Portside

It is March Madness, after all, when the NCAA makes 90% of its billion-dollar budget. As the business of college football and basketball expands, and as more and more players find themselves used up and spit out with neither compensation nor education to show for their time, this is the moment to talk about the future of the so-called "student-athlete."

To kick off 2014, Colorlines asked several community leaders to share their racial justice wishes for the year. We wanted to to know, what are some truly attainable victories for justice in the coming year? And how could any one of us help achieve them?

Organizer: 'When you are hurting, you need to be around some people who still believe in the possibility of us being one people'.

Readers respond - The Persistence of Racial Resentment; Meredith Tax on Democracy, Islam and the Left. Response to Carl Proper (The Americanization of the United States); Prisoner X. Plus: Grad Students Take Action at UIC - Urge School to Not Break Their Hearts; Resources on Racial Justice; Role of Public Intellectuals - New York - Feb 15; Life of Eslanda Robeson - Conversation with Barbara Ransby - Chicago - Feb 19; Red Brain, Blue Brain - There is a Difference;