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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/learning/what-students-are-saying-about-race-and-racism-in-america.html

This article explores the youths position, activism and fight against racism in America. The article highlights comments said by over 2,000 youth during a moderate discussion about racial equity and justice. Its really moving to read this article because it focuses on the experience of black youth in America and the struggles they have faced due to racism. I believe reading quotes make the article more impactful than one that focused on statistics or facts.

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White Christians are nearly twice as likely as religiously unaffiliated whites to say the killings of Black men by police are isolated incidents .

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This article develops the idea that most religious people in the US (especially white Christians) are often biased to have a negative response or highly discriminatory behavior towards minorities and specifically black people. Different types of research supporting this claim are explained here, which is not very surprising but totally disgusting.

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This article talks about how an Interviewer from ET ,Giuliana Rancic, said that Zendayas hair looked like it smelled like weed and patchouli oil. This is to say that the dreadlocks that Zendaya was wearing at the red carpet was unprofessional and should be seen as gross. Zendaya speaks up for herself and calls out Rancics comment as ignorant and disrespectful. Unfortunately, the hairstyles that black women use are seen as unprofessional and as we see in the entertainment industry there is no hiding that

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Zendaya called Giuliana Rancic's critique of her 2015 Oscars' hair "ignorant" at the time, but in a new cover interview with she explained it's also what led her to realize the impact she could have on how the public views people of color and promote real cultural change.

That year, the actress attended the Academy Awards in a white, silk, off-the-shoulder Vivienne Westwood column gown which she paired with waist-skimming dreadlocks pulled back into a half-up style. Rancic, the then- E! News anchor and Fashion Police host, said Zendaya's hair looked like "she smells like patchouli oil and weed." In her W interview, the actress said of Rancic's comment and the subsequent conversation about race that ensued, "That's how change happens. And it made me think, How could I always have a lasting impact on what people saw and associated with people of color?"

Zendaya, who was 19 years old at the time, stood up for herself on Instagram after Rancic's offensive comment, writing, "There is a fine line between what is funny and disrespectful. Someone said something about my hair at the Oscars that left me in awe. Not because I was relishing in rave outfit reviews, but because I was hit with ignorant slurs and pure disrespect." She continued, "To say that an 18-year-old young woman with locs must smell of patchouli oil or 'weed' is not only a large stereotype but outrageously offensive. I don't usually feel the need to respond to negative things but certain remarks cannot go unchecked."

She also told Good Morning America that while crafting her response, "I had to stop myself from being ignorant and being a kid...I had to really take my time and think about what my parents taught me, which is the most important things in the world are your voice and your knowledge, being that they're both educators. So I sat in my room and I used both of those things."

Rancic initially apologized to Zendaya via a tweet, saying, "I'm sorry I offended you and others. I was referring to a bohemian chic look. Had NOTHING to do with race and NEVER would!!!" She followed that up by issuing an apology on air, saying, "As you know, Fashion Police is a show that pokes fun at celebrities in good spirit, but I do realize that something I said last night did cross the line. I just want everyone to know that I didn't intend to hurt anybody, but I have learned it's not my intent that matters. It's the result. And the result is people are offended, including Zendaya, and that is not okay. Therefore, I want to say to Zendaya, and anyone else out there that I hurt, that I'm so sincerely sorry. This really has been a learning experience for me. I learned a lot today and this incident has taught me to be a lot more aware of cliches and stereotypes, and how much damage they can do. And that I am responsible, as we all are, to not perpetuate them further."

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Zendaya Says Giuliana Rancic's Infamous Comment About Her Oscars Dreadlocks Made Her Think About How She Could "Have a Lasting Impact"

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Zendaya says Giuliana Rancic's infamous comment about her Oscars dreadlocks smelling like patchouli and weed made her think about how she could "have a lasting impact."

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Racism in Santa Barbara education system

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Racism in Santa Barbara education system

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This article talks about a recent incident of racism that happened at Santa Barbara junior high. A student was bullied by a group of other male students, where he was called racial slurs, then assaulted.

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Education

Incident Occurred During Class, Mother of Student Speaks Out at S.B. Unified Board Meeting

A parent in the Santa Barbara Unified School District said during public comment Tuesday that her son was called the "n-word" by other students during class at Santa Barbara Junior High. The students also allegedly kneeled on his head and neck while saying, "George Floyd."

Santa Barbara Unified responded with a ParentSquare message Tuesday night: "We stand with [the parent] in condemnation of any act of violence on our campuses, in this case hate violence related to a student's race."

The assault occurred on February 16, and though Principal Arielle Curry sent a message out to all SBJH families on February 18, a district-wide acknowledgement of the hate crime was not sent out until February 22.

"I feel very unsupported at school right now, and I demand a change take place in schools immediately," the boy's mother said.

The boy's mother (whose name is being withheld at this time to protect the identity of the student) said there have been several incidents of racism against her son by other students, but the most recent incident occurred in the classroom, with students taunting her son with racist name-calling. Then, she said during a class break, the students began wrestling, which escalated to the other students pinning her son down, kneeling on his neck, and saying, "George Floyd." The mother contacted the administration, but the only response she got was from the school's principal, Arielle Curry.

Curry, speaking through district spokesperson Nick Masuda, said the teacher overseeing the children was in the classroom attending to another student when the assault occurred. Masuda also said there had been no prior incidents with the students involved. The district would not confirm if the students were suspended for their actions, only saying "corrective action was taken."

Community members rallied behind the mother during public comment, lambasting the district for not taking action earlier, or providing more resources to the family of the student who continues to be harassed on campus. Connie Alexander, a co-founder and co-executive director of Gateway Educational Services who has also worked with the student for many years, questioned the district procedure, criticizing the lack of mental-health and safety resources being provided.

"When you do this investigation, you're going to find you have some work to do," Alexander said. "We have to get past things that make us feel uncomfortable, and might feel performative. Procedure is important."
Editor's Note: This story was updated on 2/25/22 to include additional information. Support the Santa Barbara Independent through a long-term or a single contribution.
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Santa Barbara Junior High Student Allegedly Called Racial Slurs, Assaulted by Other Students - The Santa Barbara Independent

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Education Incident Occurred During Class, Mother of Student Speaks Out at S.B. Unified Board Meeting A parent in the Santa Barbara Unified School District said during public comment Tuesday that her son was called the "n-word" by other students during class at Santa Barbara Junior High.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/22/sports/soccer/romelu-lukaku-inter-italy-racism.html
Tis article talks about how many black soccer players deal with extreme racism from fans. It also goes into detail how Lukaku was racially abused in his second game after moving to the country this season, a chorus of monkey chants greeting him as he prepared to take a penalty during his Inter Milan team’s game at Cagliari. -Vincent Carter

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As black players in Europe endure racist incidents with increasing regularity, striker Romelu Lukaku speaks out about what he has endured: "It's crazy."

Romelu Lukaku was racially abused in his second match with Inter Milan. Credit... Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

MILAN - Romelu Lukaku was planning on a relaxing evening in front of the TV. He might now find himself playing in Italy, but he was looking forward to following the fortunes of two of his former teams in the Premier League.

His hopes of a quiet night ended long before the games did. Not for the first time this season, he found himself composing a message for his Twitter and Instagram feeds. Not for the first time this season, he felt compelled to speak out against racism.

The cause, in this case, was the front page of the next day's Corriere dello Sport, one of Italy's sports newspapers. Its cover had been posted on Twitter late that evening with images of Lukaku, a Belgian striker whose parents were born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chris Smalling, a former teammate of his who is of Jamaican descent and is now playing for Roma, to tease their teams' weekend matchup. The headline read: " Black Friday."

When Lukaku saw it, he was staggered. "It's crazy," he replied when he was sent an image of the front page over WhatsApp. He then criticized the paper publicly, saying it was the " dumbest of headlines."

In Italy, it has been particularly virulent. Lukaku was racially abused in his second game after moving to the country this season, a chorus of monkey chants greeting him as he prepared to take a penalty during his Inter Milan team's game at Cagliari. As he listened to the abuse in a stadium with a long, grim record of such incidents, he said he thought what he has always thought in these situations: "I'm going to score. I'm going to win. I'm going to go home."

"I've been confronted by it many times in life," he said. "You build a type of shell. I take my anger out on the field."

And he is not alone in feeling that the response of the country's authorities has been lacking. Cagliari, whose officials initially denied anything had happened to Lukaku, escaped punishment from Serie A.

Outbursts of racism have long disfigured games in Italy and elsewhere in Europe, but the frequency with which they have occurred this season is especially alarming, given the rising nationalist tide across the continent. Italy, for example, saw racially motivated attacks triple after the populist Five Star movement entered into government with the Lega, a far-right party, in 2017. That increase is reflected in the experience of black players in the country's stadiums.

The situation has grown so troubling that the Italian league's clubs were moved to action themselves. In November, all 20 released a public statement admitting they had "not done enough" to address racism in Italian soccer, and informing the country's authorities that now was the time for "serious change."

In the weeks after that statement came the Corriere front page, which the newspaper defended, saying the criticism of it was like a " lynching." Then Serie A's general manager was caught on tape suggesting the solution might be muting stadium microphones, so at least the abuse is not broadcast. This week, Serie A unveiled a new anti-racism initiative featuring three paintings of chimpanzees, provoking a heated backlash that it was tone deaf.

There have been so many incidents, so many low moments, that it has been hard to keep up. Lukaku has found himself talking, and thinking, about the issue far more frequently than he would have hoped. Education is critical, he said, but he is not prepared to wait for others to address the issue.

"I say what I think," he said. "If something is on my mind, I will stand up and speak."

Lukaku wanted Paul Pogba, a friend long before he was a Manchester United teammate, to be the first to know. Last summer, while they were in Australia on a preseason tour, Lukaku pulled Pogba aside and told him he had decided to leave England. "I told him I was done," Lukaku said.

Lukaku had reached the conclusion a few months earlier. He had spent close to eight years in England by then, blossoming into one of the world's best forwards, but his final two, after a $90 million transfer to United, had been arduous.

"It was always, 'Yes, but ...' right from the start," he said. "I scored against Real Madrid in the European Super Cup but missed a chance. It was: 'But he missed that one.' I scored against West Ham in my first Premier League game: 'Yes, but. ...' From then on, I started to wonder how it was going to go."

He still scored goals - 96 games, 42 goals - but he bristles at how his perceived poor form affected his reputation in England. "One year at United erased eight years prior to that," he said. He feels that he and Pogba were "blamed for Manchester United's fall."

He wonders, now, if it was because United had paid so much money for him; he is, in cumulative transfer fees, the third most expensive player in history. There is, though, one other possibility.

There has always been a divergence between the player Lukaku is and the player he is perceived to be. One former manager, Roberto Martínez, always regarded Lukaku as a "thinker," but that opinion was an outlier in discussions about him. As with many black players, analysis of Lukaku's performance tends to focus on his strength, his athleticism, his physical attributes.

"It is never about my skill when I am compared to other strikers," he said. "My one-on-one dribbling is good. I can do a step-over. I can beat a player. I remember one comment from a journalist that United should not sign Lukaku because he is not an 'intelligent' footballer." That one, he said, stung.

It is what he calls the "pace and power element," and it is hard not to wonder if he is seen that way because he is black. Research by Cynthia Frisby of the University of Missouri has found that black athletes are more likely to be portrayed in the news media as "innately physically gifted, yet lacking in intelligence and strong work ethics."

In her book, "Pitch Invaders: The Modern Black Football Revolution," Stella Orakwue wrote that black players are judged "not on the basis of their individuality but on the basis of concocted group characteristics, enshrined in mythology."

"I don't see it as that," Lukaku said. "Players like Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial are talked about as skillful. It's just that some players are always seen in a particular way."

Whatever the reason, by March, Lukaku had endured it enough. He wanted to get away, to "start from zero," to "rebuild" his reputation. United agreed to sell him to Inter Milan, a club he had admired as a child, when two of his heroes, the Brazilian strikers Ronaldo and Adriano, graced its roster. Lukaku said that he holds no grudges. "The U.K. had been good to me," he said. "But I had to bounce."

Cristiano Ronaldo was the last player to appear in the tunnel at the San Siro. His Juventus team was in Milan to face Lukaku's Inter at its towering, iconic home. Both clubs, at that point in early October, were unbeaten. Both were setting a searing pace at the top of Serie A. When Ronaldo spotted Lukaku, he walked over to greet him.

"He told me this is the hardest defensive league in the world," Lukaku said. "He said he'd scored goals everywhere, but this was the toughest place to do it. And if Cristiano Ronaldo thinks it's difficult, then it must be really difficult."

Lukaku, at first glance, has proved Ronaldo wrong: He has 10 goals from his first 16 games for Inter and has struck up a quick, intuitive understanding with his Argentine strike partner, Lautaro Martínez. He insisted, though, that Ronaldo's scouting report was correct.

"It's harder than England," he said. "The football is more intense there, but here everything is pattern of play." The success he has had in his first few months at Inter, he said, is the product of rigorous hours on the training field, and even more spent poring over video footage, trying to spot a weakness in his opponents.

He has taken to life off the field just as easily. Lukaku has a gift for languages: Before arriving in Italy, he spoke six, and could get by in German, too. He said it took him "two or three weeks" of intensive practice to get to a level of reasonable fluency in Italian. "Nobody speaks to me in English anymore," he said.

He likes living in Bosco Verticale, a futuristic apartment complex with balconies studded with foliage. His neighbors there include many of his teammates, he said, and there are team dinners or bonding exercises a couple of times a month. He is enjoying working with Antonio Conte, a coach he had admired from afar since 2016, and who had tried to sign him before he went to United. He is adamant that he is enjoying his time at Inter and his life in Milan. In the course of day-to-day life, he said, people are "chill." He has noted a contrast between what happens in the country's stadiums and what happens, to him at least, in its streets.

But that does not diminish what he has had to endure while going to work, while scoring goals: what happened at Cagliari and the aftermath; the constant drip of stories about racist abuse unpunished or tacitly encouraged; an unnecessarily provocative front page or outrageously misguided anti-racism campaign. Lukaku is enjoying his life, but he knows it would be understandable, in that climate, if a black player did not feel welcome.

Lukaku plainly says that is not the case for him. He does not feel cowed. He has not allowed it to sour his experience. But that does not mean that he is prepared to tolerate it, or that he believes others should be forced to endure it, or wait passively as education improves and ignorance erodes.

"You have to keep coming on strong," he said. "You have to keep fighting." He cannot be silent, so he does what he has always done: He stands up, and speaks.

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When the Monkey Chants Are for You: A Soccer Star's View of Racist Abuse

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As black players in Europe endure racist incidents with increasing regularity, striker Romelu Lukaku speaks out about what he has endured: "It's crazy." MILAN - Romelu Lukaku was planning on a relaxing evening in front of the TV.

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94 years old Asian woman stabbed and attacked

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94 years old Asian woman stabbed and attacked

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San Francisco is one of the cities with the largest number of people of Asian descent, and every day there are unpleasant racial insults and discrimination. This article reports on the man who stabbed and killed a 94-year-old Asian woman in San Francisco.

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Man arrested in SF stabbing attack of 94-year-old Asian woman, police say

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A 94-year-old woman who was stabbed through the wrist and torso in broad daylight is out of surgery and in stable condition. Neighbors describe Peng as a sweet and kind-hearted woman who often delivers cookies to her friends.

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This article talks about an incident where two 17 year old boys got into a fight at a mall. The black boy was pinned to the ground while the white boy was allowed to sit on the couch in peace.

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Vashti Harris | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Shopping while Black: Bridgewater mall incident amplifies talk of racism in retail spaces.

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Incident has fueled conversations around how Black people are treated in malls and other public spaces.

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This article highlights a recent scuffle between a white and black teenager. The responding officers use a lot of force in apprehending the black suspect while the while suspect sat gleefully on the couch. It just speaks to how institutional racism is still here, even after all those protests, and there is a significant need for reform, to hold cops accountable.

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NJ police under fire after cuffing black teen in mall fight as white teen watches

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A New Jersey police department is under fire after two officers handcuffed and pinned a black teen to the ground during a weekend mall fight while the white teen involved in the feud was left to si…

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This article shows the difference between how the British tabloids treated the "perfect" British princess, Kate Middleton, vs. how they treated divorced non-white American, Meghan Markle.

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It sounds like a fairytale for an ordinary girl to grow up and marry the handsome prince. You could say this was true when Kate Middleton married Prince William. You could also say this was true when Meghan Markle married Prince Harry.

Neither Kate nor Meghan was born into any royal family; they are royals by marriage. Why then is it that the British press has been treating Kate and Meghan so differently?

Since we don't live in the U.K., we don't see all the latest British press headlines; however, after Meghan and Harry announced that they would be leaving behind their roles as "senior royals," we had to wonder why.

Perhaps Meghan is homesick and wants to spend more time in the United States. Perhaps she wants to return to acting. Perhaps Harry is ready for a change since he basically has no chance of ever becoming king anyway.

Perhaps they're both sick and tired of the press being as unwelcoming as possible to Meghan. Journalists have done some digging and discovered that there seems to be a definite bias against the Duchess of Sussex.

It's really easy to see this bias when you compare articles side-by-side. You don't even need to read the articles; just look at the headlines. When Kate does something, she's wonderful. When Meghan does the exact some thing or something very similar, she's made a horrible mistake.

Many of the headlines seem to imply that Meghan knows nothing about British royalty, doesn't deserve to be a royal and is being very disrespectful of the Queen.

We can only imagine how hard it must be for the royal family to read these headlines, and we can't help but think the British press may have played a role in the Meghan and Harry wanting to change things.

On the new Sussex Royal website, there is detailed information about how the Duke and Duchess have revised their approach to media coverage. Traditionally, members of the royal family give "UK print and broadcast media exclusive inside access to the official engagements of members of the Royal Family." Meghan and Harry are turning their backs on this tradition. After reading the headlines below, we think you'll understand why.

Hats

It's okay for Kate not to wear a hat; let's focus on the rest of her outfit. Meghan was so disrespectful not to wear a hat.

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These 7 Headlines Show the Difference Between How the British Press Treats Meghan Markle vs. Kate Middleton

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It sounds like a fairytale for an ordinary girl to grow up and marry the handsome prince. You could say this was true when Kate Middleton married Prince William. You could also say this was true when Meghan Markle married Prince Harry. Neither Kate nor Meghan was born into any royal family; they are royals by marriage.

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This article highlights how we are still a long way from have a racist-free environment in sports specifically.

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Feb 19, 2020

Richard LapchickContributing Writer, ESPN.com

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American leader of the sports boycott of South Africa from 1975 until the end of apartheid

Chair of the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program at the University of Central Florida

Author of 16 books and the annual Racial and Gender Report Card

Directs UCF's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport

Director of the National Consortium for Academics and Sport

After an unprecedented increase in racist acts both in the United States and globally in 2018, there was some good news in 2019. According to research from the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), documented acts of racism in sports in the U.S. sharply decreased from 52 acts in 2018 to just 25 in 2019. However, internationally, there were 131 occurrences in 2019 compared to 137 in 2018.

In 2019, according to TIDES, a large amount of the international documented racist acts occurred during professional soccer games. Of the 131 racist acts in sports in 2019, 81 of them (62%) were related to soccer, the most popular and most played sport in the world. Most (89%) of these 81 occurrences took place in Europe, especially in world soccer powerhouse countries including Italy and England, as well as Eastern European nations Bulgaria, Montenegro and Russia. Most of the discrimination was targeted toward African, Muslim and foreign-born players on opposing teams within these countries' top leagues such as the Serie A in Italy and the English Premier League in England.

Stars in the game such as Romelu Lukaku, Mario Balotelli and Paul Pogba publicly cited individual acts of racism committed against them in 2019. In November, Balotelli threatened to leave his club game against Hellas Verona after being the target of racial abuse from the crowd. In October, English players were verbally abused by fans during a Euro 2020 qualifier against Bulgaria in Sofia.

There have been efforts to combat and bring more awareness to the troubling realities of racism within the international soccer world. In October, the Italian soccer federation declared consideration of employing advanced listening devices used in anti-terrorism operations to identify offending fans. The launch was slated for March 2020. Not long after, the president of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin, publicly criticized international soccer's lack of effort to tackle racism. FIFA leaders strengthened their disciplinary code on racism, doubling their minimum ban for racist incidents to 10 games per offense, fines for clubs starting at 20,000 Swiss francs (approximately $20,000), and inviting players to make victim statements at disciplinary hearings.

In December, Manchester United's Pogba, a consistent victim of racist verbal abuse in English Premier League games, brought some awareness to the issue by wearing black and white wristbands during the warm-up for a game. After winning the Ballon d'Or in December, USWNT midfielder Megan Rapinoe sent out a call for action to Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to help use their voices to speak out on the blatant racism and sexism in the sport. "I want to shout: 'Cristiano, Lionel, Zlatan, help me!" Rapinoe said while speaking to organizers France Football after winning. "These big stars do not engage in anything when there are so many problems in men's football. Do they fear losing everything? They believe that, but it is not true. Who will erase Messi or Ronaldo from world football history for a statement against racism or sexism?"

While it's important for high-profile players to use their voices to speak out on these issues, it is not enough. We must challenge governing bodies and clubs to step in and put a stop to the hate. It is time for executives within these clubs to act and implement change.

Racism and its effects also hit home in 2019, especially in hockey and basketball, which endured multiple documented racist acts as well.

