We have a problem around talking about race in this country, says Maya Wiley of the Center for Social Inclusion. There are those on the right who would shut down any discussion of racial issues, instead claiming that mentioning race at all makes the mentioner the racist.  Whether the subject is a jobs bill or a Tea Party rally sign, a mention of race is all it takes to cut off all possibility of productive conversation.

Maya Wiley joins Laura in studio to discuss the NAACP's call for the Tea Party to renounce racism from within its ranks, the desperate need for a jobs bill, and more.

Last week, a jury in Oakland ruled that the shooting death of Oscar Grant was involuntary manslaughter: Johannes Mehserle, the Bay Area Rapid Transit officer who shot Grant, they decided, was reaching for his taser, not his gun and did not mean to kill the young African-American man. But the statistics on police shootings of young men of color tell a different story: this happens too often to be an accident.

Rosa Clemente, former Green Party Vice-Presidential candidate and hip-hop activist, and James Rucker, co-founder of Color of Change, join Laura to talk about the aftermath of the verdict, what justice for Oscar Grant would look like, and why it's a bigger problem than one officer's jail sentence--or lack thereof.

Thanks to our friends at ColorLines for the video used in this segment.

Finally, Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal has been promised for a while, but the Pentagon's $4.5 million survey of servicemembers' attitudes doesn't seem to signal any steps closer. Laura has some thoughts.