Drudge features a brutal alleged racially motivated beating of a white student by a Black student. What is his goal?

This morning The Drudge Report featured the following headline at the top of his page “WHITE STUDENT BEATEN ON SCHOOL BUS; CROWD CHEERS” which links to a story from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch which has the less sensational title “Tape shows beating on bus of Belleville West Student.” The article is about the appalling story of an African American student or students brutally beating up a white student on a school bus. The article includes video of the attack, which shows that while the assault was taking place some students cheered, while others Black and white looked on in horror.

The last point is important and bears repeating, some Black and white students looked on in horror, but you wouldn’t know that by Drudge’s headline. From Drudge’s headline you would think that the victim of this malicious attack was the only white student on the bus and every last non-white student on the bus (read Black) was cheering on this beating. But this is how Drudge and other irresponsible media gatekeepers marginalize and exploit racial tensions.

Those of us who do not live in or near Bellevelle, IL do not know what the community’s climate is when it comes to race relations. While Captain Don Sax of the Belleville Police Department believes the crime was racially motivated, school Superintendent Greg Moats claims that there are no racial problems at the school.

The truth is most of don’t know why it happened, but another truth is that regardless of the facts, this incident has the potential to inflame race relations in that community, school and nationwide. While the local paper approached this incident responsibly, Drudge immediately sensationalized it. Don’t get me wrong, this story needs to be told, but told in a responsible manner.

I hope I am wrong but within the next day this clip could end up in heavy rotation on FOX NEWS, quickly followed by CNN (Lou Dobbs will have a hard time leaving it alone) and eventually MSNBC. Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and others on hate, er uh, talk radio will declare that in the age of Obama white kids can’t get on a bus without being attacked by a group of savage Black students.

The student(s) who carried out the attack need to be punished, expelled and possibly prosecuted for assault . The students who cheered on the fight should be disciplined and the victim needs to be supported. The entire student body and the larger Belleville community need to address and discuss the incident in a productive manner, deal with the wounds exposed and start the healing process.

Following a bruising election last year, the fight for just and humane immigration reform, the debate about marriage equality for the GLBT community, the out of control health care town halls and tea parties which have taken on an angry and not so subtle racist tone, it is time for those of us with the capacity to do so, to lead and speak out on tolerance, understanding and diversity.

We owe it to ourselves to make this country a better place.

The three most important parts of US AG Eric Holder's speech on race

Today United States Attorney General Eric Holder addressed the Department of Justice's African American History Month Program and delivered one of the best speeches on race relations next to President Barack Obama's "A More Perfect Union," that he delivered in Philadelphia last year during the Democratic primaries. Simply put, Holder is calling for a dialogue on race.

We have identified what we feel to be the three most important passages of this speech:

Passage one: "Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards. Though race related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion, and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we, average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race. It is an issue we have never been at ease with and given our nation’s history this is in some ways understandable. And yet, if we are to make progress in this area we must feel comfortable enough with one another, and tolerant enough of each other, to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us."

Passage two: "To respect one another we must have a basic understanding of one another. And so we should use events such as this to not only learn more about the facts of black history but also to learn more about each other. This will be, at first, a process that is both awkward and painful but the rewards are potentially great. The alternative is to allow to continue the polite, restrained mixing that now passes as meaningful interaction but that accomplishes little. Imagine if you will situations where people- regardless of their skin color- could confront racial issues freely and without fear. The potential of this country, that is becoming increasingly diverse, would be greatly enhanced. I fear however, that we are taking steps that, rather than advancing us as a nation are actually dividing us even further. We still speak too much of "them" and not "us"."

Passage three: "It is also clear that if we are to better understand one another the study of black history is essential because the history of black America and the history of this nation are inextricably tied to each other. It is for this reason that the study of black history is important to everyone- black or white. For example, the history of the United States in the nineteenth century revolves around a resolution of the question of how America was going to deal with its black inhabitants. The great debates of that era and the war that was ultimately fought are all centered around the issue of, initially, slavery and then the reconstruction of the vanquished region. A dominant domestic issue throughout the twentieth century was, again, America's treatment of its black citizens. The civil rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's changed America in truly fundamental ways. Americans of all colors were forced to examine basic beliefs and long held views. Even so, most people, who are not conversant with history, still do not really comprehend the way in which that movement transformed America."

The who speech is a must read and we encourage you to read the who thing which is available here.