At TIDES, these documented racist acts, both in the U.S. and worldwide, were compiled via Google alerts for "racism in sports" throughout 2019. At the end of the year, the summaries based on the Google alerts were calculated to get the total number of racist incidents in sports. These incidents were then split up by sport and region (domestic or international). Social media incidents included in this research are based on those that have been reported by media outlets and appeared in a Google alert.

Monday through Friday, host Pablo Torre brings you an inside look at the most interesting stories at ESPN, as told by the top reporters and insiders on the planet. Listen

Headlines were made early last year at a Utah Jazz game when a fan allegedly directed "disrespectful" and "racial" comments toward former Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook. Jazz executives, in addition to other Utah sports teams moved into action and came together for a "Lead Together" initiative against racism and hate speech. Initiatives like this one, turning a negative into a positive, are what other executives and owners across the NBA and other American professional leagues need to emulate and apply to their own organizations.

In August 2019, San Jose Sharks player Evander Kane was subject to a racist now-deleted comment on Instagram saying he should "stick to basketball." This raised larger concerns about the lack of diversity throughout hockey. Fewer than 5% of players in the NHL are players of color. Then, in November, notable hockey commentator Don Cherry spewed a hateful rant targeting the many immigrants in Canada in which he referred to them as "you people" and called on them to be more appreciative of veterans who afford them "the way of life [they] enjoy in Canada." Cherry was quickly fired from his position with Sportsnet. That same month, Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters was accused of using racial slurs toward Nigerian-born player Akim Aliu when coaching him in the minor leagues a decade prior. The accusations were corroborated by two other players on that team and Peters was promptly removed from his position.

Thankfully, there have also been efforts in the sport to put an end to racist and hateful behavior. USA Hockey, the governing body for the sport in the United States, has made efforts to fight back against racism. They announced in late October that the penalties for racial or derogatory slurs by players would be met by harsher penalties, including a five-minute penalty, ejection from the game, and suspension from further participation until the matter is reviewed.

The racist acts of 2019 within the sports world should be an incentive for our top sports leaders and athletes to be sure that their leagues and teams can be role models for society and that there be a rigorously enforced no-tolerance policy of racism and hateful acts. In this new decade, we cannot let hate win. Sports can help lead the way.
David Morrin and Nicholas Mutebi made significant contributions to this column. Richard E. Lapchick is the chair of the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program at the University of Central Florida. Lapchick also directs UCF's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, is the author of 17 books, the annual Racial and Gender Report Card, and is the president of the Institute for Sport and Social Justice. He has been a regular commentator for ESPN.com on issues of diversity in sport. Follow him on Twitter @richardlapchick.

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Lapchick: Racism reported in sports decreasing but still prevalent

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Feb 19, 2020 Richard LapchickContributing Writer, ESPN.com Close American leader of the sports boycott of South Africa from 1975 until the end of apartheid Chair of the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program at the University of Central Florida Author of 16 books and the annual Racial and Gender Report Card Directs UCF's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport Director of the National Consortium for Academics and Sport After an unprecedented increase in racist acts both in the United States and globally in 2018, there was some good news in 2019.

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This CNN video goes over a few of the text messages Ahmaud Arbery's killer sent just a few days before the murder occurred. The messages were texted in a way that seemed like an everyday thing for the killers, but it was disturbing to hear the derogatory words they used when referring to people.

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'Casual racism': Don Lemon slams texts from Ahmaud Arbery's killers

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Racist messages were key evidence in the hate crimes trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers

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The federal hate crimes trial for the three White men convicted of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, will soon go to the jury after testimony from more than 20 witnesses -- several of whom spoke about racist messages used by the defendants.

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Former Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores files racial discrimination Lawsuit against NFL

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Former Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores files racial discrimination Lawsuit against NFL

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With discussion of racial inequality in America being at the forefront of news and media for the passed couple of years, professional sports organizations are coming under fire. One of the most frequently discussed aspects of racism found within sports organizations is the hiring of head coaches and how most organizations seem to favor a white candidate even when the black candidate is much more qualified for the position. Just another unfortunate display of racism in America.

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Super Bowl Halftime Show Sparks Debate Over Racism in The NFL

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Super Bowl Halftime Show Sparks Debate Over Racism in The NFL

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During the halftime show performance, lyrics to songs that were going to be played were asked be removed like "still not loving police".  Also discussing "the NFL's racist practices were juxtaposed with the predominantly Black hip-hop industry."

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Sued for racial discrimination, the McDonalds owner was facing these discriminations.

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African American Man Shot while out for Jog

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African American Man Shot while out for Jog

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52623151

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Image source, Getty Images

The racially charged case of three men accused of killing a black jogger last year in the US state of Georgia has drawn national attention. The community at the heart of the incident is on tenterhooks as the trial nears its end.

Ahmaud Arbery was shot on 23 February 2020 in a confrontation with Gregory and Travis McMichael. It took more than two months for the men to be arrested, along with the neighbour who filmed the death.

Lawyers for Mr Arbery's family have called his death a "modern-day lynching". The McMichaels argue that they were defending themselves while trying to make a "citizen's arrest".

Here's what we know so far.

Who is on trial?

Gregory McMichael, 65, his son Travis, 35, and their neighbour William "Roddie" Bryan, 52, were arrested in May last year. Mr Bryan joined the McMichaels in their pursuit of Mr Arbery.

They each face nine charges, including murder and aggravated assault. They have pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors allege that Travis McMichael used a racial epithet and an expletive directed at Mr Arbery as he lay on the ground. The men deny racism.

Image source, Georgia Bureau of Investigation

Image caption,
Son Travis McMichael (left) and father Gregory McMichael

What has happened in the trial?

Prosecutors have argued racism was a key factor in the case. In her opening statement, lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski told the jury: "All three of these defendants did everything they did based on assumptions - not on facts, not on evidence."

On 8 November, the jury saw footage from police body cameras in the moments just after Mr Arbery was killed. Prosecutors used the video in court in an effort to undermine the defence's argument that the three men were simply trying to detain Mr Arbery.

"You had no choice," the elder McMichael is heard telling Travis as the first officer approaches. Mr Arbery is shown on the ground just a few steps away.

Prosecutors rested their case on 16 November after showing jurors graphic photos of Mr Arbery's shotgun wounds.

In her closing argument on 22 November, Ms Dunikoski said that the defendants "assumed" Mr Arbery had committed a crime and tried to unlawfully detain him "without legal authority".

"You can't create the situation and then go 'I was defending myself'," Ms Dunikoski said, adding that all three defendants had made their decisions because Mr Arbery "was a black man running down the street".

Despite protests from prosecutors, only one black member is seated on the the 12-person jury. Defence lawyers ruled out some African-American candidates for the panel, citing their possible preconceived bias on the case under questioning.

The defence has employed a two-part strategy: citizen's arrest and self-defence.

"It was obvious that he was attacking me, that if he had gotten the shotgun from me, it was a life-or-death situation," Travis McMichael told the court.

He spoke using police terminology and at one point cried on the stand, saying he thought of his son during the confrontation.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,
Travis McMichael seen in court during jury selection

During his closing argument, defence attorney Jason Sheffield said that Travis McMichael had spent nearly a decade "learning about duty and responsibility" while in the US Coast Guard.

He also defended the younger Mr McMichael's right to make a citizen's arrest, and argued his client was worried that Mr Arbery had a weapon.

"You do have the right to stop a person and hold them and detain them for the police," Mr Sheffield said. "There's a risk with that, and tragic consequences that can come from that."

Mr Sheffield's arguments were echoed by Laura Hogue, who represents Gregory McMichael.

In her closing remarks, Ms Hogue said that a "good neighbourhood is always policing itself", and called Mr Arbery a "recurring night-time intruder" that refused to stop when confronted.

Who was Ahmaud Arbery?

A former star high school football player, his father said he often exercised in the area.

His family has described him as a good, generous young man with a big heart.

Image source, Family photo

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Ahmaud Arbery

When Mr Arbery was in high school, he received five years of probation for a first-time weapons charge and in 2018, was convicted of probation violation for shoplifting, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.

It emerged that, in 2017, a Glynn County officer attempted to tase him after he denied their request to search his car at a park.

Police bodycam footage showed the encounter with officers, who said he was in a car in an area known for drug use. He said he was on his day off from work. The taser malfunctioned and he was allowed to leave on foot.

How did he die?

Mr Arbery was out for an afternoon jog in Brunswick on 23 February 2020.

The elder McMichael, a neighbourhood resident, told police he believed Mr Arbery resembled the suspect in a series of local break-ins. Police have said no reports were filed regarding these alleged break-ins.

The McMichaels armed themselves with a pistol and a shotgun and pursued Mr Arbery in a pickup truck through the neighbourhood. Mr Bryan later joined the pursuit.

The younger McMichael testified during the trial that he tried to talk to Mr Arbery while the two were still in their truck and that Mr Arbery never threatened the trio, brandished a weapon, reached into his pockets or yelled after being confronted.

After getting out of his truck, Mr McMichael fired his shotgun at Mr Arbery during a struggle. He claimed self-defence, saying that Mr Arbery grabbed at his gun.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,
Residents have set up memorials in the neighbourhood

A post-mortem examination showed Mr Arbery had two gunshot wounds in his chest, and a gunshot graze wound on the inside of one of his wrists.

A 36-second clip filmed from a vehicle following Mr Arbery surfaced publicly on 5 May 2020.

It shows Mr Arbery trying to bypass a pickup truck ahead of him on the road and then struggling with a man carrying a shotgun. There is muffled shouting and three gunshots are heard.

A second man with a pistol, who was standing in the bed of the pickup, is then seen standing alongside the other armed man with the jogger no longer in view.

The clip - which sparked nationwide outcry swiftly followed by criminal charges - was leaked at the behest of Gregory McMichael because he thought it would make him and his son look better, according to WSB-TV in Atlanta.

Five days later, footage from a surveillance camera emerged, showing a black man in a white T-shirt - believed to be Mr Arbery - at a home construction site shortly before the shooting.

He is seen walking on to the site and looking around for a few minutes before jogging down the street.

During the trial, the site's owner, Larry English Jr, testified that the man in question had not disturbed or damaged his property during the visit. He added others had also been seen trespassing on his property, but he never authorised the McMichaels to enter his property or confront anyone.

Jurors were also shown bodycam footage of the armed McMichaels searching for a suspected burglar at Mr English's property 12 days before the jogger was killed.

Police records show one report of theft in the neighbourhood between 1 January and 23 February 2020, US media report. That incident involved Travis McMichael's pistol going missing from the family's unlocked pickup truck on 1 January.

What's the law in Georgia?

Under the citizen's arrest law, an individual could detain someone they had seen committing a serious crime and if the suspect was trying to escape.

The state law, which dates back to the American Civil War era, was repealed in the wake of the incident.

Georgia was also one of only four states at the time with no hate crime statutes. Hate crime legislation has since been passed into law.

In a separate trial due to begin next year, a federal grand jury has accused the McMichaels of hate crimes and attempted kidnap of Mr Arbery. They have pleaded not guilty.

More on this story

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Ahmaud Arbery: What you need to know about the case

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The fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery drew national attention. The trial over his death is underway.

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This case is one that does not make any sense to me how one can have a penalty while the other one can't and to me it is obvious why. It's disappointing and unfair.

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The International Olympic Committee is responding to American track and field athlete Sha'Carri Richardson's claims of a double standard after Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was allowed to compete at the Olympics following a positive drug test, unlike her own experience.

During a press briefing Wednesday, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said the two incidents cannot be compared.

"Every single case is very different. [Richardson] tested positive on June 19 (2021), quite a way ahead of the Tokyo Games," Adams said. "Her results came in early order for USADA (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) to deal with the case on time, before the Games. Ms Richardson accepted a one month period of ineligibility which began on June 28."

"I would suggest that there isn't a great deal of similarity between the two cases," he added.
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Additionally, Adams told reporters that the IOC is focused on the well being of Valieva during this "tough" time.

"She is in the center of a lot of speculation," Adams said. "It must be very tough for her. We, of course, are in touch with the team, her welfare is the team's first priority, and obviously we are very careful of that but there's only so much that we can do."

Sha'Carri Richardson, Kamila Valieva

On Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced that the 15-year-old figure skater could compete in the short program of the women's skating competition on Tuesday. Valieva's participation in the event came into question after it was revealed she reportedly tested positive for the banned substance Trimetazidine, a heart medication, in December.

The CAS cited Valieva's status as a "protected person" (a minor) in making the decision in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code. "The panel considered that preventing the athlete to compete at the Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in the circumstances," CAS Director General Matthieu Reeb said in a statement, per the Associated Press.

Richardson, 21, won the women's 100m race at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials last summer. However, she lost her spot on Team USA after she tested positive for THC, a chemical in marijuana, following the trials. Because of the decision, she was unable to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. A different organization than CAS, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), handled Richardson's testing and suspension.

Richardson first made claims of a double standard in the decision to allow Valieva to compete earlier this week. Tweeting in response to a news article about Valieva, Richardson wrote, "Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines [sic]? My mother died and I can't run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I see is I'm a black young lady."

"It's all in the skin," she wrote in a separate tweet, then added, "Btw THC definitely is not a performance enhance!!!!!"

She continued, tweeting, "Failed in December and the world just now know however my result was posted within a week and my name & talent was slaughtered to the people."

Responding to the Valieva news on Monday, Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, said in a statement that the organization was "disappointed by the message this decision sends."

"It is the collective responsibility of the entire Olympic community to protect the integrity of sports and to hold our athletes, coaches and all involved to the highest of standards," said Hirshland.

Valieva ultimately did not medal in the women's singles event, finishing in fourth place after an uncharacteristically mistake-ridden performance.
To learn more about Team USA, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Olympics, now, and the Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NBC.
The issue with Valieva comes as Russia is still under an anti-doping penalty partially upheld by the International Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2020. Being only permitted to compete under the ROC name is the result of a years-long tangle of punishments, appeals and court rulings in the wake of reports that Russia was engaged in sometimes elaborate state-sponsored doping at the 2012 and 2014 Olympics.

The Kremlin has strenuously denied these accounts, which have been documented by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

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IOC Says Sha'carri Richardson and Kamila Valieva's Doping Controversies Are 'Very Different'

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The International Olympic Committee is responding to American track and field athlete Sha'Carri Richardson's claims of a double standard after Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was allowed to compete at the Olympics following a positive drug test, unlike her own experience. During a press briefing Wednesday, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said the two incidents cannot be compared.

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Black workers accused Tesla of racism for years.

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For Black employees at Tesla's flagship California plant, coming into work could mean being harassed, bullied by a supervisor or finding racist graffiti sprayed on factory walls.

That's according to a new lawsuit filed by California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), which alleges that Black workers in the company's Fremont factory experienced "rampant racism" that the company left "unchecked for years".

In the suit, filed on 9 February in an Alameda county court in California, the agency says Black workers reported they were subjected to racist slurs and drawings and were assigned the most physically demanding jobs. "Workers referred to the factory as the 'slaveship' or 'the plantation', where defendants' production leads 'crack the whip'," the agency said in the complaint.

"Tesla has continued to deflect and evade responsibility," the lawsuit adds. "While it claims to not tolerate racial harassment or discrimination at its factories, Tesla's investigations of complaints are not compliant with law."

Allegations of racial discrimination at Tesla's US facilities aren't new. The company has been hit with several discrimination lawsuits from employees over similar allegations in recent years. But filed by a government agency, the new suit may have far wider implications.

"When a single worker sues Tesla, the company may be motivated to sweep the allegations under the rug. But here, the potential for actual, systemic change is much greater," said Veena Dubal, labor law professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

California has sued Tesla Inc over allegations of racial harassment and discrimination at its Fremont plant. Photograph: Ben Margot/AP

Tesla has called the lawsuit "misguided" in a public blog post, noting that it focuses on alleged misconduct that took place between 2015 and 2019, but that in more recent years the DFEH has dismissed dozens of individual discrimination complaints against the company.

The company said it does not tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired workers who engaged in misconduct. "A narrative spun by the DFEH and a handful of plaintiff firms to generate publicity is not factual proof," Tesla said.

The company, which has disbanded its media relations department, did not respond to additional requests for comment.

The case is just the latest spat between the carmaker and US regulators. "At a time when manufacturing jobs are leaving California, the DFEH has decided to sue Tesla instead of constructively working with us," the company said in its blogpost.

Earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk accused federal regulators of unfairly targeting Tesla, saying in a recent filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission has engaged in "outsized efforts" to monitor the company that "seem calculated to chill its exercise" of free speech.

The claims

The claims center around allegations in Tesla's Fremont factory in the San Francisco Bay Area. Black workers at the facility were subjected to "offensive racial harassing conduct so severe and pervasive that it created a hostile work environment", according to the 39-page complaint from DFEH.

Many workers reported derogatory comments came directly from their superiors, the agency writes. One Black worker reported hearing racial slurs as often as 50-100 times a day, being called the "N-word", and "hood rats", according to the complaint.

Other workers told of racist graffiti found in factory common areas, including swastikas, KKK, the N-word, and other racist writing that Tesla did not remove for months at a time, according to the suit.

Black workers reported being assigned difficult, menial jobs in segregated areas of the factory known as "the dark side", DFEH also says, and are less likely to be promoted to management positions.

A new lawsuit filed against Tesla alleges that Black workers at the Fremont factory experienced 'rampant racism'. Photograph: Stephen Lam/Reuters

"For many Black workers, the stress from the severe and pervasive racial harassment, the risk of a physical altercation and escalation with harassers, the blatant discrimination, the disproportionately severe discipline, and the futility of complaining, made the working conditions so intolerable that they resigned," the complaint says.

Years of complaints

The complaint also alleges Tesla has been ignoring "years of complaints from Black workers".

"These numerous complaints by Black and/or African American workers about racial harassment, racial discrimination, and retaliation lodged over a span of almost a decade have been futile," the lawsuit reads.

A diversity report published by Tesla in December 2020 showed employees identifying as Black and African American make up 10% of its US workforce, but only 4% of employees at director level. Employees who identified as Hispanic and Latino employees make up 22% of the total workforce, but represent only 4% of employees at the director level and above.

According to the DFEH complaint, Tesla's human resources department is "understaffed and inadequately trained", leading to a failure to address complaints by workers. In 2020, the company had one HR professional for every 740 employees, DFEH said.

"One Black worker stated that immediately after she complained about race harassment, [Tesla] human resources official texted her harasser, who was also her supervisor, about her complaint against him," the complaint says.

Lawsuits pile up

Last week's filing is just the latest in a number of discrimination lawsuits to hit what has become the world's most valuable automaker.

A federal jury in October awarded $137m to Owen Diaz, an employee at the Fremont plant in 2015 and 2016 who said managers ignored his complaints about repeated racial harassment including slurs and swastikas scrawled on bathroom walls. A judge in that case is considering Tesla's bid for a new trial or to lower the award, which is one of the largest in a discrimination lawsuit by a single worker.

In December, six female plaintiffs working in plants across the US alleged that they experienced physical assaults, harassment, and catcalling at Tesla facilities. Another female employee made similar claims in a lawsuit filed in November.

"The through line for all of these lawsuits is the systemic nature of the harassment and discrimination in Tesla's workplace," said attorney David A Lowe, a partner at the firm representing the women. "The extent of the complaints show that it is a widespread, egregious problem - it's clearly not just a couple of bad apples."

The company is also still fighting a lawsuit filed in 2017 by Marcus Vaughn, yet another employee at the same Fremont factory who alleged he was repeatedly called the "N-word" by managers and co-workers. Vaughn also claims he was fired for "not having a positive attitude" when he brought complaints about the treatment to HR.

Tesla is still fighting a 2017 lawsuit by a Fremont employee who alleged he was repeatedly called the 'N-word' by managers and co-workers. Photograph: Handout Handout/EPA

A judge in 2018 rejected Tesla's bid to force Vaughn's case into arbitration. Tesla has also moved to force the recent sexual harassment case into arbitration, a motion that will be ruled on in coming weeks. Tesla has denied wrongdoing in all cases, and has said it has implemented various policies in recent years to prevent racist conduct and punish it when it does occur.

"Our company has more than 33,000 employees, with over 10,000 in the Fremont factory alone, so it is not humanly possible to stop all bad conduct, but we will do our best to make it as close to zero as possible," Tesla said regarding the case filed by Vaughn.

Why this is different

While DFEH's suit may not be the first discrimination suit filed against Tesla, it may be the most consequential, said Dubal, the labor law professor.

That's because the agency is not bound by agreements most Tesla employees have signed to bring legal claims in arbitration rather than court. "While an individual suing may be sent to arbitration, the state will not be. This means that this lawsuit can change the alleged pattern and practice of discrimination," said Dubal.

The department can also seek the same kind of relief as workers who file lawsuits, including court orders barring future discrimination and money damages. Such penalties can be significant: in December, gaming company Riot Games agreed to pay $100m to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit by the agency.

Tesla is accused of violating the Fair Employment and Housing Act and the California Equal Pay Act, and could face fines of millions of dollars in addition to enforced changes to internal policies.

The company may also be required to provide back pay to employees who say they were unfairly compensated for their work due to discrimination.

The odds do not look good for Tesla, said Dubal. State agencies have "limited resources" and typically only take on cases where "there is very clear evidence" of wrongdoing and they are "very likely to win", she said.

"There are many issues with racial discrimination in Silicon Valley - from executive suites to the factory workers," she said. "This shows state enforcement agencies are listening to what people are experiencing and going after these companies."

