Category: Racism
Texas voting law builds on long legacy of racism from GOP leaders
In the early 1960s, U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona, a Republican, challenged the GOP’s more liberal politicians to redefine the Republican Party as what newspaper editor William Loeb called “the white man’s party.” by Chris Lamb,…
Ancient Christian thinkers made a case for reparations that has striking relevance today
Particularly notable is the fact that Tertullian makes the case for reparations to be paid to the descendants of the Israelites who had been forcibly enslaved centuries earlier. by David Lincicum, University of Notre Dame Sunday,…
Clogged pipeline for minority and women-owned businesses
by Wade Rathke March 15, 2021 Pearl River If the Jeffersonian story of America was the small yeoman farmer, the contemporary story of America is often of small businesses. These are the main streets…
There was a time reparations were actually paid out – just not to formerly enslaved people
by Thomas Craemer, University of Connecticut Friday, February 26, 2021 No guessing who in this 1864 depiction may have been compensated after slavery ended. API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images The cost of slavery and its legacy of…
Slave-built infrastructure still creates wealth in US, suggesting reparations should cover past harms and current value of slavery
by Joshua F.J. Inwood, Penn State and Anna Livia Brand, University of California, Berkeley Sunday, February 14, 2021 The Port of Savannah used to export cotton picked by enslaved laborers and brought from Alabama to Georgia…
AstraZeneca told to justify unequal vaccine pricing amid soaring profits
“Why is the global south paying more than rich countries for your #Covid19 vaccine?” Global Justice Now asks the pharmaceutical giant, which has pledged not to profit from the vaccine during the pandemic. by Jessica Corbett,…
People over 75 are first in line to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The average Black person doesn’t live that long.
Prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations for people 75 and up can leave out Black Americans, who tend to die younger than their white counterparts. In one majority-Black county, this age gap raises questions about how to make the…
“Sense of entitlement”: Rioters faced no consequences invading state capitols. No wonder they turned to the U.S. Capitol next.
Armed far-right mobs met little law enforcement resistance when they repeatedly attacked state capitols. You can draw a direct line from that kind of impunity to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6. by…
Bond modification sought after alleged Kenosha killer Kyle Rittenhouse drinks beer, flashes white power signs with so-called ‘Proud Boys’
“The defendant’s continued association with members of a group that prides itself on violence, and the use of their symbols, raises the significant possibility of future harm.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Thursday, January 14, 2021…
Black woman ‘heartbroken’ after vicious attack by racist MAGA Mob in downtown Los Angeles
“All of a sudden I’m just getting cornered by 30, 40 people,” said Berlinda Nibo. “That’s what started all of them to jump in.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Friday, January 8, 2021 Fears of racially…
On Wounded Knee: We fight to mend the Hoop
“There was no honor in these murders,” says Manny Iron Hawk, whose grandmother survived the massacre at age 12 by hiding in a ravine. by Abby Zimet, Further columnist Wednesday, December 30, 2020 On this date…
Statue of Robert E. Lee removed from U.S. Capitol
‘An important step forward’ “Confederate images do not represent who we are in Virginia, that’s why we voted unanimously to remove this statue,” said state Sen. Louise Lucas. by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Monday, December 21,…
Urban highway dividers
by Wade Rathke December 20, 2020 Pearl River Remember way back when, back in 2018-19 in the “before” times, when Amazon was jacking up cities, large and small, to compete for their headquarters location? New…
‘Small Signs’, a powerful look at the underbelly of a tourist town
by Madrone Kalil Schutten, Ph.D., Guest column for the Meteor Friday, October 23, 2020 Small Signs: A Protest in Flagstaff, Arizona is a documentary on the pulse of the second wave of the civil rights movement….
‘Small Signs’, Flagstaff resident releases documentary on summer of protests in Flagstaff, AZ
by Mac England, video produced by Levi Stallings Friday, October 16 Flagstaff, Ariz This summer there were over 50 marches, actions, and demonstrations in Flagstaff, Arizona sparked as elsewhere in the country by the death…
‘Well that is incredibly racist,’ says Kamala Harris campaign after David Perdue’s dogwhistle attack at Trump rally
“This kind of vile, race-baiting trash talk is what President Trump has unleashed from sitting Republican members of the Senate,” said Perdue’s Democratic challenger, Jon Ossoff, in response. by Jon Queally, staff writer Saturday, October 17…
Republicans unleash their inner Jim Crow
Endangered GOP incumbents are launching increasingly racialized attacks against their challengers. By Jim Hightower | OtherWords October 14, 2020 If you’re a rich Republican who’s done nothing in the House of Representatives for so long that…
White Christian Privilege
by Wade Rathke October 3, 2020 Atlanta As always, there are things you know, things you think you know, and then the dreaded assumptions that mask as both, but are neither. It’s those assumptions that…
Citing post-election period as possible ‘Flashpoint,’ FBI memo warns of far-right, white supremacist violence to come
Trump’s encouragement of white supremacist groups and his claims that the election will be rigged by the Democrats present a “recipe for disaster,” one critic said. by Julia Conley, staff writer Thursday, October 1 One day…
Trump riles up Minnesota supporters with attack on Somali refugees
“This is the overlap between white supremacy, the climate emergency, misogyny, and human rights abuses.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Thursday, October 1 Just 24 hours after refusing to condemn white supremacists during the first 2020…
Disaster work is often carried out by prisoners – who get paid as little as 14 cents an hour despite dangers
Prison systems have long championed the work of incarcerated persons in emergencies and disasters as a demonstration of the value of prisons to local communities and the state. Prisoners clearing vegetation to prevent the spread of…
Racial Authoritarianism
by Wade Rathke Wednesday, September 9 New Orleans Rochester, New York is an interesting place in its own right. The heart of downtown is a semi-wasteland, but along the edges there are bike and running trails…
White House moves to end racial awareness/diversity training.
Even though racism infects many US police departments WH memo says there is ‘no place’ for awareness and “Un-American” diversity training in US Government. “187,000 Americans are dead from Covid-19, and the White House is spending…
Tens of thousands attend march in Washington on 57th anniversary of historic Civil Rights rally, today
‘Get Your Knee Off Our Necks’ “We’ve been here before, but this time we know that it is necessary to redefine public safety in order to save black lives.” by Julia Conley, staff writer Friday, August…
