racism
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Detroit Firefighter Fired After Gifting Watermelon to Majority-Black Station
One Detroit firefighter is out of a job after he decided to give a gift of a giant watermelon, all topped with a pink bow, as he introduced himself to who would have been his new colleagues at Engine 55. However, according to WJBK-TV, the gift did not go down well at the fire station,…
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5 Ways White People Can Fight White Supremacy
Contrary to popular belief, not every piece of correspondence received by writers at The Root begins with “You’re the racist” or “Not all white people … ” For every piece of hate mail received by black writers who discuss race and racism in America, there are as many from white people who contact us with…
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Banana Republic Employee Told Her Box Braids Are Too ‘Urban’ and ‘Unkempt’
A young black woman is accusing her managers at Banana Republic of “blatant racism,” saying that they targeted her over her hair, which was protected by box braids. According to a Facebook post shared earlier this week by Destiny Tompkins, her manager—a white man—labeled her hair “too urban” and “unkempt,” cited her for a dress…
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Does Condoning Racist Family Members Make You an Accessory to Their Bigotry?
I haven’t stepped foot in a playground in decades, but a recent conversation revived that sinking feeling I used to get every time I was near a dome climber. All the other kids seemed to rise to the top with ease, but I always struggled to make it only halfway up. Ah, recess—and childhood. They…
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Texas Lawmaker Who Called 2 Black Prosecutors Racial Slurs Refuses to Resign
Today in peak “I’m not racist but,” a Texas lawmaker who brazenly used the n-word to describe two black prosecutors is refusing to resign, all while insisting he’s for the fair treatment of all Americans. #SureJan. According to NBC News, in a City Hall meeting earlier this week, Brownsville, Texas, City Commissioner-at-Large Cesar De Leon…
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10 Simple and Subtle and Easy Things I Do Every Day to Fight White Supremacy
White supremacy is like a wave at sea crashing into a beach—an unstoppable and transformative force, shifting sand, ferrying debris and constructing America’s topographical landscape. This is why, sometimes, you have to do what I used to do when at the wave pool as a kid, when I’d wait for the waves to come in,…
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The Privilege of White Individuality
Stop lying; you did it, too. I’m sure I’m not alone in being among those who—for a brief moment when they heard about the Las Vegas shooting—quietly mumbled to themselves, “Dear God, please don’t let the shooter be black.” As you’re reading this, someone is typing a variation of the comment “Nah, I knew. Black…
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Federal Judge Officially Dismisses Guilty Verdict Against Joe Arpaio, Who Purposely Ignored Court Order, Illegally Detained Latinos While Sheriff
Former Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio will officially have his criminal record scrubbed clean after a federal judge accepted his presidential pardon Wednesday. According to the Arizona Republic, at the request of Arpaio’s defense lawyers as well as lawyers form the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton dismissed Arpaio’s guilty verdict…
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‘It’s Not Murder if They’re Black’: Man Charged With Sending Racist Death Threats Targeting Howard University Students
A 24-year-old man from Alexandria, Va., is finally facing charges in connection with racist death threats online on 4chan and Reddit that targeted students at historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C. “Any niggers left at Howard University after 10 tomorrow will be the first to go,” the messages read in part, according to the…