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Black workers accused Tesla of racism for years. Now California is stepping in

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The company has been hit with several discrimination lawsuits but this from a government agency may have wider implications

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Police reaction to fight between White teenager and Black teenager

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Police reaction to fight between White teenager and Black teenager

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https://globalnews.ca/news/8631099/black-white-teens-new-jersey-mall-fight-racist-police/

Above is an article on how police reacted to a fight at the mall between a white teenager and a black teenager, as seen, the police pinned down the black teen while they allowed the white teen to sit on the couch. This is yet another example of racism in the police departments and mistreatment of African Americans.

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Some New Jersey police officers are under fire for how they handled the breakup of a fight between a white teenager and a Black teenager at a mall last weekend, after police pinned the Black teen to the ground while allowing the white teen to sit on a couch and watch.

The fight, which took place Saturday at Bridgewater Commons in Bridgewater Township, N.J., was caught on video.

The video shows a group of teens gathered in one of the mall's seating areas as the two teens argue.

The white teen puts his finger in the Black teen's face, prompting the Black teen to push his hand away. The white teen then shoves the Black teenager, who begins throwing punches. The two exchange blows and eventually the white teen throws the Black teen to the ground.

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Two Bridgewater Township officers then come into frame, separating the two boys - the white teen is placed on a nearby couch by a female officer, while the male officer forces the Black teen back to the ground, kneels on his upper back, and both officers work to handcuff him.

"Yo, it's 'cause he's Black. Racially motivated," someone says off-camera.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a tweet Wednesday that the "appearance of what is racially disparate treatment is deeply, deeply disturbing."

Although an investigation is still gathering the facts about this incident, I'm deeply disturbed by what appears to be racially disparate treatment in this video. We're committed to increasing trust between law enforcement and the people they serve. https://t.co/ck9yCXMmL0

- Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) February 16, 2022

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The Bridgewater Township Police Department said in a Facebook post earlier this week that it was aware of the upset caused by the video and the officers' handling of the incident.

"We recognize that this video has made members of our community upset and are calling for an internal affairs investigation," the department wrote, adding that it has asked the local prosecutor's office to investigate.

Comments on the Facebook post accused the officers of being racist, with many people calling for their resignations.

"This video could not be more clear of the systemic racism that continues to rear its head when it comes to how many police officers engage the black community," wrote Facebook user Megan L. Pitts.

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"You can investigate all you want; this is plain racism, video doesn't lie. Both officers should be fired. They were way too comfortable in what they done I bet they've done this over and over; they just never got caught at it," Shelley Vicklund, another Facebook user, shared.

As the video made the rounds on social media, others weighed in expressing their disappointment:

The Bridgewater Mall Fight is the clearest example of how police actively use race as a shorthand for who they perceive as a threat.

See for yourself. pic.twitter.com/ThJPQFNEzO

- Benjamin Dixon (@BenjaminPDixon) February 16, 2022

The Black teen, 14-year-old Z'Kye Husain, spoke to NBC News following the incident, explaining that the altercation started because the other boy was picking on his friend.

"He was kind of saying, like, 'You're a little kid, you're my little pet,' and stuff like that," he told NBC New York.

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Z'Kye said he "knew not to be scared," while being handcuffed, and to " just stay calm and not move and do what they tell me to do."

His mother, Eboné, was more outraged.

"It doesn't take two cops to hold a 14-year-old boy down who's not resisting, while the other boy is just kind of going free and still going off on my son. It just doesn't make sense," she told NBC.

"It's not fair that we are constantly having to fear the cops. I'm just glad it happened where there were a whole bunch of eyes on the situation, 'cause I don't know what would have happened."

The white teen, Joseph, denied bullying anyone in an interview with CBS, adding that he was also confused about why he was not handcuffed, too.

"I was confused why they were detaining him and not me. I even offered to get detained when I was on the couch. I put my hands up like this and I said, 'You guys could detain me.' She said 'No, because you were calm,'" Joseph said.

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Z'Kye's family is now working with civil rights attorney Ben Crump, the law firm announced Thursday.

"Z'Kye, an 8th grader, was noble to defend his friend from bullies; however, it is evident that officers immediately assumed that because of the color of Z'Kye's skin, him acting nobly was not even in the realm of possibility. That video says it all," Crump said in a news release.

NEWS ALERT: @AttorneyCrump has been retained by the family of Z'Kye Husain, a Black 8th grader who was forcefully detained by Bridgewater Township (NJ) police officers after a physical altercation at the Bridgewater Commons Mall. pic.twitter.com/TIrIPf7IGw

- Ben Crump Law, PLLC (@BenCrumpLaw) February 17, 2022

Crump added: "Z'Kye was no more of a threat to those officers than the white teen who fought with him. This is another example of the kind of racial bias that we need to root out of our system of policing. These officers need to be reprimanded and retrained to overcome the implicit bias that results in unequal - and often dangerous - treatment of Black people."

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Neither teen was charged in the incident, but both have been banned from the mall for three years.

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Footage of teen fight causes outcry after police reaction called 'racism' - National | Globalnews.ca

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Some New Jersey police officers are under fire for how they handled the breakup of a fight between a white teenager and a Black teenager at a mall last weekend, after police pinned the Black teen to the ground while allowing the white teen to sit on a couch and watch.

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This video shares the complex process of The Nuremberg Trials, also describing in details about Nazi Germany's crimes against humanity and how dividing other humans by race/ genetics ultimately led to mass ethnic cleansing.

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In 2018, the average black persons in the workforce made 62% of the salary that the white persons in the workforce made. One group is clearly suppressing another group, with selfish and fearful motives. Racism is greedy and unnecessary.

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Sha’Carri Richardson sees a double standard in allowing Kamila Valieva to compete

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“The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady,” U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson said, after the Russian figure skater is allowed to compete at the Olympics despite a failed drug test.

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This article provides an overwhelming amount of evidence of the racism present within the United States justice system. In providing study after study the article forces you to realize how engrained racism is within the system.

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Opinions
Deck is set in the subheadline field in the Ellipsis stub

(Brian Stauffer for The Washington Post)

This article has been updated since its original publication in September 2018. If you know of a study I've missed or are aware of a forthcoming study, email me.
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June 10, 2020
In 2016, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) gave a powerful speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Scott talked about how he had been repeatedly pulled over by police officers who seemed to be suspicious of a black man driving a nice car. He added that a black senior-level staffer had experienced the same thing and had even downgraded his car in the hope of avoiding the problem. Given that Scott otherwise has pretty conservative politics, there was little objection or protest from the right. No one rose up to say that he was lying about getting pulled over.

The thing is, most people of color have a similar story or know someone who does. Yet, there's a deep skepticism on the right of any assertion that the criminal justice system is racially biased. In early August 2018, National Review editor and syndicated columnist Rich Lowry wrote a column disputing the notion that our system is racist. Andrew Sullivan wrote something similar in New York magazine. (Interestingly, both Lowry and Sullivan cite criminologist John Pfaff to support their positions. Pfaff has since protested on Twitter that both misinterpreted what he wrote.) And attempting to refute the notion that the system is racist has become a pretty regular beat for conservative crime pundit Heather Mac Donald.

Of particular concern to some on the right is the term "systemic racism," often wrongly interpreted as an accusation that everyone in the system is racist. In fact, systemic racism means almost the opposite. It means that we have systems and institutions that produce racially disparate outcomes, regardless of the intentions of the people who work within them. When you consider that much of the criminal justice system was built, honed and firmly established during the Jim Crow era - an era almost everyone, conservatives included, will concede rife with racism - this is pretty intuitive. The modern criminal justice system helped preserve racial order - it kept black people in their place. For much of the early 20th century, in some parts of the country, that was its primary function. That it might retain some of those proclivities today shouldn't be all that surprising.

In any case, after more than a decade covering these issues, it's pretty clear to me that the evidence of racial bias in our criminal justice system isn't just convincing - it's overwhelming. But because there still seems to be some skepticism, I've attempted below to catalog the evidence. The list below isn't remotely comprehensive. And if you know of other studies, please send them to me. I would like to make this piece a repository for this issue.

I, of course, can't vouch for the robustness or statistical integrity of all of these studies. I'm only summarizing them. But for the most part, I've tried to include either peer-reviewed studies or reviews of data that tend to speak for themselves and don't require much statistical analysis. I will note that most (but not all) of these studies do factor in variables that address common claims such as that the criminal justice system discriminates more by class than by race, or that racial discrepancies in sentencing or incarceration can be explained by the fact that black people commit more crimes. And I've also included a section for studies that do not find bias in various aspects of the criminal justice system. There are far fewer of these, though I'm open to the possibility that I missed some.

Finally, none of this is to say that race is the only thing we need to worry about in the criminal justice system. Certainly, lots of white people are wrongly accused, arrested and convicted. Lots of white people are treated unfairly, beaten and unjustifiably shot and killed by police officers. White people too are harmed by policies such as mandatory minimums, asset forfeiture, and abuse of police, prosecutorial and judicial power.

There are problems here that are inextricable from race. And there are problems that aren't directly related to race. But even the latter set of problems tend to be exacerbated when you factor race into the equation. On to the evidence.

Policing and profiling

Misdemeanors, petty crimes and driver's license suspensions

The drug war

Juries and jury selection

The death penalty

Prosecutors, discretion and plea bargaining

Judges and sentencing

School suspensions and the school-to-prison pipeline

Prison, incarceration and solitary confinement

Bail, pretrial detention, commutations and pardons, gangs and other issues

The dissent - contrarian studies on race and the criminal-justice system

Policing and profiling

I've had more than one retired police officer tell me there is a running joke in law enforcement when it comes to racial profiling: It never happens . . . and it works. But the problem with trying to dismiss profiling concerns by noting that higher rates at which some minority groups commit certain crimes is that it overlooks the fact that huge percentages of black and Latino people have been pulled over, stopped on the street and generally harassed despite the fact that they have done nothing wrong. Stop-and-frisk data, for example, consistently show that about 3 percent of these encounters produce any evidence of a crime. So 97 percent-plus of these people are getting punished solely because they belong to a group that statistically commits some crimes at a higher rate. That ought to bother us.

A New York Times examination after the death of George Floyd found that while black people make up 19 percent of the Minneapolis population and 9 percent of its police, they were on the receiving end of 58 percent of the city's police use-of-force incidents.

A massive study published in May 2020 of 95 million traffic stops by 56 police agencies between 2011 and 2018 found that while black people were much more likely to be pulled over than whites, the disparity lessens at night, when police are less able to distinguish the race of the driver. The study also found that blacks were more likely to be searched after a stop, though whites were more likely to be found with illicit drugs. The darker the sky, the less pronounced the disparity between white and black motorists. The study also found that in states that had legalized marijuana, the racial disparity narrowed but was still significant.

An August 2019 study published by the National Academy of Sciences based on police-shooting databases found that between 2013 and 2018, black men were about 2.5 times more likely than white men to be killed by police, and that black men have a 1-in-1,000 chance of dying at the hands of police. Black women were 1.4 more times likely to be killed than white women. Latino men were 1.3 to 1.4 times more likely to be killed than white men. Latino women were between 12 percent and 23 percent less likely to be killed than white women.

A 2019 study of 11,000 police stops over about four weeks in the District found that while black people make up 46 percent of the city's population, they accounted for 70 percent of police stops, and 86 percent of stops that didn't involve traffic enforcement.

An October 2019 report in the Los Angeles Times found that during traffic stops, "24% of black drivers and passengers were searched, compared with 16% of Latinos and 5% of whites." The same study also found that police were slightly more likely to find drugs, weapons or other contraband among whites.

A 2019 study of police stops in Cincinnati found that black motorists were 30 percent more likely to be pulled over than white motorists. Black motorists also comprised 76 percent of arrests following a traffic stop despite making up 43 percent of the city's population. It's worth noting, again, that multiple studies have shown that searches of white motorists are slightly more likely to turn up contraband than searches of black motorists.

A 2020 report by the Austin Office of Police Oversight, Office of Innovation and Equity Office found that blacks and Latinos were more likely than whites to be stopped, searched and arrested despite similar "hit rates" for illicit drugs among those groups.

Another study found that in surrounding Travis County, Tex., blacks comprised about 30 percent of police arrests for possession of less than a gram of an illicit drug from 2017 to 2018, despite making up only 9 percent of the county's population, and that surveys consistently show that blacks and whites use illegal drugs at about the same rate.

A 2019 study of the Columbus, Ohio, police department found that while black people make up 28 percent of the city's population, about half of the use-of-force incidents by city police were against black residents.

A 2019 study of policing in Charleston, S.C., found that 61 percent of use-of-force incidents were against black people, who make up about 22 percent of the city's population. The study did find that the level of force used did not significantly vary by race. White officers were more likely to be involved in a use-of-force incident than black officers. Black people also filed 63 percent of complaints against police. The study also found that black motorists were pulled over at a higher rate than would be predicted based on their involvement in traffic accidents.

A 2019 study in Portland, Ore., found that black motorists and pedestrians were much more likely to be stopped, receive tickets and be arrested for drug possession than white pedestrians and motorists.

A 2019 survey of traffic tickets in Indianapolis and its suburbs found that in the city, black drivers received 1.5 tickets for every white driver. In the suburban town of Fishers, the disparity grew to 4.5 tickets, and in the wealthy suburb of Carmel, black motorists received 18 tickets for every ticket issued to a white motorist.

A 2020 study commissioned by the Charlottesville city council found significant racial disparities in the city and surrounding county's criminal justice systems in five key areas: "seriousness of charges brought, the number of companion charges, bail-bond release decisions, the length of stay awaiting trial, and guilty outcomes." In the city, black men were 8.5 percent of the population, but comprised more than half the arrests. In the county, black men were 4.4 percent of the population, but comprised 37.6 percent of arrests.

A 2020 report on 1.8 million police stops by the eight largest law enforcement agencies in California found that blacks were stopped at a rate 2.5 times higher than the per capita rate of whites. The report also found that black people were far more likely to be stopped for "reasonable suspicion" (as opposed to actually breaking a law) and were three times more likely than any other group to be searched, even though searches of white people were more likely to turn up contraband.

A 2019 report in the Intercept found that blacks in South Bend, Ind., were 4.3 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession.

A study of 542,000 traffic stops in Connecticut in 2017 found that the racial disparity in stops had narrowed from previous years. But it also found that blacks were more likely to be searched after stops for registration, license, seatbelt and cellphone violations. The study found that about 19 percent of searches of black motorists turned up contraband, vs. 29 percent of the searches of white motorists.

A study of police activity between 2012 and 2016 in Springfield, Mo., commissioned by the city's police chief, found "substantial disparities in the rate at which African-Americans were stopped, and that the disparities increased, from 2012 to 2016 in Springfield. Some of this disparity is attributable to the fact that African-Americans are stopped for investigative purposes than would be predicted given their overall proportion of stops." The report also found that "when African-Americans are stopped they are more likely to be searched and arrested than would be predicted given their proportion of stops and searches," and that "it does not appear that the disparity in searches for African-Americans is attributable to a greater propensity to be in possession of contraband."

A 2019 report from Burlington, Vt., found that black drivers were slightly more likely than white drivers to be pulled over, but six times more likely to be searched. The report did find that the racial disparities were shrinking, and that since the legalization of marijuana, stops and searches of all drivers had dropped significantly.

In their book "Suspect Citizens," Frank R. Baumgartner, Derek A. Epp and Kelsey Shoub reviewed 20 million traffic stops. In an interview with The Post, they shared what they found: "Blacks are almost twice as likely to be pulled over as whites - even though whites drive more on average," "blacks are more likely to be searched following a stop," and "just by getting in a car, a black driver has about twice the odds of being pulled over, and about four times the odds of being searched." They found that blacks were more likely to be searched despite the fact they're less likely to be found with contraband as a result of those searches.

In March of 2019, researchers compiled and analyzed data from more than 100 million traffic stops in the United States. What they found: Police were more likely to pull over black drivers. The researchers were able to confirm racial bias by measuring daytime stops against nighttime stops, when darkness would make it more difficult to ascertain a driver's race. As with previous studies, they also found that black and Latino drivers are more likely to be searched for contraband - even though white drivers are consistently more likely to be found with contraband. They also found that legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington has caused fewer drivers to be searched during a stop, but that it did not alter the increased frequency with which black and Latino drivers are searched.

A 2014 telephone study of urban men found that "participants who reported more police contact also reported more trauma and anxiety symptoms, associations tied to how many stops they reported, the intrusiveness of the encounters, and their perceptions of police fairness," and that "overall, the burden of police contact in each of these cities falls predominantly on young Black and Latino males."

Though blacks make up just under 12 percent of the population in Texas, according to a database kept by the Texas Justice Initiative, they comprise 29 percent of deaths in police custody since 2005, and 27 percent of civilians shot by police officers. Hispanics were underrepresented in both categories.

A 2013 Justice Department study found that black and Latino drivers are more likely to be searched once they have been pulled over. About 2 percent of white motorists were searched, vs. 6 percent of black drivers and 7 percent of Latinos.

In 2015, the Charleston Post and Courier looked at incidents in which police stopped motorists but didn't issue a citation. These are sometimes called "pretext stops," because they suggest that the officer was profiling the motorist as a possible drug courier or suspected the motorist of other crimes. The paper found that after adjusting for population, blacks in nearly every part of the state were significantly more likely to be the subject of such stops.

A 2017 study of 4.5 million traffic stops by the 100 largest police departments in North Carolina found that blacks and Latinos were more likely to be searched than whites (5.4 percent, 4.1 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively), even though searches of white motorists were more likely than the others to turn up contraband (whites: 32 percent, blacks: 29 percent, Latinos: 19 percent).

According to the Justice Department, between 2012 and 2014, black people in Ferguson, Mo., accounted for 85 percent of vehicle stops, 90 percent of citations and 93 percent of arrests, despite comprising 67 percent of the population. Blacks were more than twice as likely as whites to be searched after traffic stops, even though they proved to be 26 percent less likely to be in possession of illegal drugs or weapons. Between 2011 and 2013, blacks also received 95 percent of jaywalking tickets and 94 percent of tickets for "failure to comply." The Justice Department also found that the racial discrepancy for speeding tickets increased dramatically when researchers looked at tickets based on only an officer's word vs. tickets based on objective evidence, such as vs. radar. Black people facing similar low-level charges as white people were 68 percent less likely to see those charges dismissed in court. More than 90 percent of the arrest warrants stemming from failure to pay/failure to appear were issued for black people.

These figures are similar to others throughout St. Louis County. For example, in the town of Florissant, 71 percent of the motorists pulled over by police in 2013 were black. Blacks make up 27 percent of the town at the time (they now make up 33 percent). Blacks were also twice as likely to be searched after a stop, even though white motorists were more likely to be found with contraband.

A study of "investigatory" traffic stops - that is, stops that did not result in a citation - by police in Kansas City found that blacks were 2.7 times more likely to be pulled over in an investigatory stop, and five times more likely to be searched.

A 2018 study of traffic stops in Vermont found that black drivers are up to four times more likely than white drivers to be searched during a traffic stop, even though white drivers are 30 to 50 percent more likely to be found with contraband.

A study of 237,000 traffic stops in Rhode Island in 2016 found that blacks comprised 11 percent of those stopped, significantly higher than their 6.5 percent share of the population at large. The study also found that blacks were more likely to be pulled over during the day, when the race of a driver is more easily ascertained.

A study of traffic stops in Connecticut in 2013 and 2014 found that blacks made up 13.5 percent of police stops - again, significantly higher than the black population at large (9.9 percent). This study also found that minority drivers were more likely to be pulled over during daylight hours.

A study of about 260,000 traffic stops in San Diego between 2014 and 2015 found that police more likely to search black and Latino drivers than white drivers, even though they were more likely to find contraband on white drivers.

A 2016 review of traffic stops in Bloomfield, N.J., found that though the city is 60 percent white and non-Hispanic, 78 percent of ticketed motorists were black or Hispanic. The study also found that police disproportionately stopped drivers around the city's southern border, which it shares with towns and cities with larger minority populations.

A study of stop-and-frisk incidents in Boston between 2007 and 2010 that did not result in a citation or arrest found that 63 percent of such stops were of black people. Blacks made up 24 percent of the city's population. Incredibly, 97.5 percent of these encounters resulted in no arrest or seizure of contraband.

A 2015 county-level study of police shootings from 2011 to 2014 found "a significant bias in the killing of unarmed black Americans relative to unarmed white Americans, in that the probability of being black, unarmed, and shot by police is about 3.49 times the probability of being white, unarmed, and shot by police on average." The study also found "no relationship between county-level racial bias in police shootings and crime rates (even race-specific crime rates), meaning that the racial bias observed in police shootings in this data set is not explainable as a response to local-level crime rates."

A 2015 statistical analysis of police shootings from 2011 to 2014 found that the racial disparity in police shootings of black people could not be explained by higher crime rates in majority-black communities.

A 2018 Post investigation found that murders of white people are more likely to be solved than murders of black people. There's also a strong correlation between areas that are black-majority and low-income and the areas with the lowest clearance rate for homicides.

Similarly, a study published in June 2018 reviewed every reported homicide between 1976 and 2009 and found that "homicides with white victims are significantly more likely to be 'cleared' by the arrest of a suspect than are homicides with minority victims."

Another ACLU study, this time on the use of stop-and-frisk in Milwaukee between 2010 and 2017, found that in nearly half of the more than 700,000 such stops, the police failed to demonstrate reasonable suspicion as required by the Constitution. The study found that between pedestrian stops and traffic stops, black people were six times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people, and that less than 1 percent of those searches turned up any contraband. Here again, while black and Latino drivers were more likely to be searched, they were 20 percent less likely to be in possession of any contraband.

