helping Obama or themselves long term through this action, IMO.

It is interesting that few of the emerging black blogs have been approached by leading blog ad networks despite the projected influence of our demographic in determining the winner of the Democratic primary season. Interesting indeed.

Conservatives and corporations talk to blacks in a different way than liberals. Honestly, they understand in some ways better the new African-American middle class and use the language of strength, prosperity, partnership and empowerment. They aren't condescending and patronizing. This goes a long way in the black community. Progressives need to check their outdated thinking on African-Americans and our shared priorities and leave the noblesse oblige at the door.

Aw shucks AAPP -- thanks!

Interesting idea to be done somewhere, if not on MyDD. I would hasten to ask if we shouldn't add the emerging latino, asian-american and native american blogs? And how would we decide: maybe an index of the top 10 or top 20 (or top 5 depending on the segment)?

Thanks Francis.

None of us are really observers in the racial drama of the United States, are they? It's an infection we all suffer from. At least that seemed to be the attitude of the abolitionists and of white activists during the Civil Rights Era. How do we recapture that spirit of working together towards common goals?

Sadie -- there is some amazing stuff here! The Guidelines for Improving Communication Within a Diverse Working Group really spoke to me as did Working Assumptions and Guidelines for Alliance-Building.

I'd be very interested to know, if you're white, what you think about Working Assumptions For White Activists On Eliminating Racism: Guidelines For Recruiting Other Whites As Allies?

Not a bad idea. Media Matters is also great for data. The Joint Center has some great info. Their Databank could use an overhaul. There's a lot of comprehensive data in there but much of it hasn't been updated since 1998. Hope the new prez can makes that a priority.

Lucas -- thanks for adding this point about the State of Black America to the conversation. Yes, it is a shame that SBA was inevitably overshadowed. I hope that you and other bloggers will take time to note your impressions from it. What African-Americans are thinking and wanting right now should be a major priority for Democratic candidates -- ultimately they can't win the race for president without a strong turnout from this loyal demographic.

What the blogs and the MSM need to understand is that Tavis Smiley represents a new and truly influential set of black leaders. Right now -- in the black community at large, Tavis Smiley has as much or more influence as Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton in setting the agenda. Smiley is a NY Times multiple bestselling author who is shaping the discussion and leading progressive activism. He's an incredibly important figure right now.

The SBA was re-run last year on TVOne (the cable channel) I believe and/or on PBS, so if you missed it, I would expect it will still be available for viewing. Tivo it!

Francis -- I don't think there is active banning and purposeful isolation so much as there is perhaps some subconscious assumption among many bloggers that their sympathy and solidarity with minorities provides ample insight into our priorities and viewpoints. Sadly, I think this is an incorrect assumption that weakens the progressive movement -- online and off. It's painful and hard to talk about.

I think the progressive netroots led by MyDD and FDl in particular are doing a great job of consciously adding diversity to the arena. It's true that the digital divide has shifted and now breaks along educational and income levels rather than ethnicity.

So why aren't there more black political blogs? The fact is that the blogosphere (according to Pew is more diverse than the internet itself. Blacks aren't talking politics though in the same way. They are focused on other topics and talking about politics indirectly. Why is that?

There are actually a growing number of black blogs:

Along with the others mentioned, check out:
http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com
http://skepticalbrotha.wordpress.com/
http://field-negro.blogspot.com/
http://www.prometheus6.org/
http://www.blackprof.com

I could go on and on...