Top Race Relations Stories of the Year 2011

What do Herman Cain, Amy Chua and Alexandra Wallace have in common? They will all appear on my list of the Top Race Relations Stories of the Year. Cain appears, of course, for being one of the rare African-American Republicans to make ground as a presidential contender. Members of the Tea Party argued that Cain's popularity among that far-right movement proved that racism wasn't an issue for them. During Cain's run for office--ended after several women accused him of sexual harassment and infidelity--he made several controversial comments, including that black voters have been brainwashed to vote Democrat. Some questioned if Cain got a pass when he disparaged blacks simply because he shared their skin color.

Remember the term "Tiger Mother?" Nearly a year ago Tiger Mothers became the talk of the nation when the Wall Street Journal published Amy Chua's article "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior." In the essay, the Yale law professor argues that Asian parents are much tougher on their children than others, verbally abusing them and depriving them of, say, bathroom breaks until they can perfect that tricky piece on the piano or master whatever academic subject is at hand. After the article appeared, Chua faced a backlash. Many accused her of child abuse. Others argued that Asians raise their kids to be unfeeling robots. Adult children of parents such as Chua argued that her parenting style contributes to the high suicide rate among Asian Americans. Eventually one of Chua's daughters publicly came to her defense, arguing that her mother was tough but loving. Still the debate about whether Asian parents or Western parents raise better children raged on.

Two months after the Tiger Mother controversy, Alexandra Wallace proved that not everyone is a fan of high-achieving Asian students. Then a student at UCLA, Wallace videotaped herself mocking her Asian-American classmates for speaking too loudly on their cell phones in the school library. Wallace used a fake "Asian" accent in the videotape and made insensitive remarks about victims of the Japanese tsunami. The videotape went viral, and Wallace was vilified for the racist and xenophobes comments she made in the recording, including using a series of "ching chongs" to make fun of Asian languages. The controversy made international headlines, and Wallace subsequently dropped out of UCLA.

Alexandra Wallace, Amy Chua and Herman Cain sparked controversies in the past year that have resulted in them appearing on my list of the Top Race Relations Stories of 2011. The list is still a work in progress, however. Who else (or what else) do you think should appear on the list? While you're considering that don't forget to check out my list of multicultural holiday films and people of color in cinema. Happy Holidays!