Going back to 2002, data show that when New York City was implementing its stop-and-frisk policy, white people generally made up only about 10 percent of such stops, despite making up about 45 percent of the city. Black and Latino people made up more than 80 percent of the stops, despite making up just over half the city population. Consistently, between 85 and 90 percent of such stops produced no arrest, citation or evidence of criminal activity. Fewer than 1 percent of stops produced a gun, the alleged reason for the policy.

Between 2012 and 2014, the Los Angeles Police Department received more than 1,350 citizen complaints of racial profiling. The department didn't uphold a single complaint.

A 2016 report found that between 2011 and 2015, black drivers in Nashville's Davidson County were pulled over at a rate of 1,122 stops per 1,000 drivers - so on average, more than once per black driver. Black drivers were also searched at twice the rate of white drivers, though - as in other jurisdictions - searches of white drivers were more likely to turn up contraband.

A 2017 study of interactions between officers and citizens taken from footage captured by police-officer body cameras found that "officers speak with consistently less respect toward black versus white community members, even after controlling for the race of the officer, the severity of the infraction, the location of the stop, and the outcome of the stop."

An NAACP survey of citizen complaints against police officers in North Charleston, S.C., between 2006 and 2016 found that complaints by white citizens were about two-thirds more likely to be sustained than complaints filed by black citizens. When the complainant alleged excessive force, white complaints were sustained seven times more often than black complaints.

A 2015 study found that though black women are just 6 percent of the female population of San Francisco, they account for 45.5 percent of female arrests.

Misdemeanors, petty crimes and driver's license suspensions

A national study of misdemeanor arrests published in 2018 in the Boston University Law Review found that the "black arrest rate is at least twice as high as the white arrest rate for disorderly conduct, drug possession, simple assault, theft, vagrancy, and vandalism. The black arrest rate for prostitution is almost five times higher than the white arrest rate, and the black arrest rate for gambling is almost ten times higher."

According to a Justice Department study released in 2013, throughout the United States, black drivers are about 30 percent more likely to be pulled over than white drivers. Black drivers are also more likely to be pulled over for alleged mechanical or equipment problems with their automobiles, or for record checks. White people are actually more likely to get pulled over for noticeable traffic violations such as speeding. Black drivers are more likely to not be told why they were pulled over.

Between 2001 and 2013, blacks and Latinos made up 51 percent of the population of New York City, but about 80 percent of the misdemeanor arrests and summonses.

In 2016, the ACLU of Florida released a report that found that black drivers in that state were twice as likely to be pulled over for seat-belt violations as white drivers.

A 2017 Chicago Tribune investigation found that as the city ramped up its ticketing of bicyclists, black neighborhoods received more than twice as many citations as white and Latino neighborhoods. A year later, black neighborhoods were getting three times more bicycle tickets than white neighborhoods.

A ProPublica and Florida Times-Union report published in 2017 showed that black residents of Jacksonville are three times more likely to receive a citation for a pedestrian violation than white residents. The report found no correlation between aggressive enforcement of jaywalking laws and where pedestrians were most likely to be struck by cars and killed. Instead, they found that most citations were issued in majority-black neighborhoods. Residents of the three poorest zip codes in the city, for example, were about six times more likely to get pedestrian citation tickets.

A study of traffic citations issued in the Cleveland area in 2009 found that while blacks represented 38 percent of the driving population, they received 59 percent of police citations. Interestingly, when it comes to readily observable violations such as red-light running or speeding, the numbers were more even - whites actually received a greater percentage of speeding tickets. Black motorists, however, were far more likely to be pulled over and cited for violations that are either much less obvious (they received 61 percent of seat-belt violations) or that aren't readily observable at all (they received 79 percent of the citations for driving on a suspended license).

As of 2018, Missouri had been keeping data on traffic stops for 18 years, and for 18 years, the numbers consistently showed that statewide, black people were more likely to be pulled over than white people. The data from 2017 showed the problem actually got worse, with blacks 85 percent more likely to be stopped.

A 2016 study of traffic violations in several Bay Area counties in California found that black and Latino drivers were significantly more likely to be jailed for an inability to pay petty fines for moving violations. White drivers on average were half as likely to be booked for failure to pay, while black drivers were up to 16 times more likely to be jailed over traffic fines. Another study found that black people make up just 6 percent of the population of San Francisco, but more than 70 percent of those seeking legal aid due to driver's license suspensions over unpaid traffic fines.

Studies of traffic stops in Iowa have found that blacks are disproportionately stopped, disproportionately ticketed, searched, and arrested. They were less likely to be let off with a warning.

A 2015 ACLU study of four cities in New Jersey found that black people were 2.6 to 9.6 times more likely to be arrested than white people for low-level offenses.

The drug war

Black people are consistently arrested, charged and convicted of drug crimes including possession, distribution and conspiracy at far higher rates than white people. This, despite research showing that both races use and sell drugs at about the same rate.

A 2020 ACLU report found that even in the era of marijuana reform, black people are more than 3½ times more likely to be arrested for marijuana offenses than whites. The report also found that "in every state and in over 95% of counties with more than 30,000 people in which at least 1% of the residents are Black, Black people are arrested at higher rates than white people for marijuana possession." This, again, despite ample data showing both races use the drug at similar rates.

As of May 2018, data from New York City showed that black people are arrested for marijuana at eight times the rate of white people. In Manhattan, it's 15 times as much. Black neighborhoods produce far more arrests than white neighborhoods, despite data showing a similar rate at which residents complain about marijuana use.

White people have made up about 45 percent of New York residents (about 33 percent if you count only non-Hispanic whites) over the past two decades but have made up fewer than 15 percent of the city's marijuana arrests.

A 2014 ACLU survey of SWAT teams across the country found that "dynamic entry" and paramilitary police tactics are disproportionately used against black and Latino people. Most of these raids were on people suspected of low-level drug crimes.

A 2018 study of SWAT deployments in Maryland found that such deployments were more heavily concentrated in minority neighborhoods, even after adjusting for crime rates. The study also found that more heavily militarized policing in those areas had little effect on public safety, but did erode public trust in police among residents.

When The Post in 2014 reviewed 400 recent instances of questionable asset forfeiture, a majority of the motorists who had property confiscated by the police were nonwhite.

A 2013 study by the ACLU found that black people were 3.73 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession. And 88 percent of marijuana arrests are for possession. (The disparity is actually lowest in the West and South, and highest in the Northeast and Midwest.) The study found that the racial disparities were also getting larger, not smaller.

In contrast to the assertion that blacks are more likely to be arrested because they're more likely to use drugs in public, a 2002 study of narcotics search warrants in the San Diego area - that is, warrants to search for drugs in private homes - found that black and Hispanic residents were "significantly over-represented as targets of narcotics search warrants," even after adjusting for usage rates. The study also found that "searches of White suspects were more successful in recovering the targeted drug than were searches of either Black or Hispanic suspects."

According to figures from the National Registry of Exonerations (NER) black people are about five times more likely to go to prison for drug possession than white people. According to exoneration data, black people are also 12 times more likely to be wrongly convicted of drug crimes.

When Harris County, Tex., saw a flaw in how drug testing was conducted at its crime lab, officials went back and exonerated dozens of people who had been wrongly convicted for possession - most pleaded guilty, despite their innocence. This is because prosecutors often promise harsher sentences or more charges for defendants who take a case to trial. Black people comprise 20 percent of the Harris County population but made up 62 percent of the wrongful drug convictions.

Not included in these wrongful conviction figures are cases in which police and narcotics task forces conducted mass arrests of entire black or Latino neighborhoods or towns. Hundreds of people were persuaded to plead guilty to drug charges. By the NER's estimate, there have been more than 1,800 such "group exonerations" in 15 cities since 1989. Almost all those exonerated were black or Latino.

Black people comprise about 12.5 percent of drug users but 29 percent of arrests for drug crimes and 33 percent of those incarcerated.

A 2017 report by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune of Florida's drug convictions found that while blacks made up 17 percent of the state's population, they made up 46 percent of felony drug convictions since 2004. Blacks were also three times as likely to get hit with - and made up two-thirds of - the sentencing enhancements for committing drug crimes near a school zone, church, park or public housing. In all, when blacks and whites committed similar drug crimes, blacks on average received a sentence that was two-thirds longer. In some parts of the state, it was two or three times longer.

An analysis of drug war data by the Vera Institute of Justice published in 2018 found that "the risk of incarceration in the federal system for someone who uses drugs monthly and is black is more than seven times that of his or her white counterpart."

A 2017 report of civil-asset-forfeiture seizures in Chicago showed that the vast majority of such actions were in poor, predominantly black neighborhoods. The average value of the property seized was $4,553; the median value was $1,049.

Juries and jury selection

Though the Supreme Court made it illegal for prosecutors to exclude prospective jurors because of race in the 1986 case Batson v. Kentucky, that ruling has largely gone unenforced. The New Yorker reported in 2015 that in the approximately 30 years since the ruling, courts have accepted the flimsiest excuses for striking black jurors and that prosecutors have in turn trained subordinates how to strike black jurors without a judicial rebuke. A 2010 report by the Equal Justice Initiative documented cases in which courts upheld prosecutors' dismissal of jurors because of allegedly race-neutral factors such as affiliation with a historically black college, a son in an interracial marriage, living in a black-majority neighborhood or that a juror "shucked and jived."

There are no comprehensive national data on the rate at which prosecutors strike black jurors, but there have been quite a few regional studies.

A study of criminal cases from 1983 and 1993 found that prosecutors in Philadelphia removed 52 percent of potential black jurors vs. only 23 percent of nonblack jurors.

Between 2003 and 2012, prosecutors in Caddo Parish, La. - one of the most aggressive death penalty counties in the country - struck 46 percent of prospective black jurors with preemptory challenges, vs. 15 percent of nonblacks.

Between 1994 and 2002, Jefferson Parish prosecutors struck 55 percent of blacks, but just 16 percent of whites. Although blacks make up 23 percent of the population, 80 percent of criminal trials had no more than two black jurors in a state where it takes only 10 of 12 juror votes to convict.

A 2011 study from Michigan State University College of Law found that between 1990 and 2010, state prosecutors struck about 53 percent of black people eligible for juries in criminal cases, vs. about 26 percent of white people. The study's authors concluded that the chance of this occurring in a race-neutral process was less than 1 in 10 trillion. Even after adjusting for excuses given by prosecutors that tend to correlate with race, the 2-to-1 discrepancy remained. The state legislature had previously passed a law stating that death penalty defendants who could demonstrate racial bias in jury selection could have their sentences changed to life without parole. The legislature later repealed that law.

In June 2018, American Public Media's "In the Dark" podcast did painstaking research on the 26-year career of Mississippi District Attorney Doug Evans and found that over the course of his career, Evans's office struck 50 percent of prospective black jurors, vs. just 11 percent of whites.

As of 2018, in the 32 years since Batson, the U.S Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit - which includes Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana - has upheld a Batson challenge only twice. That is out of hundreds of challenges.

A survey of seven death penalty cases in Columbus, Ga., going back to the 1970s found that prosecutors struck 41 of 44 prospective black jurors. Six of the seven trials featured all-white juries.

In a 2010 study, "mock jurors" were given the same evidence from a fictional robbery case but then shown alternate security camera footage depicting either a light-skinned or dark-skinned suspect. Jurors were more likely to evaluate ambiguous, race-neutral evidence against the dark-skinned suspect as incriminating and more likely to find the dark-skinned suspect guilty.

The death penalty

Prosecutors on aggregate don't seem to seek the death penalty more for black people than white people, though there are definitely some gaping disparities in a few states and in some counties. Instead, the real racial bias when it comes to the death penalty pertains to the race of the victim. Killers of black people rarely get death sentences. White killers of black people get death sentences even less frequently. And far and away, the type of murder most likely to bring a death sentence is a black man who kills a white woman.

While white people make up less than half of the country's murder victims, a 2003 study by Amnesty International found that about 80 percent of the people on death row in the United States killed a white person.

A 2012 study of Harris County, Tex., cases found that people who killed white victims were 2.5 times more likely to be sentenced to the death penalty than other killers.

In Delaware, according to a 2012 study, "black defendants who kill white victims are seven times as likely to receive the death penalty as are black defendants who kill black victims. ... Moreover, black defendants who kill white victims are more than three times as likely to be sentenced to death as are white defendants who kill white victims."

A review of homicide cases in Missouri between 1997 and 2001 found that both geography and race are important factors in whether a defendant receives the death penalty. Black defendants in the large urban areas of St. Louis and Kansas City were less likely to get the death penalty, likely because of the higher rate of black jurors in jury pools. This also meant that white defendants accused of killing white people were more likely to be sentenced to death than black defendants accused of killing black people.

A study of death penalty rates of black perpetrators/white victims vs. white perpetrators/black victims through 1999 showed similar discrepancies. Interestingly, the study found that blacks are underrepresented on death row in proportion to the proportion of murders they commit. But this is largely because most black murderers kill other black people, and prosecutors are far less likely to seek the death penalty when the victim is black.

A study of North Carolina murder cases from 1980 through 2007 found that murderers who kill white people are three times more likely to get the death penalty than murderers who kill black people.

A 2000 study commissioned by then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) found that the state had, as of that time, never executed a white person for killing a black person.

A 2004 study of Illinois, Georgia, Maryland and Florida estimated that "one quarter to one third of death sentenced defendants with white victims would have avoided the death penalty if their victims had been black."

According to a 2002 study commissioned by then-Gov. Frank O'Bannon (D), Indiana had executed only one person for killing a nonwhite victim, and though 47 percent of homicides in the state involved nonwhite victims, just 16 percent of the state's death sentences did.

Studies in Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, Utah and the federal criminal justice system produced similar results.

A 2014 study looking at 33 years of data found that after adjusting for variables such as the number of victims and brutality of the crimes, jurors in Washington state were 4.5 times more likely to impose the death penalty on black defendants accused of aggravated murder than on white ones.

Black people are also more likely to be wrongly convicted of murder when the victim was white. Only about 15 percent of people killed by black people were white, but 31 percent of black exonorees were wrongly convicted of killing white people. More generally, black people convicted of murder are 50 percent more likely to be innocent than white people convicted of murder.

Innocent black people are also 3.5 times more likely than white people to be wrongly convicted of sexual assault and 12 times more likely to be wrongly convicted of drug crimes. (And remember, data on wrongful convictions is limited in that it can only consider the wrongful convictions we know about.)

A 2000 study of federal cases found that federal prosecutors were about 50 percent more likely to offer a plea bargain to white murder suspects than black suspects that allowed them to avoid the death penalty.

In Houston County, Ala., prosecutors struck 80 percent of black people from juries in death penalty cases.

In Tennessee, blacks make up 17 percent of the population but 44 percent of death row. Between 2007 and 2017, eight of the nine death sentences handed down in the state were to black defendants.

A 2006 Stanford report found that when a black person was accused of killing a white person, defendants with darker skin and more "stereotypically black" features were twice as likely to receive a death sentence. When the victim was black, there was almost no difference.

A 2016 study found that in Louisiana, killers of white victims were 14 times more likely to be executed than killers of black victims. Black men who killed white women were 30 times more likely to get the death penalty than black men who killed black men. Those convicted of killing white people were also less likely to have their sentences overturned on appeal, and Louisiana hasn't executed a white person for killing a black person since 1752.

Studies in other states have produced similar results: In Oklahoma, killers of white women were 9.5 times more likely to get the death penalty than killers of minority men. In Ohio, they were 6 times more likely, and in Florida, 6.5 times more likely.

Prosecutors, discretion and plea bargaining

Depending on which study you look at, somewhere between 80 and 95 percent of criminal cases are resolved with a plea bargain before ever getting to trial. While most legal observers agree that plea bargaining is widely abused and does little to serve the interests of justice, most also believe believe that if every defendant were to insist on a trial, the system would come grinding to a halt. The bias here comes in when we look at who gets plea bargains, what kinds of deals they're offered and how many, though innocent, feel pressured to accept.

A 2015 study by the Women Donors Network found that in three-fifths of the states where prosecutors are elected, there isn't a single black prosecutor. Overall, the study found that in the United States, 95 percent of elected prosecutors are white, and nearly 80 percent are white men. In nine death penalty states (Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming), all of the elected district attorneys were white in 2015.

A 2017 study of about 48,000 criminal cases in Wisconsin showed that white defendants were 25 percent more likely than black defendants to have their most serious charge dismissed in a plea bargain. Among defendants facing misdemeanor charges that could carry a sentence of incarceration, whites were 75 percent more likely to have those charges dropped, dismissed or reduced to a charge that did not include such a punishment.

A 2014 study of Manhattan criminal cases found that black defendants were 19 percent more likely to be offered plea deals that included jail time.

A 2011 summary of the research on race and plea bargaining published by the Bureau of Justice Assistance concluded that "the majority of research on race and sentencing outcomes shows that blacks are less likely than whites to receive reduced pleas," that "studies that assess the effects of race find that blacks are less likely to receive a reduced charge compared with whites," and that "studies have generally found a relationship between race and whether or not a defendant receives a reduced charge."

A 2016 review of nearly 474,000 criminal cases in Hampton Roads, Va., found that whites were more likely to get plea deals that resulted in no jail time for drug offenses. While facing charges of drug distribution, 48 percent of whites received plea bargains with no jail time, vs. 22 percent of blacks. Among those with prior criminal records who pleaded guilty to robbery, 36 percent of whites got no jail time, vs. 8 percent of blacks.

A 2013 study found that after adjusting for numerous other variables, federal prosecutors were almost twice as likely to bring charges carrying mandatory minimums against black defendants as against white defendants accused of similar crimes.

A 2008 analysis found that black defendants with multiple prior convictions are 28 percent more likely to be charged as "habitual offenders" than white defendants with similar criminal records. The authors conclude that "assessments of dangerousness and culpability are linked to race and ethnicity, even after offense seriousness and prior record are controlled."

Judges and sentencing

A 2018 review of academic research found that at nearly all levels of the criminal justice system, "disparities in policing and punishment within the black population along the colour continuum are often comparable to or even exceed disparities between blacks and whites as a whole." That is, the darker the skin of a black person, the greater the disparity in arrests, charges, conviction rates and sentencing.

While white, non-Hispanics make up about 60 percent of the U.S. population, they comprise 83 percent of state trial court judges and 80 percent of state appellate court judges.

A survey of data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission in 2017 found that when black men and white men commit the same crime, black men on average receive a sentence almost 20 percent longer. The research controlled for variables such as age and prior criminal history.

In Louisiana, which is 33 percent black, a survey sampling half the prisoners serving life without parole for nonviolent offenses found that 91 percent were black. After including violent crimes, it was 73 percent. The figure is above 65 percent in several other states, including Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi and South Carolina. Nationally, about half of murders are committed by blacks.

When it comes to federal gun crimes, black people are more likely to be arrested, more likely to get longer sentences for similar crimes and more likely to get sentencing "enhancements," according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

A New Jersey study found that 96 percent of defendants subject to an enhanced sentencing under "drug-free school zone" laws were black or Latino.

A study published in May 2018 found that when a white person and a black person are convicted of similar crimes, Republican-appointed judges sentence the black person to three months longer in prison.

A 2007 Harvard study found sentencing discrepancies among black people, depending on the darkness of their skin. The study looked at 67,000 first-time felons in Georgia from 1995 to 2002. The average sentence for white men was 2,689 days. The average for black men was 378 days longer. But light-skinned blacks received sentences of about three and a half months longer than whites. Medium-skinned blacks received a sentence of about a year longer. Dark-skinned blacks received sentences of a year and a half longer.

A 2015 study in the Journal of Legal Studies found that black federal judges are about 10 percentage points more likely to be reversed on appeal than white federal judges. The study adjusted for variables like who appointed the judges, judicial circuits and demographic data.

A 2015 study of first-time felons found that while black men overall received sentences of 270 days longer than white men for similar crimes, the discrepancy between whites and dark-skinned blacks was 400 days.

While black youths make up 14 percent of the youth population, a 2018 study found that they make up 53 percent of minors transferred to adult court for offenses against persons, despite the fact that white and black youths make up nearly an equal percentage of youth charged with such offenses.

School suspensions and the school-to-prison pipeline

A 2011 study of school discipline in Texas found that after isolating race by adjusting for 83 other variables, a black student had a 31 percent greater chance of being disciplined than an identical white or Hispanic student.

A study of suspensions in Chicago schools from 2013 to 2014 found that black male students were more than five times more likely to be suspended than white and Asian male students. Black female students were seven times more likely than white and Asian female students. After adjusting for academic level and social disadvantages, black males were still five times more likely to be suspended, while the disparity for black females grew to 13 times more likely.

A Brown Center on Education Policy study released in 2017 found that suspension rates of black students begin to escalate during middle school, and that the racial disparity in suspensions increases dramatically once black students comprise 16 percent or more of a school's student population.

Data released in 2016 from the Department of Education found that black students were nearly four times more likely to be suspended than white students.

Prison, incarceration and solitary confinement

Black people are of course overrepresented in the prison population. And, as noted in one particular study below, they're overrepresented even after you account for variables such as the crime rate among blacks.

A 2020 study on prison reform in California found that while the state's policy changes resulted in a significant depopulation of the state's prisons, "The Black-White incarceration gap and the Latinx-White incarceration gap both increased."

Data from the Massachusetts Sentencing Commission released in 2016 found that black people in the state are eight times more likely to be incarcerated than white people. Hispanic people were about five times more likely.

According to a 2018 study by Pew, 1 in 23 black adults in the United States is on parole or probation, versus 1 in 81 white adults. And while blacks make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, they make up 30 percent of those on probation or parole.

