(Note: This article can also be viewed on the Huffington Post, where I would encourage you to post comments.)

A year ago today, I was in NPR’s Los Angeles studios, providing commentary for the network’s election night special. I’d worked a double shift, first as the host of the African-American focused show News and Notes, then rolling on into the coverage of returns and looks at ballot initiatives like California’s Proposition 8. After Barack Obama was announced the winner of the U.S. Preidency and we wrapped up the special, I drove down Jefferson Avenue in Los Angeles… and almost got carjacked. I’ve rarely spoken about the incident, but it’s time for me to examine its resonance as I look back on the last year of American life, of black American life, and of journalism. Read More »