Fear, division and race in America

A week that began with parades, parties and fireworks to celebrate the 240th birthday of the United States of America, ended in an eruption of violence, death and grief.

In three cities, Baton Rouge, then St. Paul, Minnesota, then Dallas, the twin American flashpoints of guns and racism crashed into each other. Two black men were shot by police. Then five police officers were cut down by a sniper who had their uniforms in his sights.

And the world saw it all happen on video.

Two guests join Laura Lynch, to explore the profoundly troubling issues that lie beneath these events.

I think that there is a hardening of lines, that there are two different narrative universes going on here. And that worries me.- Patricia Williams

Patricia Williams is James L. Dohr Professor of Law at Columbia University. She's the author of The Alchemy of Race and Rights and Seeing a Color Blind Future: The Paradox of Race. She is also a columnist with The Nation.

You never know when you will find yourself in a situation where it may be the last time you breathe. And that sounds hyperbolic, but it's real.- Eddie S. Glaude 

Eddie S. Glaude is William S. Tod Professor of Religion and African American Studies, and chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University.  His most recent book is Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul. Professor Glaude and his son, Langston, exchanged letters about the events of the week for TIME; read their exchange here.

Click the button above to hear Laura Lynch's conversation with Patricia Williams and Eddie S. Glaude.