A 2018 survey found that 63 percent of blacks have had a family member incarcerated, versus 42 percent of whites.

A 2016 Yale University study of solitary confinement in 48 jurisdictions across 45 states found that black prisoners were more likely to be held in isolation than white prisoners. The discrepancy was even greater among women - black women made up 24 percent of the female prison population but 41 percent of those who had been held in isolation (that figure came from 40 jurisdictions.) A report published in 2018 found that in Texas, black prisoners are much more likely to be sent to solitary confinement, even as Texas prisons are phasing out the practice.

In surveying the research on the topic, the Sentencing Project estimates that 61 to 80 percent of black overrepresentation in prisons can be explained by higher crime rates in the black population. (Of course, those higher crime rates themselves could be due in part to racial bias.) The rest is probably because of racial bias.

The Sentencing Project further estimates that mass incarceration combined with felon disenfranchisement laws have led to severe underrepresentation of black Americans in the voting electorate. From the group's 2016 study: "One in 13 African Americans of voting age is disenfranchised, a rate more than four times greater than that of non-African Americans. Over 7.4 percent of the adult African American population is disenfranchised compared to 1.8 percent of the non-African American population . . . In four states - Florida (21 percent), Kentucky (26 percent), Tennessee (21 percent), and Virginia (22 percent) - more than one in five African Americans is disenfranchised." This means that black candidates may get less support than they otherwise would, candidates of all races may pay less attention to issues values by black voters, and black interests in general may be underrepresented in electoral politics.

Bail, pretrial detention, commutations and pardons, gangs and other issues
Watch the latest Opinions videos: More from Radley Balko: White people can compartmentalize police brutality. Black people don't have the luxury. The no-knock warrant for Breonna Taylor was illegal Report: Wrongful convictions have stolen at least 20,000 years from innocent defendants Militarized policing doesn't reduce crime and disproportionately hits black communities New York, California bills look to hold police, prosecutors more accountable

A March 2020 study by the Justice Lab at Columbia University found that black and Latino parolees were "significantly more likely than white people to be under supervision, to be jailed pending a violation hearing, and to be incarcerated in New York State prisons for a parole violation." The study found that blacks and Latinos were about 5 times and 1.3 times respectively, as likely as whites to be reincarcerated for "technical violations" of parole.

A 2019 review of academic literature by the Prison Policy Initiative found that "in large urban areas, Black felony defendants are over 25% more likely than white defendants to be held pretrial" when charged with similar crimes. Nationally, the review found that young black men were about 50 percent more likely to be detained pretrial than white defendants, and on average were given bail amounts that were twice as high.

A 2018 study of bail practices in New Orleans found that black people are more likely to be required to pay bail, are more likely to have higher bail, are less likely to be able to afford bail and, therefore, are more likely to remain incarcerated before trial.

A 2018 survey of bail practices in Miami and Philadelphia found that "bail judges are racially biased against black defendants, with substantially more racial bias among both inexperienced and part-time judges. We find suggestive evidence that this racial bias is driven by bail judges relying on inaccurate stereotypes that exaggerate the relative danger of releasing black defendants."

According to a 2014 study by the Vera Institute of Justice, black and Latino defendants in New York City were more likely to be detained before trial for comparable crimes. They were also more likely to have charges dismissed. The study didn't look at this, but that may have been because they were more likely to be wrongly arrested in the first place. The study found that race played a role at nearly every step in the process, from arrest to detention to setting bail to sentencing.

A 2011 study of bail in five large U.S. counties found that blacks received $7,000 higher bail than whites for violent crimes, $13,000 higher for drug crimes and $10,000 higher for crimes related to public order. These disparities were calculated after adjusting for the seriousness of the crime, criminal history and other variables.

In 2014, the Urban Institute looked at probation offices in four locations across the country: New York City; Multnomah County, Ore.; Dallas County, Tex.; and Iowa's Sixth Judicial District. After adjusting for criminal history, seriousness of the crime and other factors, the study found that black people were 18 to 39 percent more likely than white people to have their probation revoked.

A 2017 study of more than 10,000 cases handled by a public defender's office in San Francisco found that black and Latino defendants were more likely to be incarcerated while awaiting trial, had to wait longer for their trials to begin, were less likely to see their charges reduced and were more likely to see new misdemeanor charges added.

An ACLU report issued in 2018 found that in Miami, black people faced "2.2 times greater rates of arrest, 2.3 times greater rates of pretrial detention, 2.5 times greater rates of conviction, and 2.5 times greater rates of incarceration." Hispanics were "subject to four times greater rates of arrest, 4.5 times greater rates of pretrial detention, 5.5 times greater rates of conviction, and six times greater rates of incarceration."

A 2011 investigation of presidential pardons by ProPublica found that white federal prisoners are almost four times as likely to receive a pardon than minority federal prisoners. There's also some evidence of a racial disparity when it comes to presidential commutations.

A 2008 study of parole board decisions found that "black offenders spent a longer time in prison awaiting parole compared with white offenders," and that "the racial and ethnic differences are remained as an influence on parole decision-making after controlling for legal, various individual demographic and community characteristics."

About 16 percent of sexual assaults of white women are committed by black men, but half of the exonerations for sexual assault involve cases in which an eyewitness wrongly identified a black man for the rape of a white woman.

A study of the pardons granted in Mississippi during former governor Haley Barbour's tenure found that although blacks make up almost two-thirds of the state's prison population, they make up fewer than a third of the people to whom Barbour granted clemency. (It is worth noting that this isn't about the severity of the crime - Barbour pardoned at least eight men who killed their wives or girlfriends.)

A 2016 New York Times report on thousands of parole hearings found that fewer than 1 in 6 black or Latino men was released after his first parole hearing. Among white men, it was 1 in 4.

A 2016 study from a consortium of civil rights groups found wide racial disparities in the suspension of driver's licenses of California residents. Some black and Latino communities had suspension rates five times the state average.

A 2016 report from the Black Alliance for Just Immigration found that black immigrants were significantly more likely to be deported than immigrants of other races.

A Portland Oregonian report of the city's gang database found that 64 percent of the list was black, though blacks make up only 6 percent of the city. White supremacist gangs appeared to be significantly under-included.

Though more than half the people on Mississippi's gang registry are white, every person prosecuted under the state's anti-gang law from 2010 to 2017 has been black.

The dissent - contrarian studies on race and the criminal justice system

An August 2019 study published by the National Academy of Sciences found "no evidence of anti-Black or anti-Hispanic disparities across shootings, and White officers are not more likely to shoot minority civilians than non-White officers. Instead, race-specific crime strongly predicts civilian race. This suggests that increasing diversity among officers by itself is unlikely to reduce racial disparity in police shootings." The study, which has been widely cited by conservatives and other critics of the notion that policing is plagued by racial bias, has been widely criticized, including in two subsequent letters to the editor where it was published. It was also later corrected. One letter noted that if you adjust for age and remove suicidal adults, "Young unarmed nonsuicidal male victims of [police] fatal use of force are 13 times more likely to be Black than White." (Here's a more detailed version of that analysis. And here's a more detailed critique of the study in general.) The authors also wrote a response to their critics.

A 2019 study from the Council on Criminal Justice found that between 2000 and 2016 the racial disparity in state prison, jail, parole and probation populations had narrowed. In 2000, black people were 8.3 times more likely to be imprisoned than white people. By 2016, the figure had dropped to 5.1. The study also found that while the number of overall crimes and arrests dropped, that drop was partially offset by an increase in length of prison stays. Similar studies have also found that the racial disparity in prison and jail populations has dropped, though blacks remain significantly more likely to be incarcerated.

A December 2019 study from Boston University could be seen as both dissenting from the consensus and supporting it. The study found that among fatal police shootings from 2013 and 2017, the race of the individual victim wasn't as important as how segregated the neighborhood was where the shooting took place. Blacks in mixed neighborhoods were less likely to be shot than blacks in segregated neighborhoods, even after controlling for crime rates. The study suggests racial disparities in fatal shootings might be driven more by police bias about "black areas" and "black neighborhoods" than the race of the individuals who were shot.

A longitudinal study released in 2018 by the People's Policy Project suggests that class is a more prominent driver of incarceration than race.

A 2015 study of parolees found that "violation rates are consistently higher for African American parolees, a result not consistent with a parole board bias against African Americans." A similar study of Pennsylvania parolees from 1999 to 2003 found high recidivism rates among blacks, again suggesting that parole boards were not discriminating based on race. Neither study accounted for the possibility of racial bias among parole officers - that officers might be more inclined to find technical violations against black parolees than against white ones.

A 2017 study of school suspensions at the five largest school districts in Wisconsin found that the districts were implementing suspensions in a way that was counterproductive to a positive learning environment but that there was little evidence that the suspensions were driven by racial bias.

A 2015 analysis of prison data by the Marshall Project found that though there are still wide racial disparities when it comes to mass incarceration, the black-white divide in prison populations is narrowing, particularly among women. Unfortunately, the gap appears to be widening among juveniles.

A 2002 study of alleged racial profiling in New Jersey found no such bias among New Jersey police officers. Instead, it found that black motorists were more likely to drive above the speed limit. A study of North Carolina drivers came to a similar conclusion. Other researchers have since questioned the methodology of both studies.

A 2006 study of police stops in Oakland measured stops during the day with those made at night, on the theory that if police officers were profiling, there should be more stops of black and Latino motorists during daytime hours, when race would be more discernible. The study found no significant discrepancy.

In 2016, the New York Times reported a working paper (i.e., not peer-reviewed) by Harvard's Roland G. Fryer Jr. found that though there was evidence of racial bias in how and when police generally use force, there was no evidence of bias when it came to police shootings. Fryer later criticized the way his study had been reported, and critics (including me) pointed out several limitations to his study.

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Opinion | There's overwhelming evidence that the criminal justice system is racist. Here's the proof.

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Even controlling for crime rates, class and income, racial bias infects every nook and cranny of our courts, prisons, jails and police stations.

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This article goes over the complicated issue of being East Asian and south East Asian in east Asia. I chose this because for the past three years I’ve lived in Korea and have seen the racial dynamics myself. I’m of mixed south east Asian and Caucasian descent and I have seen the preferential treatment I have received more so than those that are fully blooded SEA. I’ve been told many times I’m a honary Korean and that my high bridge nose , light tan skin and small face ( meaning well proportioned ) are favorable. This behavior is widespread through most of Asia, most likely to the colonial past that side of the world has experienced.

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This article talks about a lot of the racist acts that have happened in America over the past couple of years, it specifies how in America racism is such a large factor in our society and institution.

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Not too long ago, my family's food order was delivered to the wrong address. Same numbers - but a different street. My 12-year-old son volunteered to go around the corner to pick up the food from our neighbor's porch. As soon as he walked out of the door, I stopped breathing. After I didn't see him coming around the corner after being gone for less than a minute my heart started racing. With sweaty palms, I grabbed my keys and got in the car to go find him. I didn't exhale until I saw him walking down the street with two boxes of pizza without a care in the world. He was so confused as to why I was in the car.

"Mom ... I just went around the corner, what's wrong?"

I stared at my son, looking at the locs in his hair and the skin that was darker than any of his friends' in the neighborhood and I lied and said, "Nothing's wrong. I was just really hungry." We started laughing and went back to the house. Yesterday he learned about Ralph Yarl. Now he knows the truth.

On April 16, a 16-year-old boy was shot and wounded by a homeowner after he went to the wrong home to pick up his siblings in Kansas City, Missouri, police said. Ralph Yarl was "shot twice and struck in the head and arm," his family's attorney said in a statement. Protestors took to the streets in Missouri following the incident, chanting "justice for Ralph" and "Black lives matter." They carried signs reading, "Ringing a doorbell is not a crime" and "The shooter should do the time."

The homeowner was taken into custody and placed on a 24-hour hold. They were later released while police work to get a victim statement and gather more forensic evidence.

Additionally this week, an Ohio grand jury declined to indict eight police officers who fired multiple rounds in the 2022 shooting death of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black man, the state's attorney general announced April 17. The Attorney General's office said the officers were under threat because Walker had fired a gunshot at them during a car and foot chase.

Walker's death last June sparked protests in Akron, Ohio after police released body camera footage showing him dying in a slew of gunfire. Police said Walker refused to stop when they tried to pull him over for minor equipment and traffic violations and fired a shot from his car 40 seconds into the pursuit.

Walker's death received attention from activists, including from the family of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The NAACP and Walker's family attorney called on the Justice Department to open a federal civil rights investigation.

Earlier this year, three men who were sentenced to life in prison for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery were also found guilty of federal hate crimes. The father and son who armed themselves and initiated the pursuit were denied any chance of parole. The life sentences were announced after Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty in the fatal shooting of two men during protests in Kenosha in 2020.

George Floyd's dying under Derek Chauvin's knee led to the biggest outcry against racial injustice in the U.S. in generations. People across the country continue to call for justice in the killings of Daunte Wright, Rayshard Brooks, Daniel Prude, Breonna Taylor and many others. The case of the three white men accused of killing Arbery while he was jogging last year in Georgia drew national attention as well. Some states have been actively updating their policing protocols over the past year but the growing list of deaths is evident that, as a country, we still have a long way to go.

We're continuing our commitment to highlight content that will continue the conversation, add historical context to these issues and enable change. Below you will find programs that profile police departments, specials that detail conversations parents of color have with their children, documentaries that cover the treatment of African Americans since slavery and films that shed light on both past and current civil rights activism.

These offerings are resources for everyone, regardless of race, to educate themselves on all of the ways inequality in America shows up in everyday life. We will update this page as programs become available for streaming online and on the PBS Video App. Check local listings for broadcast times.

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Explore films and new specials focused on race.

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Tesla alleged racism in factory

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Listen to What Next: TBD:

In November 2017, Marcus Vaughn, a former assembly worker, filed a lawsuit against Tesla, calling the plant " a hotbed of racist behavior." He alleged that Black workers were repeatedly abused and harassed.This past week, the state of California filed its own suit.

The Department of Fair Employment and Housing has sued Tesla for racial discrimination and harassment, after a three-year investigation. The complaint says that swastikas and KKK were written on bathroom walls, that the N-word and other slurs were repeatedly used, that Black workers were retaliated against for complaining and that they were given more physically demanding jobs and paid less than their white counterparts. It says that when confronted with these cases, Tesla turned a blind eye and tried to evade responsibility.

On Friday's episode of What Next: TBD, I spoke with Dana Hull, a reporter at Bloomberg News who covers Tesla, about the history behind the case against the company's Fremont, California, plant. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Lizzie O'Leary: Tesla's facility in Fremont is the largest auto manufacturing plant on the West Coast, and the plant has a long history. It made cars for General Motors from the 1960s to the '80s. Later, it was the home of a joint venture between GM and Toyota. That fell apart during the recession and the facility closed in 2010. What happened then?
Dana Hull: It was briefly just this empty carcass. And then during the midst of the recession, Tesla was able to buy it for like $42 million. It was a huge coup for California that this empty plant was going to be revived as an electric vehicle plant.

Tesla immediately went in there and repainted everything white. They added the red Tesla colors and the logos, and they turned this old facility into this gleaming beacon of the future.
Who works at Fremont? What kind of people-and how many jobs-are we talking about?
Easily over 10,000 direct Tesla employees work at the Fremont plant. And then there are 1,000 more who are contractors or subcontractors. It is a very diverse workforce. We don't have exact data because Tesla has never publicly released the data that they filed at the EEOC, but you have white, Black, Latino, Asian American. It is an incredibly diverse workforce, which mirrors the demographics of California as a whole.

Even before the California lawsuit, the Fremont plant has had a rocky history. CEO Elon Musk defied county health officials in May 2020 during the initial COVID shutdown and restarted production. Then, the plant was the focus of a sexual harassment lawsuit. But what really stands out is the sheer number of complaints about racism at the Fremont plant. Long before the state of California suit, a Black worker named DeWitt Lambert sued Tesla. Lambert, who grew up in Alabama, came to work at Tesla in 2015 on the production line. And almost immediately, he says he was subject to racist taunts and threats from co-workers and supervisors. What is the significance of that suit?

DeWitt Lambert's story is a really important one, and I hope that everyone who reads about Tesla and every journalist who writes about Tesla remembers DeWitt Lambert. He is the first person who really complained about the treatment at Tesla. And his case was one of the first cases that was brought forward.

This is a man who grew up in the South, right after the civil rights movement. When I interviewed him, the most striking thing that he told me was that he had never heard the N-word directed at him until he moved to California. The word was widespread at the factory, and he complained about it. But DeWitt Lambert was a contract worker, so he had signed an arbitration agreement with Tesla, and his case never got to court. He went to arbitration, and he lost.

One of the key issues here is that a lot of these workers who are alleging discrimination are covered by arbitration rules, so they can't sue Tesla in open court. Can you explain that wrinkle, and how it fits into this complicated picture?

Arbitration is very common in Silicon Valley. When you are hired and you get your new employee paperwork, you sign all kinds of documents. Typically, one of those documents is an arbitration agreement where you agree to solve any dispute in arbitration. An arbitration is a different process where your complaint is heard not before a jury of peers, but before one arbitration judge, who is typically a retired judge. And it's the companies themselves that pay for the process.

Several other Black workers sued Tesla. Two, Melvin Berry and Owen Diaz, won their cases. Berry won a million dollars at arbitration, but Diaz-who was hired by a staffing agency, not Tesla-wasn't subject to arbitration rules and sued in open court. Last year, a federal court ordered the company to pay him $137 million. Diaz told an NBC News reporter about the abuse he endured: "There were N-words scratched into the bathroom stalls. They were calling me a perched monkey and a Spanish version of the N-word. This other guy who was getting on the elevator with me and he was telling me, 'N, hurry up and push the buttons. You Ns are lazy.' " Now, California has stepped in, filing a lawsuit against Tesla that echoes what Diaz said.
If you are not from California, you may not be familiar with the DFEH, and I guess an analogue nationally is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC has a reputation for not bringing cases, unless it feels like it's got a lot. Is that similar in California or not?
I think it's similar in that I don't think any state agency wants to sue an employer. If you look at the DFEH's website, they make it very clear that suing is the last regard. The process here was they have been looking at this for almost three years. They informed Tesla that they felt like they had just cause to sue on Jan. 3. They invited Tesla to mediation. Tesla declined until the last minute, and then this lawsuit is a result of the failed mediation. To sue a very large employer is a big deal, and I have to believe that they only did it because they felt there was no other recourse.
There's some other interesting things in the complaint, where the state alleges that Tesla ignored this stuff. One human resources investigator concluded that, "Banana boy was simply a nickname, not a racial slur." It sounds like the state is saying this is a culture problem and that the company doesn't care.
I think the state complaint also makes it clear that the company grew quite quickly and did not have enough HR people. They weren't trained to investigate racial complaints.

Tesla's only public comment to date has been a blog post that they put out preemptively before the lawsuit was even filed, taking issue with certain things, cherry-picking parts of it, and making it very clear that they were going to fight the lawsuit.

In that same blog, the company mentions that over the past five years, the DFEH has been asked on almost 50 occasions by individuals who believe they were discriminated against or harassed to investigate Tesla.

The company italicizes this part and says, "On every single occasion when the DFEH closed an investigation, it did not find misconduct against Tesla." Does that hold water, or is that a spinning of the facts?

That's a cherry-picked statistic because there have been several complaints and yes, some of them are closed without a finding, but others are given rights to sue letters. When they say over the past five years, are they talking 2016 through 2021, or 2015 through 2020? And are these only the closed cases? What is the numerator of how many cases overall? It's interesting that they are choosing that one line.

In 2017, when Marcus Vaughn's accusations were first surfacing, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent an email to employees. It said, "Part of not being a huge jerk is considering how someone might feel who's from an historically underrepresented group." But he also added, "In fairness, if someone is a jerk to you, but sincerely apologizes, it is important to be thick-skinned and accept that apology." How is this email indicative of the company's approach to harassment?

The culture is set from the top. If you had an all-hands meeting where the CEO says, "Racism will not be tolerated and we are going to fully support our HR partners in investigating any allegation," I think you would see a real culture change. But that's not the impression that we're given. We're given the impression that HR officials actually gave heads up to harassers before harassment complaints were investigated. The complaint makes it clear that Black workers would be baited into responding, and then they would get written up for being "aggressive." The lawsuit paints a picture of a very toxic environment that has been going on for 10 years.
One thing I'm interested in is what Elon Musk does or doesn't do publicly as this is happening. Obviously, he has a reputation for being extremely outspoken. Is he going to hold his tongue, or is he going to be himself here?
He hasn't said anything publicly yet. I think this blog post clearly has his imprint. But I think one thing to watch is that shareholders in the company do have a voice here. At the last shareholder meeting in the fall, there were two resolutions that were brought forward. One was the Calvert Group asked the company to publicly release its EEO-1 data, and that shareholder resolution passed. Tesla has not yet released the data, but they are now at least being asked to by their shareholders. There was another resolution about employee arbitration that failed but got a fairly significant chunk of support.

Now, unless you get really big shareholders all on board with these efforts, it's hard to imagine them making a big imprint. Sometimes even if a resolution passes, it's not binding. But we are seeing some of the smaller, more activist shareholders at least raising flags and being like, "Hey, we do care about this, and we want you to take this seriously."

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You've been following these cases for a long time now. Are there things that you're watching that you think are probably flying below most people's radar?

Companies get sued all the time, but the racial discrimination cases are singularly horrific. And there does seem to be a pattern where the person complained, HR didn't really do anything, and they just stretch back for years. But there's also complaints about ageism, disability, being discriminated against because you are on maternity leave or pregnant. We're at this reckoning time where two years into the pandemic, people are really taking stock of what it means to be a worker and what kind of life you want to have, and how you want to be treated.

We've come through the MeToo movement and Black Lives Matter, and you have a generation of workers that is we not willing to put up with this behavior. Yet, it persists at so many levels of our society, and it is still a struggle. I think that all of the lawsuits that you read, whether they're for Tesla or someone else, point to that.
Listen to the complete episode below:
Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.

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The Alleged Culture of Racism at Tesla's Most Important Factory

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Listen to What Next: TBD: In November 2017, Marcus Vaughn, a former assembly worker, filed a lawsuit against Tesla, calling the plant " a hotbed of racist behavior." He alleged that Black workers were repeatedly abused and harassed.This past week, the state of California filed its own suit.

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This article is really interesting, explaining how our language involves racism, and how racist history echoes into the present.

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We need to overhaul the language of genetics to root out racism

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The terminology used in genetics is often scientifically confused or rooted in a racist history. An overhaul is needed to break free from its problematic past, says Adam Rutherford

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Racism Still Prevalent in the work place

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Racism Still Prevalent in the work place

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In recent findings reported in this article, More than a Third of Black workers report being treated unfairly because of their race or ethnicity in the past year. In the past 5 years that number increases to 42%.

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More than a third of Black workers report being treated unfairly in the workplace in the past year because of their race or ethnicity, a new survey released Monday by the Society for Human Resource Management found.

That number rises to 42% for Black workers over a longer time period of five years, the Cost of Racial Injustice report found. The percentages for Asian workers was 26%, while 21% of Hispanic or Latino workers said they were unfairly treated during the five-year period. For white workers, the number was 12%.

The coronavirus has disproportionately affected workers of color, as the economic lockdowns that resulted from it most directly affected the lower-income service sector, in which Black and Hispanic workers are clustered. The past year has also seen a spike in anti-Asian crimes and abuse, stoked in part by the false characterization of COVID-19 as the "China flu."

The Week in Cartoons: May 24-28

The report put a price tag of $172 billion as the cost of turnover due to racism in the workplace over the past five years. Many workers reported feeling angry at the treatment they suffered, often suffering anxiety or stress that reduced their productivity.

In the past year, the survey found racism may have cost American businesses $54 billion in absenteeism and $59 billion in lost productivity.

Over the past year, businesses and other institutions have made commitments to tackle systemic racism but the pandemic also has exposed the economic vulnerability of workers of color.

The report comes one day before the one-year mark since the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis when former police Officer Derek Chauvin placed his knees on Floyd's neck and back for more than nine minutes while he was handcuffed, face down, on the street. Chauvin was convicted on April 20 of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's killing. Chauvin is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16.

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Report Finds Racism Prevalent in the Workplace

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More than a third of Black workers report being treated unfairly in the workplace in the past year because of their race or ethnicity, a new survey released Monday by the Society for Human Resource Management found. That number rises to 42% for Black workers over a longer time period of five years, the Cost of Racial Injustice report found.

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This article speaks on the benefits of diversity on sports teams. As a participant in team sports my entire life, I have felt like family with every single one of my teammates. Black, White, or Green, when you are on a team, there is no difference. That is the beautiful thing about sports.

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https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/racist-messages-vile-online-posts-highlighted-hate-crimes/story?id=82927106

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Racist messages, vile online posts highlighted in hate crimes trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers

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In his state trial for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, Travis McMichael testified he is not a racist. But federal prosecutors are presenting evidence that shows otherwise.

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At a mall in new jersey, a fight broke out between two teens. It is unclear who initiated the fight but the police officers tackle and arrest the Black teen while allowing the white to leave without even saying a word to him. This was a clear sign of racism because the police officers assumed the black kid was the problem in the situation. This was clearly racially motivated and honestly a disgusting situation.

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Roommates, a fight between two teenagers at the Bridgewater Commons Mall is under an internal investigation following the swift response by officers on Saturday. A video being circulated on social media shows two teens engaging in a physical altercation, shortly before officers pin the black teen to the ground and handcuff him, leaving the white teen involved in the fight sitting on a couch.

The video shows the two teenagers arguing before the white young man pointed his finger in the black teen's face. The situation quickly escalated to a physical fight, where both teens threw blows at one another. As the white teen slams the black teen onto the floor, officers run over to the scene, tossing the white teen onto the couch, and putting knee into the black teen's back as he's handcuffed.

According to a report by NJ.com, both teens were banned from the mall for three years, and the Bridgewater Police Department is currently investigating the incident.

"We recognize that this video has made members of our community upset and are calling for an internal affairs investigation," the department said in a statement on Facebook. "We have requested that the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office assist us in this matter."

Troy Fischer, senior general manager of the mall, told NJ Advance Media that police officers are not usually stationed at the mall, but the Bridgewater Police Department received a tip that a fight might breakout there on Saturday night. Subsequently, the police department dispatched officers to the scene prior to the incident.

A woman identified as the black teens mother said her 14-year-old son was trying to defend one of his friends from the 16-year-old boy, and ended up in handcuffs for 30 minutes.

"The high school boy then proceeded to put his hands on my son, which resulted in the fight," she said. "I'm not going to point fingers at race. I just know that the cops handled my son in a way that I don't agree with."

We'll keep you updated as this story develops, Roomies.

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Two New Jersey Police Officers Are Under Investigation After Video Shows Black Teen Being Handcuffed In Scuffle With White Teen

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Roommates, a fight between two teenagers at the Bridgewater Commons Mall is under an internal investigation following the swift response by officers on Saturday. A video being circulated on social media shows two teens engaging in a physical altercation, shortly before officers pin the black teen to the ground and handcuff him, leaving the white teen involved in the fight sitting on a couch.

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Teachers Tackle Black History Month, Under New Restrictions

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Teachers Tackle Black History Month, Under New Restrictions

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This talks about a song Michael Jackson made and the issues he is trying to bring to attention.

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Institutional racism in US explained through a Michael Jackson song

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Systemic racism in Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

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Systemic racism in Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

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Mustang news article details the events of racism that minority groups dealt with at CP SLO. The list of hate crimes towards minority groups is disheartening--listed being break-ins, racial slurs and an instance of "blackface" at a gangster-themed party. This is all shallow-minded behavior, because we should not be intent on focusing on the color of another person's skin. I would have loved to attend here if I had the chance, but it doesn't seem like an inclusive environment. Shame..

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A recent report released from the County of San Luis Obispo Sheriff's office addressed the local systemic racism that minority groups face every day in San Luis Obispo. Its main focus was on underrepresentation of people of color in positions of power and the increase of hate crimes.

The report was written by the Sheriff's Unity Committee and is titled "Systemic Racism and Microaggressions in San Luis Obispo." There are 19 members of the committee: six are Sheriff's Office deputies, two are civilian employees and the rest are San Luis Obispo community members. Seven of these 19 members made this report. It was endorsed by Sheriff Ian Parkinson.

"Within the conclusions of the report, I find very powerful indicators of systemic racism," Parkinson said at the beginning of the report. "I invite everyone to join us in improving and correcting our shortcomings to enhance inclusiveness of all."

The report is 34 pages long, beginning with an explanation of systemic racism and how it has made its way and maintained its position in San Luis Obispo by means of overrepresentation of white people in leadership roles.

Since the university's founding in 1901, every single one of Cal Poly's presidents have been white. As for the overall underrepresentation of minority groups in higher positions at Cal Poly, 96% of foundation board members are white.

There is also a history of hate crimes at Cal Poly. In May of 2018, the fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha hosted a "gangster-themed" party where a student did blackface. Both a Black and a Latina Cal Poly student were walking downtown when a woman approached them saying "You are not a Cal Poly student. Take that sweatshirt off." Most recently, in early 2021, a dorm room was broken into and notes with racial slurs were found left in the room.

In order to address these hate crimes and push for a future where they no longer happen, the Unity Committee was formed in September of 2020. It unites a diverse group of leaders in the community to discuss the systemic racism that is prevalent in San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly sociology professor Ryan Alaniz, who is the Criminal Justice Chair for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in San Luis Obispo, is a member of the Unity Committee, and also one of the main contributors to the report. Given his position in the NAACP, he was invited to join by Commander Keith Scott.

"We are not on-the-ground folks - we are a bunch of leaders who can connect the community together," Alaniz said. "Instead of organizations working on their own, we can help recognize that there's other folks that can supplement their work and be more effective."

As a sociology professor, Alaniz said he wants to educate his students on how to be more well-informed individuals. He starts his class by recognizing that there is indeed bias everywhere, and this bias has a profound impact on how we see the world around us.

By sharing some of his own life experiences, including how he has recognized and continuously tries to overcome his own implicit bias, he said he hopes to provide his students with a new perspective, one that they may have not seen before.

Alaniz grew up working in the agricultural fields with his father who was a tractor driver on an agricultural farm. Alaniz said he also spent time living in South America as a young adult and witnessed the lives of "some of the poorest folks in the Western Hemisphere."

"I want to bring those perspectives into class and help balance student perspectives, or at least give them the recognition that what they learned so far may only be one way of understanding the world, as well as empower them to continue educating themselves in a constructively critical way," Alaniz said.

Alaniz notes the creation of The Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Cal Poly as being a big step in the right direction for the school. According to their website, the office is committed to nurturing a "respectful and inclusive campus climate."

Along with this, Alaniz said other faculty on campus are supportive of his mission.

"There's a lot of faculty who are deeply passionate about this and are really doing their best," Alaniz said.

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Posts by Lauren Boyer , Mckenna Rodriguez

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San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's report finds systemic racism in the county

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A recent report released from the County of San Luis Obispo Sheriff's office addressed the local systemic racism that minority groups face every day in San Luis Obispo. Its main focus was on underrepresentation of people of color in positions of power and the increase of hate crimes.

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Large increase in anti-asian hate crimes in NYC within the past year 

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Large increase in anti-asian hate crimes in NYC within the past year 

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New crime statistics in New York City show a significant increase in anti-Asian hate crimes this past year.

Incidents targeting Asians rose by 361 percent, from 28 last year to 129 as of Sunday, the New York Police Department said at a news conference this week.

With several potential factors behind the surge, like increased awareness around reporting these crimes, Russell Jeung, co-founder of the hate incident reporting forum Stop AAPI Hate, cautioned against interpreting the data as an exact reflection of the extent to which Asian Americans experienced racism.

"It is consistent with a general surge in racism against Asian Americans, first of all," Jeung said. "It's consistent with the increase in crimes during the epidemic. And then thirdly, reflective of the Asian American community more likely to report."

The news conference featured findings from the NYPD Hate Crime Review Panel, a civilian group that helps law enforcement identify potential hate crimes. James Essig, chief of detectives, said that anti-Asian incidents in part drove the city's 100 percent overall increase in hate crimes this year. Crimes relating to sexual orientation also fueled the general jump, growing from 29 to 85 cases, as well as those targeting the Jewish community, which went from 121 to 183.

Officials said that in the 503 total hate crimes this year, the NYPD made 249 arrests, representing a 106 percent increase from last year. Crimes included a range of "heinous" assaults to vandalism, Devorah Halberstam, the panel's chair, said. Perpetrators included individuals with mental illness.

Jeung said the increase in anti-Asian bias could be due, in part, to the political climate, as both parties have perpetuated anti-Asian rhetoric in both speech and policies.

A Pew Research Center poll found the public has negative views toward China, with 55 percent of respondents saying they supported limiting Chinese students' study in the U.S. A separate study published in September by the Committee of 100, a nonprofit organization of prominent Chinese Americans, showed that people with Asian names were more likely to be accused of spying, but less likely to be found guilty. An overwhelming number of those defendants were of Chinese descent.

Many of the hate crimes, particularly in New York City, have occurred in low-income areas and enclaves that have already suffered from the effects of the pandemic, Jeung said. Aside from the lack of economic opportunity, housing insecurity and scarce mental health resources, one potential impetus for crimes targeting Asian Americans could be the perception that they are easier, softer targets and are less likely to report.

"The anti-China rhetoric, the white supremacy - that does influence all sectors of society and that Asians are portrayed as outsiders either to the country or to a neighborhood," Jeung said.

However, he explained that not all Asian Americans want to rely on carceral solutions to deal with the violence. The Stop AAPI Hate study showed respondents considered more education and public awareness as the top solution to address anti-Asian hate.

Jeung said his group is advocating the implementation of more ethnic studies programs in public schools, where youth experienced higher rates of discrimination compared to those in private institutions, to help mitigate bias.

"Promoting ethnic studies K through 12 will better serve low income communities, who have to go to public schools, where their kids are being bullied more," he said. "We are wanting to prioritize communities that often don't have voices."

Others who participated in the study also advocated community-based solutions and civil rights legislation and enforcement.

"Community Safety could mean just feeling comfortable in a neighborhood like you belong. It can mean being able to go outside without having to avoid places where you think you're going to get harassed," Jeung said. "Policing doesn't necessarily equate to community safety."

Jeung added: "The broader community sees justice and safety in bigger ways. And that's an educated empathetic community that treats everybody with safety and respect."

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NYPD reports 361 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes since last year

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New crime statistics in New York City show a significant increase in anti-Asian hate crimes this past year. Incidents targeting Asians rose by 361 percent, from 28 last year to 129 as of Sunday, the New York Police Department said at a news conference this week.

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Asian Americans fearing their safety in America as attacks motivated by race increase.

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Asian Americans fearing their safety in America as attacks motivated by race increase.

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This informative article highlights the recent increase in hate crimes against the Asian American community in America.

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In the Bay Area of Northern California there has been a spike in hate-driven violenc e against Asian Americans.

A 64-year-old grandma assaulted and robbed in San Jose. A 52-year-old Asian American woman shot in the head with a flare gun in Oakland.

All of it feels too close to home for Lisa Lu, a new mom who lives in the Bay Area.

"I felt like during the height of the pandemic it didn't feel safe for me to go outside, and I was actually pregnant for most of the pandemic," Lu says. "So that was especially scary, like the thought of me going anywhere and being attacked and anything happening to my baby."

According to a new poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 1 in 4 Asian Americans feared - in the past few months - that members of their household would be attacked or threatened because of their race or ethnicity. More than 20% of Native American and Black households also expressed this fear.

The attacks in Lu's area on Asian Americans are reflective of the nation. Last year, the FBI recorded the highest number of hate crimes in more than a decade, with 64% motivated by race, ethnicity or heritage. But that number is likely even higher, advocates and experts say, since some agencies don't report this data to the FBI and many agencies report no incidents.

Life changed when Trump used racist rhetoric

For Asian Americans, the spike in attacks and the rising fear came with the global pandemic and the racist rhetoric from the Trump administration, including the use of derogatory terms like "Kung Flu."

"Trump calling it the China virus, that's when I felt like life changed," Lu says. "And honestly I don't want to venture out to any areas that are not diverse, and even in San Francisco and Oakland, I wouldn't walk alone."

Lu always has a buddy when she's out walking and she urges her older parents to stay inside as well.

"What's different about our poll is that we asked about your personal fears," says Mary Findling, the assistant director of the Harvard Opinion Research Program, speaking about the new poll. "We were shocked that 1 in 4 Asian Americans and around 1 in 5 Black and Native Americans say that in the past few months, they've feared that someone might threaten or physically attack their household because of their race or ethnicity."

Based on the data, she says, crime may seem rare or random for white people.

"But if you're not white, what we found is it's not random or rare at all," she says. "And this is really capturing people's everyday lived experiences. One in 4 is a lot of people who are looking over their shoulders in fear."

The poll also found in the past few months alone that 31% of Native American households reported facing discrimination or unfair treatment because of their race or ethnicity, followed by 29% of Black households, 26% of Asian households, and 20% of Latino households.

Everyday slights add to growing fear

For Asian Americans, in the past year there has been a lot of focus on high profile incidents like the horrific killings of Asian American women in Atlanta this spring, or the mass shooting in Indianapolis where half of those killed were American Sikhs. But according to Stop AAPI hate, Asian Americans are also dealing with everyday hateful slights and transgressions that contribute to the growing fear.

"The fear is based not only on potential hate crimes, but even the hate incidents," says Manjusha P. Kulkarni,co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate. "They're refused service at a grocery store or at a coffee shop, they're worried about even just being verbally harassed."

One organization alone got 9,000 reports in 15 months

Incidents like those make up 90% of the 9,000 that have been reported to her organization in 15 months. And that, she believes, is "just the tip of the iceberg."

Kulkarni says Asian Americans have been depicted as the perpetual foreigner across centuries. Because they're treated as outsiders, these communities become easily scapegoated. That's what happened with COVID, which originated in Wuhan, China, she says.

"Immediately you had President Trump drawing correlations. Blaming outright COVID on the Chinese people, using the racist rhetoric that he did: 'Wuhan virus, China virus, Kung flu,'" she says. "Then, essentially, people sort of extrapolating that and saying 'Oh, well, you know, these people brought it.' It's not dissimilar to the Japanese American incarceration, even the bubonic plague in the 1800s where Chinese Americans were blamed."

Before the start of the pandemic, Bay Area resident Lu had faced discrimination. She grew up in a largely white neighborhood as an Asian kid. But she's never felt this acute sense of fear for her physical safety until now.

For 58-year-old Victoria though, as a Black woman, she says she's had that feeling as long as she can remember, because she's been targeted before. She's only using her first name for privacy. She's a survivor of sexual assault.

"Because of my race and also, even more especially, because of my gender," she said. "I'm already a target as being seen as weak [as a woman] and then the color of your skin [the assumption] that you will not possibly report it, you will possibly not be believed."

And for Chris in North Dakota - he's Native American - he also worries about threats or attacks. He spends most of his time on the reservation, where he works and takes care of his brother. Worried about repercussions, he wants to use only his first name as well. He says that when he's off the reservation he's been feeling growing anger from Trump supporters.

"Most people are really friendly here, but there are some people that brazenly discuss not wearing masks in public and discuss immigrants and discuss Native Americans to each other while they're in the store and around people."

He says he often hears offensive things, like the idea that Native Americans are lazy or there are too many Black immigrants in town. And the rhetoric has grown over the past year and a half, before and after the elections.

So he keeps to himself and doesn't discuss his ethnicity or his beliefs.

"They're so vocal about it and offensive with their comments about it," he says. "We're part Native American andthere's just this political divide in the country right now after the last president and everything. And so I just try to keep everything low key."

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With racial attacks on the rise, Asian Americans fear for their safety

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In the Bay Area of Northern California there has been a spike in hate-driven violenc e against Asian Americans. A 64-year-old grandma assaulted and robbed in San Jose. A 52-year-old Asian American woman shot in the head with a flare gun in Oakland.

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I'm a huge fan of the UFC, and Joe Rogans podcast, but now he is being canceled for something he said a long time ago on his podcast. Even though he was quoting somebody, social media took it out of context and he is now not allowed to bed an announcer for the UFC.

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Joe Rogan apologises for using N-word and racist Planet of the Apes story

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Sha’Carri Richardson, who missed the Tokyo Games, asks why a Russian skater can compete after failing a doping test. (Published 2022)

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Richardson, the sprinter who lost her spot on the U.S. team after testing positive for marijuana, asked for a “solid answer” on the difference between her case and Kamila Valieva’s.

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How Creating an Understanding of Housing Injustice Will Help Lead to Racial Equity

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How Creating an Understanding of Housing Injustice Will Help Lead to Racial Equity

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In this article it addresses, in January of last year, President Biden's acknowledgement of continued racial segregation in American communities and how people of color are faced with housing insecurity and racial wealth gaps. It then addresses how we can look at the data provided and move forward in a new light.

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In a memorandum released earlier today, President Biden acknowledged what research and evidence have indisputably shown: the federal government has played a central role in creating and perpetuating today's patterns of racial segregation, neighborhood disinvestment, housing insecurity, and racial wealth gaps. Moreover, these patterns have terrible consequences in that they fuel inequities in health, education, policing, and employment.

Such an acknowledgment is both historic and consequential. No president has so explicitly recognized the federal government's culpability or taken official action to redress the consequences of its actions. And although leaders in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other federal agencies (PDF) have previously recognized federal government's role in creating racial inequity and injustice, progress in addressing ongoing harms has been halting at best.

For too long, the federal government ignored or denied its obligation to redress the harms of racist policies even despite an explicit mandate in the Fair Housing Act to take "affirmative" steps to address the ongoing harms of discrimination, segregation, and exclusion. Over the past four years, the federal government took aggressive steps to gut fair housing protections, including erasing race (and accountability) from HUD's mandate to affirmatively further fair housing.

Evidence can help chart the path forward

President Biden's new memorandum and last week's executive order on advancing racial equity recognize that efforts to erase the nation's history of racism can't eliminate the problems and inequities that racism brought about. Instead, facing the facts about our history is a necessary step toward long-overdue healing and provides the foundation for urgently needed policy changes.

In recent years, Urban Institute research has provided the evidence behind six steps the federal government could take to achieve the goals outlined in the presidential memorandum, redress our nation's history of discriminatory housing policies, and achieve a more prosperous and equitable future.

1. Vigorously enforce the long-neglected statutory mandate to affirmatively further fair housing by requiring local and state governments to develop plans that restore resources and opportunities in historically disinvested neighborhoods and that expand access to exclusive neighborhoods.

2. Expand neighborhood choice by documenting voucher discrimination and identifying ways to enhance the Housing Choice Voucher Program as a tool to help families live in opportunity-rich neighborhoods.

3. Break down exclusionary barriers to housing production and support local inclusionary housing policies by creating incentives for states and localities to reform zoning and land-use regulations.

4. Collect and share disaggregated data so that needs can be accurately identified and progress toward closing equity gaps can be systematically evaluated.

5. Confront emerging and evolving forms of discrimination in today's housing market and reaffirm and enforce the disparate impact standard, which recognizes that groups protected under the Fair Housing Act can experience discrimination through policies and practices even if no evidence exists of an intention to discriminate.

6. Close the racial wealth gap by supporting homeownership and home equity for households of color.

Acknowledging the damage done by past federal policies and committing to healing are welcome first steps on the long and difficult path ahead toward long-overdue housing justice. Following the evidence will be the next.

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Facing the Facts About Housing Injustice Will Help Pave the Way to Racial Equity

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In a memorandum released earlier today, President Biden acknowledged what research and evidence have indisputably shown: the federal government has played a central role in creating and perpetuating today's patterns of racial segregation, neighborhood disinvestment, housing insecurity, and racial wealth gaps. Moreover, these patterns have terrible consequences in that they fuel inequities in health, education, policing, and employment.

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How We Can Fight Prejudice Against Muslims

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In the wake of the Christchurch shootings, researchers and activists continue to work on fostering acceptance toward Muslims.

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4.8M Likes, 64.1K Comments. TikTok video from Dara Starr Tucker (@darastarrtucker): "#AuntJemima #fy #fyp #racism #mammy #blackface #cancelculture #rebranding #videoessay #culturalcommentary #explainer #minstrel". Miss Me.

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Police response to N.J. mall fight sparks outrage after Black teen cuffed as white teen watches

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Police response to N.J. mall fight sparks outrage after Black teen cuffed as white teen watches

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I came across this video on TikTok and was astonished of these police officers on how they treated the black teen compared to the white teen.

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Police response to N.J. mall fight sparks outrage after Black teen cuffed as white teen watches

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“Although an investigation is still gathering the facts about this incident, I’m deeply disturbed by what appears to be racially disparate treatment in this video,” Gov. Phil Murphy said.

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Jewher Ilham said she had not heard from her father since 2017.

Her dad, Ilham Tohti, is an economics professor and prominent Uighur intellectual in Xinjiang, China. He ran a website, UighurOnline,thatfocusedon issues pertaining to the Muslim ethnic minority group.

Chinese authorities repeatedly shut down the website. Jewher says the family received death threats. Chinese authorities also disappeared her father multiple times before detaining him in 2014 and quickly finding him guilty on separatism charges. He was sentenced to life in prison.

At first, Jewher told me, because her father was a political prisoner, the family could visit him every few months. But then the Chinese government cut off access entirely.

Jewher is in the United States; she still has extended family in Xinjiang, the northwestern region in China where most Uighurs live. She does not talk with them, either. "If they talk to me or if they receive a phone call from me, I don't think anything good will happen to them," she told me over the phone in July.

Jewher's father was targeted by the Chinese government for his advocacy of Uighur rights. But in recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has arbitrarily detained between 1 million and 3 million other Uighurs in so-called "reeducation centers" and forced them to undergo psychological indoctrination programs, such as studying communist propaganda and giving thanks to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chinese officials have also reportedly used waterboarding and other forms of torture,including sexual abuse, as part of the indoctrination process.

Researchers from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, using satellite imagery and other evidence, have documented more than 380 re-education camp detention centers and prisons in Xinjiang, with at least 61 having been expanded or updated within the last year.

It is the largest mass internment of an ethnic-religious minority group since World War II.

The concentration camps are the most extreme example of China's inhumane policies against the Uighurs, but the entire population is subject to repressive policies. China has used mass surveillance to turn Xinjiang into a high-tech police state.

Uighurs inside and outside the camps are exploited for cheap labor, forced to manufacture clothing and other products for sale both at home and abroad. The New York Times revealed in July that some Chinese-made face masks being sold in the United States and other countries were produced in factories that relied on Uighur labor.

Another recent investigation found evidence that Chinese authorities subjected Uighur women to mass sterilization, forcing them to take birth control or have abortions and putting them in camps if they resist. Some have argued this attempt to control the Uighur population meets the United Nations' definition of genocide.

The Chinese government, however, claims that the camps are merely vocational and training centers, and that they're teaching people job skills. It has justified the oppression in Xinjiang as an attempt to clamp down on terrorism and extremism emanating from theUighur separatist movement.

There have been incidents of violent unrest over the years, including a few deadly terrorist attacks, and at least one Uighur extremist group in the region, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, has ties to al-Qaeda and the global jihadist movement. But most experts say Beijing's repression and subjugation of millions of Uighurs is vastly disproportionate to the comparatively minor terror threat in the region.

As more and more reports of the atrocities happening in Xinjiang are revealed, the international community is grappling with how to punish China for its abuses. The United States recently imposed sanctions on Chinese officials involved in persecuting the Uighurs and punished companies believed to be reliant on Uighur forced labor.

Advocates and bipartisan groups of lawmakers are calling for more forceful action, and earlier this week the House of Representatives passed overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation that requires companies to prove products from the Xinjiang region are not made with coerced Uighur labor.

Yet the persecution of the Uighurs continues and in full view of the world.

Jewher is now herself an activist for Uighur rights. She says knowing what is happening to Uighurs makes her more determined to preserve her culture, her history, and her language. "I don't think there's any other words to put for this action," she said. "I think it is genocide. It's genocide, period."

Why China is targeting the Uighur Muslim community in Xinjiang

Xinjiang, where about 11 million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities live, is an autonomous region in China's northwest that borders Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia. It has been under Chinese control since 1949, when the People's Republic of China was established.

Uighurs speak their own language - an Asian Turkic language similar to Uzbek - and most practice a moderate form of Sunni Islam. Some activists, including those who seek independence from China, refer to the region as East Turkestan.

Once situated along the ancient Silk Road trading route, Xinjiang is oil- and resource-rich. As it developed along with the rest of China, the region attracted more Han Chinese, a migration encouraged by the Chinese government.

That demographic shift inflamed ethnic tensions, especially within some of the larger cities. In 2009, for example, riots broke out in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, after Uighurs protested their treatment by the government and the Han majority. About 200 people were killed and hundreds injured during the unrest.

The Chinese government blamed the protests on violent separatist groups, a tactic it would continue to use against the Uighurs and other religious and ethnic minorities across China.

The Chinese government justifies its clampdown on the Uighurs and Muslim minorities by saying it's trying to eradicate extremism and separatist groups. Attacks, some violent, by Uighur separatists have occurred in recent years, and some Uighurs have become foreign fighters, joining groups like ISIS. But there's little evidence of any cohesive separatist movement - with jihadist roots or otherwise - that could challenge the Chinese government, some experts tell me.

Xinjiang is also a major logistics hub of Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, a trillion-dollar infrastructure project along the old Silk Road meant to boost China's economic and political influence around the world. Xinjiang's increasing importance to China's global aspirations is a major reason Beijing is exerting its control in the region.

"This region is critical to China's future development and the Belt and Road initiative," Dru C. Gladney, a professor of anthropology at Pomona College in Claremont, California, who studies the region, told me. "All those roads go through Xinjiang."

China's "de-extremification" policies against the Uighurs

China's crackdown on the Uighurs was initially part of a policy of "de-extremification." Under this policy, Beijing imposed draconian restrictions in Xinjiang intended to erase the Uighurs' Islamic religious and cultural identity, including imprisoning hundreds of thousands in so-called "reeducation" camps.

China has a dark history with reeducation camps, combining hard labor with indoctrination to the party line. According to research by Adrian Zenz, a leading scholar on China's policies toward the Uighurs and Senior Research Fellow in China Studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, Chinese officials began using dedicated camps in Xinjiang around 2014, around the same time that China blamed a series of terrorist attacks on radical Uighur separatists.

In 2016, Xinjiang also got a new leader: a powerful Communist Party boss named Chen Quanguo, whose previous job was restoring order and control to the restive region of Tibet. Chen has a reputation as a strongman and is something of a specialist in ethnic crackdowns. The United States placed human rights sanctions on Chen and other Chinese officials in Xinjiang earlier this month.

Chen "is responsible for the system that used technology to round up Uighurs at such a rapid pace - not only in Xinjiang, but also similar models of convenience-style police stations were sort of tested in the Tibet region prior to being deployed in the Xinjiang context," said Olivia Enos, a senior policy analyst at the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation.

Increased and aggressive mass surveillance and police presence accompanied his move to Xinjiang, including his "grid management" policing system. As the Economist reported, "authorities divide each city into squares, with about 500 people. Every square has a police station that keeps tabs on the inhabitants. So, in rural areas, does every village."

Security checkpoints where residents must scan identification cards were set up at train stations and on roads into and out of towns. Authorities have reportedly used facial recognition technology to track residents' movements. Chinese officials also reportedly took blood and DNA samples, framed as mandatory check-ups.

Police confiscate phones to download the information contained on them to scan through later or track Uighurs through their cellphones. Police have also confiscated passports to prevent Uighurs from traveling abroad. Uighurs abroad say their families are targeted by Chinese officials, part of a pressure campaign to keep the diaspora from speaking out.

Some of the targeted "de-extremification" restrictions gained coverage in the West, including a ban on certain Muslim names for babies and another on long beards and veils. The government reportedly tried to promote drinking and smoking because people who didn'tdrink or smoke - like devout Muslims - were deemed suspicious.

In October 2019, Radio Free Asia, a news agency backed by the US government, also reported that Han Chinese men were being sent to check in on and sometimes sleep with Uighur women, including those whose husbands were detained in the camps. The "Pair Up and Become Family" program, as it is called, is designed to "promote ethnic unity," one local official explained.

Chinese officials have justified these policies as necessary to counter religious radicalization and extremism, but critics say they are explicitly meant to curtail Islamic traditions and practices.

The Chinese government is "trying to expunge ethnonational characteristics from the people," James Millward, a professor at Georgetown University, told me in 2018. "They're not trying to drive them out of the country; they're trying to hold them in."

"The ultimate goal, the ultimate issue that the Chinese state is targeting, [is] the cultural practices and beliefs of Muslim groups," he added.

What we know, and don't know, about the concentration camps

"Reeducation camps" - or training camps, as they are also called in China- are perhaps the most sinister pillar of this de-extremification policy. Experts estimate as many as 3 million people have disappeared into these camps at some point, with about 1 million currently being held.

At first, the Chinese government denied these camps even existed. China's state-run media at one time dismissed the reports of detention camps as Western media "baselessly criticizing China's human rights."

But China has since stopped pretending that the camps aren't real. Instead, the government is trying to cast them as both lawful and innocuous. In October 2018, Chinese officials effectively legalized the "education camps" for the stated goal of eradicating extremism. Later that month, a government official in Xinjiang - who was himself an ethnic Uighur - compared the detention centers to "boarding schools" and its detainees to "students."

"Many trainees have said they were previously affected by extremist thought and had never participated in such kinds of arts and sports activities. Now they realize how colorful life can be," Xinjiang Governor Shorat Zakir reportedly told Xinhua, China's state-run news agency.

What's really going on in the camps is difficult to know because of China's disinformation campaign and tight clampdown on information. But leaked official documents and chilling firsthand accounts from people detained in the camps have helped outside experts and researchers put together a disturbing portrait of the abuses that take place there.

These camps are much more like prisons than so-called boarding schools. A 2018 report by Agence France-Presse described camps in which thousands of guards carry spiked clubs, tear gas, and stun guns to surveil detainees, who are held in buildings surrounded by razor wire and infrared cameras. AFP journalists also reviewed public documents showing that government agencies overseeing the camps purchased 2,768 police batons, 550 electric cattle prods, 1,367 pairs of handcuffs, and 2,792 cans of pepper spray.

An investigation by Reuters in 2018 also found that, according to satellite imagery, 39 suspected camps almost tripled in size between April 2017 and August 2018. "Collectively, the built-up parts in these 39 facilities now cover an area roughly the size of 140 soccer fields," the report said.

In 2019, another set of leaked documents revealed how tightly controlled the camps are. According to the BBC,detainees were "never" allowed to escape, and their "behavioral violations" would face discipline and punishment. The documents ordered surveillance of dorm rooms and classrooms. Leaked drone footage, believed to be recorded last August, appears to show hundreds of Uighur prisoners, blindfolded and handcuffed, being transferred by train.

And there is evidence that China is continuing to expand the detention of the Uighurs, even beyond the re-education camps. China has claimed since last year that detainees had graduated and been released, rejoining society because their indoctrination program worked. In August, Buzzfeed News used satellite imagery to document 2017 detention facilities built since 2017, one in every county in Xinjiang. According to Buzzfeed, as China sought to detain people, they repurposed government buildings, but, over time, these sites have become fortified, and more and more prison-like.

A report released this month by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) also found China's network of detention centers continues to grow. ASPI documented 380 centers that had been built or expanded since 2017, and at least 60 new facilities have been built or expanded between July 2019 and July 2020 alone; about half are more heavily securitized facilities - maximum security prisons, basically. ASPI also found evidence that some of the earlier re-education camps had been decommissioned. It's a sign this is just arbitrary detention, without even the pretense China had used before.

The Chinese government continues to target Uighurs outside the camps. In February 2020, a leaked 137-page spreadsheet from Karakax County in Xinjiang showed exactly how Uighur families were tracked by authorities. The spreadsheet contained 300 names of Uighur families, including the identities of people committed to concentration camps, and those whom officials were monitoring. Some of those being tracked were as young as 16.

Among the things that caught the attention of authorities were obtaining a passport (whether or not they traveled), praying regularly, or even wearing a beard, according to the New York Times. Family members were monitored for participating in religious ceremonies like funerals or weddings. Uighurs were also sent to camps if they violated China's birth restrictions.

Additional research by Zenz and the Associated Press in June 2020 bolstered this finding, showing that Chinese officials were systematically trying to stop Uighur women from having children under the threat of internment if they violated the rules. According to the report:

The state regularly subjects minority women to pregnancy checks, and forces intrauterine devices, sterilization and even abortion on hundreds of thousands, the interviews and data show. Even while the use of IUDs and sterilization has fallen nationwide, it is rising sharply in Xinjiang.

The research backs up anecdotal reports from women detained in the camps, who say they were forced to undergo examinations and abortions.

In December 2017, Gulzira Mogdyn, a 38-year-old ethnic Kazakh and Chinese citizen, was detained in Xinjiang and put under house arrest. She told the Washington Post in October 2019 that during her detention, she'd been forced to undergo a physical examination. She was 10 weeks pregnant; a month later, doctors terminated her pregnancy against her will. "Two humans were lost in this tragedy - my baby and me," Mogdyn told the Post.

Inside these camps, detainees are reportedly subjected to bizarre exercises aimed at "brainwashing" them, as well as physical torture, rape, and sleep deprivation. Millward, the Georgetown professor, said the Chinese authorities see the camps as "a kind of conversion therapy, and they talk about it that way."

A source also told Radio Free Asia in 2018 that a Chinese official had referred to the "reeducation" process as similar to "spraying chemicals on the crops. That is why it is general reeducation, not limited to a few people."

The Washington Post published an account from Kayrat Samarkand, who was detained in one of the camps for three months:

The 30-year-old stayed in a dormitory with 14 other men. After the room was searched every morning, he said, the day began with two hours of study on subjects including "the spirit of the 19th Party Congress," where Xi expounded his political dogma in a three-hour speech, and China's policies on minorities and religion. Inmates would sing communist songs, chant "Long live Xi Jinping" and do military-style training in the afternoon before writing accounts of their day, he said.

"Those who disobeyed the rules, refused to be on duty, engaged in fights or were late for studies were placed in handcuffs and ankle cuffs for up to 12 hours," Samarkand told the Post.

At a July 2018 hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China - a special bipartisan committee set up by Congress to monitor human rights in China - Jessica Batke, a former research analyst at the State Department, testified that "in at least some of these facilities, detainees are subject to waterboarding, being kept in isolation without food and water, and being prevented from sleeping."

"They are interrogated about their religious practices and about having made trips abroad," Batke continued. "They are forced to apologize for the clothes they wore or for praying in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The increasing use of forced Uighur labor

Beyond the detention camps, there is now growing evidence that Uighurs are being forced to work in Chinese factories. Given the ubiquity of Chinese manufacturing, that almost certainly means that the exploitation of Uighurs is embedded within global supply chains.

"It is becoming increasingly hard to ignore the fact that goods manufactured in East Turkestan have a high likelihood of being produced with forced labor," Nury Turkel, chair of the board of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, told Congress in October 2019, using "East Turkestan" to refer to Xinjiang.

The forced labor is happening both within Xinjiang and in other parts of China, according to recent reports. A March 2020 report from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China also found Uighur forced labor taking place within internment camps.

According to a report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), at least 80,000 Uighurs were taken from Xinjiang and transferred to various factories around China between 2017 and 2019, though it's likely that's a lowball estimate. Some Uighurs were taken directly from concentration camps to the factories, though the conditions mirrored those they faced in detention, according to that same study. Uighurs were under constant surveillance, forced to undergo Mandarin language instruction and other political teachings in their free time. Most critically, they cannot leave.

In July 2019, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported a story of a Uighur woman, 38-year-old Dilnur, who was sent to an internment camp along with her husband. In May, Dilnur had contacted her sister in Australia to tell her she'd be taken from the camps and sent to work in a technology factory in Urumqi. "660 people are brought in shackled and handcuffed and it is big," she wrote.

Again, it's hard to get full information out of China's tightly controlled system, but leaked documents and testimony from some workers who've been forced into factories offer compelling evidence. The revelations raise serious questions for the global supply chain and anyone who buys goods that at one point passed through China.

The ASPI found that at least 27 suspected factories are using laborers from Xinjiang, which potentially have connections to 83 major global brands. The Xinjiang region, specifically, is a major cotton hub for China, meaning Xinjiang cotton might end up in the final products of many clothing lines.

The Washington Post and ASPI found that the South Korean-owned Qingdao Taekwang Shoes Co. in Laixi, China, a Nike supplier for decades, employs about 700 Uighur workers. Though they could not confirm that the Uighurs were forced to work, eyewitnesses told the Post that the workers weren't allowed to leave freely.

Nike has since said it's in contact with suppliers to "assess potential risks" related to the employment of Uighurs. Other companies, like Apple, have said they found no evidence of forced labor but are monitoring their sources.

Another recent investigation in the New York Times found that forced Uighur labor is being used to make personal protective equipment, specifically those disposable surgical face masks that are ubiquitous in the time of Covid-19.

In July, more than 72 Uighur rights group and 100 civil society groups worldwide launched a campaign to end forced Uighur labor, demanding companies stop sourcing cotton, yarn, textiles, and finished products from Xinjiang, and for companies to cut ties with suppliers implicated in forced labor schemes.

The world is paying more attention to the Uighurs. It's still not enough.

Zubayra Shamseden, the Chinese outreach coordinator with the Uyghur Human Rights Project, told me in July that Uighurs have faced discrimination for years in education and employment. "It just didn't get the attention of the world," she said.

The recent headlines, including those about birth control and forced sterilization, have helped change that. But, she said, anyone who really tried to see what was happening in Xinjiang could see if they looked. "It's clear it's there. It's just crystal clear," she said, adding that China is still denying all of it.

That the world is finally starting to pay attention is important, but it's not nearly enough. Activists say governments and international institutions need to do more to pressure China.

Uighurs in the diaspora are pushing for the International Criminal Court to investigate China for genocide and other atrocities. Naomi Kikoler, director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, said in March that "there are reasonable grounds to believe that China is responsible for crimes against humanity." However, because China doesn't recognize the ICC's jurisdiction, that method might have its limits.

Some US lawmakers have been pushing for the US to get tougher on China on the Uighur issue, and the State Department has advocated for the Uighurs as part of its religious freedom initiatives. And the Trump administration is finally beginning to take more forceful steps to punish China for its human rights abuses.

President Donald Trump himself had been pretty quiet on the topic until recently, and it seems his desire to negotiate a trade deal with China was a big reason why. "Well, we were in the middle of a major trade deal," Trump said in June, when asked why he hadn't yet imposed US Treasury sanctions on Chinese officials involved in the repression of the Uighurs.

Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton also alleged that Trump personally gave Xi Jinping the green light to keep building the camps, telling Xi at a meeting in June 2019 that it was "exactly the right thing to do." (The meeting was attended by only the two leaders and their interpreters, so Bolton is relying on what the interpreter told him after the meeting. Other US officials have denied Bolton's account.)

In June, however, Trump signed into law the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, which imposes sanctions on foreign individuals and entities involved in abuses in Xinjiang and requires the president to periodically "send Congress a list identifying foreign individuals and entities responsible for such human rights abuses."

Since then, the US has sanctioned officials, including Chen Quanguo, who's in charge of Xinjiang and the mastermind behind its surveillance policies. The US also placed sanctions on the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau and its director, Wang Mingshan, under the Global Magnitsky Act, which targets human rights abusers around the world.

The US sanctions angered China, and Beijing retaliated by sanctioning US officials, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who have been some of the most prominent voices in Congress in condemning China's abuse of the Uighurs.

The US also blacklisted 11 Chinese companies in July because of their ties to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, which means those companies can't easily access US technology or products. At least nine of the companies had ties to forced Uighur labor, including some named in the ASPI report that were connected to major clothing brands. Two others were added to the list because of their use of " genetic analyses " targeting Muslim minority groups.

Earlier in September, the Trump administration also put new restrictions on clothing, technology, and hair products from certain companies linked to forced Uighur labor. It's already legal for Americans to import any goods made with forced labor, but the knottiness of supply chains has made this harder to detect. The administration is also considering a more sweeping ban on all cotton imports from Xinjiang.

But the Trump administration's tougher approach toward China on the Uighur issue also comes as the administration has sought to put increasing pressure on China over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Tensions between Washington and Beijing are escalating, and the tit for tat is sinking the relationship between the two superpowers.

"I am concerned that once again the Uighurs are not being taken seriously, in and of themselves, rather than being used as kind of a pawn in a larger geopolitical strategy," Gladney, of Pomona College, said.

Pressure on China for its human rights abuses - both in Xinjiang and in Hong Kong - should be a priority for any US administration. "I definitely think that there's an effort to squeeze China in any way that it can possibly be done," Enos said of the United States. "But I think there's also this broader recognition that what's going on in Xinjiang is definitely among some of the worst human rights atrocities taking place, certainly in this decade, maybe even in our generation."

New details about atrocities inside the camps have added even more of a sense of urgency - though there's still more to be done. Though Trump confronted China (virtually) at the United Nations this week for various misdeeds, he did not explicitly condemn China for its activities in Xinjiang.

Bipartisan lawmakers in the House of Representatives passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act this week, which would require that companies prove any products sourced from Xinjiang did not involve forced labor and would compile of list of Chinese companies that relied on forced labor. (It still needs to go through the Senate.)

Senators have also urged the Trump administration to make a formal declaration that atrocity crimes are happening in Xinjiang. Some advocates are also calling on consumers to boycott products that might have been made with Uighur labor.

Economic pressure - especially if it forces major corporations to break ties with some Chinese suppliers - may be one of the most effective tools, though that is also increasingly challenging in a world that's consumed by the coronavirus pandemic and an economic catastrophe.

But the pandemic itself, Shamseden of the Uyghur Human Rights Project told me, is yet another reason for urgency. She saw it as another potential reason for China's government to escalate its crackdown, under the guise of quarantine for Covid-19. "It's going to be another good excuse to just detain people arbitrarily," she said.

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Concentration camps and forced labor: China's repression of the Uighurs, explained

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There is more and more evidence of China's human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

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The twisted path that led Michele Tafoya from covering the NFL to denying systemic racism

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The twisted path that led Michele Tafoya from covering the NFL to denying systemic racism

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This article discusses Michele Tafoyas attack on critical race theory and how that led her to leave her sports media position. In addition to this, the article also covers systematic racism which has been prevalent in the NFL. I chose this article because not only is it very prevalent but the Super Bowl was this last Sunday so I thought it may be interesting to read given the recent sports event.

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The recently retired NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya swung by Tucker Carlson's show this week to talk about why she felt compelled to leave her high-profile sports media job and get involved in politics. To promote her appearance, Fox News posted this quote from Tafoya on social media: "It breaks my heart that my kids are being taught that skin color matters."

A pretty rich statement coming from Tafoya, for multiple reasons.

First, she reportedly lives in Edina, Minn. - a suburb of Minneapolis that was founded and populated by Black people in the 1890s until they were systematically driven out by racial covenants embedded in property deeds. The covenants stated that property could be sold only to white people.

In 1948, the Supreme Court ruled that courts could not enforce the covenants, but residents could adhere to them if they wanted to. Edina, which reportedly had nearly 3,000 residential properties with racial covenants in their deeds as recently as last fall, is roughly 85% white. And Tafoya says her heart breaks because "my kids are being taught that skin color matters." ... Well, the joke pretty much writes itself.

Opinion Columnist

LZ Granderson

Second, her attack against critical race theory is especially nonsensical considering the league she covered for two decades could be Exhibit A for systemic racism. The NFL has been accused of racism in two lawsuits in the past two seasons alone.

The Brian Flores case regarding head coach hiring is the most recent suit to grab headlines. But until recently the NFL used a practice called race norming when determining payouts from a concussion settlement between retired players and the league. The premise: Black players were assumed to be less intelligent than white players. This made it more difficult for Black men - who currently make up 70% of the NFL's players - to prove brain damage caused by the game than white men. The league settled the lawsuit for $1 billion in 2021 and vowed to stop the practice.

A town built on racism is where Tafoya calls home.

A league famous for racism has been her beat for years.

And yet she appears to be more concerned that her children might learn about racism than she is about the racism happening all around her children.

She signaled just how seriously we should take her views on social justice issues when she agreed to go on Carlson's show in the first place. This is a man who said President Biden's immigration policies were designed "to change the racial mix of the country, to reduce the political power of people whose ancestors lived here and dramatically increase the proportion of Americans newly arrived from the Third World." If that sentiment sounds vaguely familiar, it should. " Jews will not replace us " was one of the phrases torch-carrying white supremacists chanted in Charlottesville, Va., back in 2017. So yeah, if Carlson's show is where you choose to appear, we sort of have an idea of where the conversation is headed.

Tafoya, who identifies as a libertarian, is said to be co-chairing the gubernatorial campaign of Kendall Qualls, a Black man who led a nonprofit organization called TakeCharge MN. According to the website, it is "committed to countering the prevailing narrative in popular culture that America is structured to undermine the lives of black Americans." The organization says that "we also denounce the idea that the country is guilty of systemic racism."

It would seem that Tafoya has hitched her wagon to a candidate who, much like herself, won't let facts get in the way of a good story.

Earlier this week, she said if NFL teams believed Colin Kaepernick "could win them a Super Bowl, he would be on a team right now." In 2017, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Kaepernick is "a starter in this league." I interviewed a head coach in 2020 who told me off the record that the owner wouldn't let him bring Kaepernick in, after the player's public stance against systemic racism. In 2021, Alex Smith, who played with Kaepernick, said "it doesn't make sense" that he's not in the NFL. But Tafoya wants you to believe it wasn't protesting that's kept Kaepernick out of the league, but simply ability.

We all know why he's not in the league ... whether the Tafoyas talk honestly about the history or not.

Speaking of history, did you know when the Federal Aid Highway Act was passed in 1956, it led to the construction of a number of highways that connected major cities to predominantly white suburbs, destroying Black neighborhoods and businesses in the process? One such freeway was I-35 West, which ripped through South Minneapolis, providing easier access to such quaint little places as Edina.

Yes, that Edina.

But by all means, do go on about how the color of one's skin does not matter in this country.
@LZGranderson

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Granderson: The twisted career path that leads from covering the NFL to denying systemic racism

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The recently retired NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya swung by Tucker Carlson's show this week to talk about why she felt compelled to leave her high-profile sports media job and get involved in politics. To promote her appearance, Fox News posted this quote from Tafoya on social media: "It breaks my heart that my kids are being taught that skin color matters."

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Institutional racism in the fire service: ‘We must admit that it exists in our house’

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Institutional racism in the fire service: ‘We must admit that it exists in our house’

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This article talks about how Institutional racism is seen in the fire service, and how in order to change this issue we must acknowledge the presence of systemic racism and the numerous forms it takes within society.

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By Fire Chief Andrew Seicol

What does it mean to be a volunteer fire chief in 2020? What does it mean to be a leader in 2020?

These are questions I ask myself often, likely too often for my own good.

As an agency and industry that operates under paramilitary rules and regulations, and often grouped with law enforcement as "first responders," fire departments and individual firefighters have a unique perspective on law enforcement. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Here's another one that I've only recently begun to ask myself: How does one call themselves a leader if they are unable to confront the difficult topics head on?

Over the last few weeks, we have seen "leaders" of agencies and organizations all across the world (big and small) address the ever-pressing topic of social injustice, specifically as it applies to people of color, and more specifically, as it applies to interactions between people of color and law enforcement.

As a leader of a small volunteer fire department, what is my obligation to my members, my community and myself to address this issue head on?

As an agency and industry that operates under paramilitary rules and regulations, and often grouped with law enforcement as "first responders," fire departments and individual firefighters have a unique perspective on law enforcement. We have a front row seat to their operations, they are our friends and allies, but we are often seen differently - we are seen as the kind and well-respected arm of the emergency services.

What if I told you that institutional racism was just as prevalent within the fire service in this nation as it is within law enforcement? That sentence makes me sick to write. It's taken me a week of watching protests and reading countless articles and social media posts to get there. I've tried to pretend this wasn't the reality, but that doesn't do anybody any good.

I can say with confidence that my brothers and sisters in the fire service are not discriminating against the people they serve in the performance of their jobs, at least I have no evidence or firsthand knowledge of that existing. Let me be clear: Firefighters are NOT denying rescue operations, fire suppression, life-saving measures or any other critical role they take in society to their community on the basis of someone's skin color, beliefs, etc. And often this is the statement many departments and individual firefighters will scream from rooftops when they are accused of discriminatory or racially insensitive behavior, to distract from the real question or issue being presented.

But instead, there is this sense of obligation to stand by our brothers and sisters in blue and defend their stance.

So that brings me to my last set of questions: How do we acknowledge that some law enforcement tactics and ideologies are racially insensitive and promote inequality, while also supporting and depending upon individual police officers who also rely upon us in daily life-saving operations? If we as a fire service are unable to acknowledge the shortcomings of society - and more specifically in this context, law enforcement - how can we expect society to adapt, grow and change?

A member of the fire service who insists that the Black Lives Matters (BLM) movement is insensitive and feels the need to reply that all lives matter or blue lives matter is missing the mark and is certainly not working toward the solution, but more likely is part of the problem.

Of course all lives matter, but people of color, black lives are the ones who we are focusing on right now due to centuries of discrimination and the ongoing systemic racism.

A member of the fire service who refers to a protestor as an "animal" simply on the basis of the color of their skin or their fight for equality is a member who is part of the problem.

A friend of mine this week wrote about the distinction between beliefs and inaccuracies. Far too often people hide behind their beliefs to justify an inaccurate stance on an issue. We must acknowledge the presence of systemic racism and the numerous forms it takes in society and, more specifically, the fire service.
We must admit that it exists in our house.
I wish I had answers to all the questions I posed. That would make this an easy problem with an easy solution. Unfortunately, this isn't, which makes it more critical to talk about and explore the fire service's role in social equality.

What I've learned this week is that organizations and individuals alike must do a better job to listen to those impacted and take ownership of their role in this issue. We must condemn institutional racism and acknowledge our role in its continued existence, regardless of our individual and organizational relationships. This will not solve the issue outright, but I can guarantee that without this step, progress will not occur.

The fire service is plagued internally with the tagline "200 years of tradition, unimpeded by progress." Well, here is our chance to impact progress for the fire service and society alike.

About the Author

Andrew Seicol is the fire chief of the North White Plains Fire Department in Westchester, New York. He has been a firefighter for nearly 15 years, and chief of department for six years. Seicol holds a master's degree in public administration with a concentration in emergency management from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
This article was prepared by Andrew Seicol in his personal capacity. The opinions reflected are the author's own and do not reflect the views of any agency affiliation with this author.

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Institutional racism in the fire service: 'We must admit that it exists in our house'

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By Fire Chief Andrew Seicol What does it mean to be a volunteer fire chief in 2020? What does it mean to be a leader in 2020? These are questions I ask myself often, likely too often for my own good.

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This is yet another example of the long list of double standard events of racism and abuse of power by cops. This video is sad to watch, especially since the aggressor was treated better than the victim. This video goes to show just how divided we are, and how racism has never left our country, despite what some may say.

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Some New Jersey police officers are under fire for how they handled the breakup of a fight between a white teenager and a Black teenager at a mall last weekend, after police pinned the Black teen to the ground while allowing the white teen to sit on a couch and watch.

The fight, which took place Saturday at Bridgewater Commons in Bridgewater Township, N.J., was caught on video.

The video shows a group of teens gathered in one of the mall's seating areas as the two teens argue.

The white teen puts his finger in the Black teen's face, prompting the Black teen to push his hand away. The white teen then shoves the Black teenager, who begins throwing punches. The two exchange blows and eventually the white teen throws the Black teen to the ground.

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Two Bridgewater Township officers then come into frame, separating the two boys - the white teen is placed on a nearby couch by a female officer, while the male officer forces the Black teen back to the ground, kneels on his upper back, and both officers work to handcuff him.

"Yo, it's 'cause he's Black. Racially motivated," someone says off-camera.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a tweet Wednesday that the "appearance of what is racially disparate treatment is deeply, deeply disturbing."

Although an investigation is still gathering the facts about this incident, I'm deeply disturbed by what appears to be racially disparate treatment in this video. We're committed to increasing trust between law enforcement and the people they serve. https://t.co/ck9yCXMmL0

- Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) February 16, 2022

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The Bridgewater Township Police Department said in a Facebook post earlier this week that it was aware of the upset caused by the video and the officers' handling of the incident.

"We recognize that this video has made members of our community upset and are calling for an internal affairs investigation," the department wrote, adding that it has asked the local prosecutor's office to investigate.

Comments on the Facebook post accused the officers of being racist, with many people calling for their resignations.

"This video could not be more clear of the systemic racism that continues to rear its head when it comes to how many police officers engage the black community," wrote Facebook user Megan L. Pitts.

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"You can investigate all you want; this is plain racism, video doesn't lie. Both officers should be fired. They were way too comfortable in what they done I bet they've done this over and over; they just never got caught at it," Shelley Vicklund, another Facebook user, shared.

As the video made the rounds on social media, others weighed in expressing their disappointment:

The Bridgewater Mall Fight is the clearest example of how police actively use race as a shorthand for who they perceive as a threat.

See for yourself. pic.twitter.com/ThJPQFNEzO

- Benjamin Dixon (@BenjaminPDixon) February 16, 2022

The Black teen, 14-year-old Z'Kye Husain, spoke to NBC News following the incident, explaining that the altercation started because the other boy was picking on his friend.

"He was kind of saying, like, 'You're a little kid, you're my little pet,' and stuff like that," he told NBC New York.

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Z'Kye said he "knew not to be scared," while being handcuffed, and to " just stay calm and not move and do what they tell me to do."

His mother, Eboné, was more outraged.

"It doesn't take two cops to hold a 14-year-old boy down who's not resisting, while the other boy is just kind of going free and still going off on my son. It just doesn't make sense," she told NBC.

"It's not fair that we are constantly having to fear the cops. I'm just glad it happened where there were a whole bunch of eyes on the situation, 'cause I don't know what would have happened."

The white teen, Joseph, denied bullying anyone in an interview with CBS, adding that he was also confused about why he was not handcuffed, too.

"I was confused why they were detaining him and not me. I even offered to get detained when I was on the couch. I put my hands up like this and I said, 'You guys could detain me.' She said 'No, because you were calm,'" Joseph said.

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Z'Kye's family is now working with civil rights attorney Ben Crump, the law firm announced Thursday.

"Z'Kye, an 8th grader, was noble to defend his friend from bullies; however, it is evident that officers immediately assumed that because of the color of Z'Kye's skin, him acting nobly was not even in the realm of possibility. That video says it all," Crump said in a news release.

NEWS ALERT: @AttorneyCrump has been retained by the family of Z'Kye Husain, a Black 8th grader who was forcefully detained by Bridgewater Township (NJ) police officers after a physical altercation at the Bridgewater Commons Mall. pic.twitter.com/TIrIPf7IGw

- Ben Crump Law, PLLC (@BenCrumpLaw) February 17, 2022

Crump added: "Z'Kye was no more of a threat to those officers than the white teen who fought with him. This is another example of the kind of racial bias that we need to root out of our system of policing. These officers need to be reprimanded and retrained to overcome the implicit bias that results in unequal - and often dangerous - treatment of Black people."

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Neither teen was charged in the incident, but both have been banned from the mall for three years.

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Footage of teen fight causes outcry after police reaction called 'racism' - National | Globalnews.ca

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Some New Jersey police officers are under fire for how they handled the breakup of a fight between a white teenager and a Black teenager at a mall last weekend, after police pinned the Black teen to the ground while allowing the white teen to sit on a couch and watch.

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Every four years, the Olympic Games showcase the best of the best. Athletes defy odds, break records, and achieve unimaginable feats. But this year, the games have consistently made headlines for the wrong reasons, particularly for the mistreatment and discrimination of Black women athletes. From Sha'Carri Richardson's pre-Olympic suspension for smoking legal marijuana to the International Swimming Federation's ban on swim caps designed for natural Black hair, Black women are the common denominator in many of these stories. These rigid stipulations speak to the rampant racism and misogyny within the athletic world that directly impacts how Black women perform on the playing field - or if they even have a spot on the field at all.

Namibian runners Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi were barred from competing in this year's women's 400 meter race because of their natural testosterone levels, due to what has been referred to as the "Caster Semenya Rule." Caster Semenya is a Black South African runner who was initially banned from running after the World Athletics governing body issued new rules in 2018 governing maximum testosterone levels to compete in certain races. Semenya was subjected to invasive gender verification testing and blood tests to determine her natural testosterone levels. Under the rules, Semenya and other women athletes who refuse to take medication to lower their naturally occurring testosterone levels are banned from competing in the 400 meter to 1 mile races. The idea that an athlete should conform to a testosterone level to compete is antithetical to how the Olympics celebrate exceptional levels of human achievement. Yet these notions are weaponized against Black women, who are told they're "not woman enough" to compete.

Mental health has also been at the forefront of this year's Olympics, specifically the disregard towards the mental health and wellbeing of Black women athletes. Athletes like Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles faced backlash for choosing to prioritize their mental health and protect their bodies first, even when no one else was willing to do so for them. Preceding her participation in this year's Olympics, Osaka withdrew from Wimbledon to focus on her mental health, and Biles said she needed to take a step back from the Olympics for similar reasons.

Despite the many challenges Black women athletes face in the Olympics and beyond, there is hope in the fact that they're speaking up, sharing their stories, and actively challenging these discriminatory rules and standards.

On this week's episode of At Liberty, Ria Tabacco Mar, director of the ACLU's Women's Rights Project, discusses the various obstacles Black women athletes face in the Olympics both on and off the field, and how Black women across the country are making clear that they will no longer be pushed off the podium.

Listen to Episode 169 of ACLU's "At Liberty" Podcast Below:

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Simone Biles, Sha'Carri Richardson, and How the Olympics Failed Black Women (ep. 169)

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Every four years, the Olympic Games showcase the best of the best. Athletes defy odds, break records, and achieve unimaginable feats. But this year, the games have consistently made headlines for the wrong reasons, particularly for the mistreatment and discrimination of Black women athletes.

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I chose this article posted on The Guardian because I think that social media these days has played a huge role in the wave to beat the pandemic that is racism but at the same time has also allowed the spread of hateful speech. One story brought up in the article is about the English soccer team and the shocking response of its fans after losing the Euro Cup in a PK shoot out. The three colored athletes who failed to make their penalty kicks found their social media flooded with hate speech, monkey emojis, and even more threats. Social media companies say that they condemn hate speech and do their "best" to remove these comments and posts but yet everyday we log onto these platforms and almost everywhere we look there are different forms of hate directed to others.

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The world's biggest social networks say racism isn't welcome on their platforms, but a combination of poor enforcement and weak rules have allowed hate to flourish.

In the hours after England's loss to Italy in the European Football Championship, both Twitter and Facebook, which owns Instagram, issued statements condemning the swelling racist abuse.

"The abhorrent racist abuse directed at England players last night has absolutely no place on Twitter," the social network said on Monday morning. A Facebook spokesperson said similarly: "No one should have to experience racist abuse anywhere, and we don't want it on Instagram."

But the statements bore little relation to the experience of the company's users. On Instagram, where thousands left comments on the pages of Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho, supportive users who tried to flag abuse to the platform were surprised by the response.

"Due to the high volume of reports that we receive, our review team hasn't been able to review your report," a number of users were told over the course of the day. "However, our technology has found that this post probably doesn't go against our community guidelines." Instead, they were advised to personally block the users who posted the abuse, or mute phrases so they didn't see them.

The posts were undeniably racist, attributing the players' failure to score in a penalty shootout to their race, or posting monkey or banana emojis, yet the automated moderator decided otherwise - with no obvious way to appeal and force the matter to human eyes.

That moderation was mistaken, Facebook now says. In fact, monkey and banana emoji are specifically listed as examples of "dehumanising hate speech" that is banned on the platform, in training documents given to Instagram moderators seen by the Guardian.

"It is absolutely not okay to send racist emojis, or any kind of hate speech, on [the platform]", Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said. "To imply otherwise is to be deliberately misleading and sensational."

Facebook's definition of hate speech is broad, and covers "violent or dehumanising speech, harmful stereotypes, statements of inferiority, expressions of contempt, disgust or dismissal, cursing and calls for exclusion or segregation."

Twitter, however, takes a narrower view, and bans only hate speech that could "promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race" or other protected characteristics. Users can be penalised for "targeting individuals with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to dehumanise, degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category", the company's public rules state.

Sunder Katwala, the director of the British Future thinktank, points out that a number of messages that are plainly racist do not fall under that guideline. "No blacks in the England team - keep our team white," for instance, and "Marcus Rashford isn't English - blacks can't be English," would be allowed on Twitter's platform, Katwala was told.

"What you can't do on Twitter is "dehumanise" a group - eg by faith or ethnicity," Katwala added. "'The blacks are vermin - deport them all' has been against the rules since Dec 2020, after 18 months of pressure that this should apply to ethnicity as well as faith!"

Some newer social networks are seeking to avoid the pitfalls of their older competitors. TikTok, for instance, has a "hateful behaviour" policy that straightforwardly bans "all slurs, unless the terms are reappropriated ... or do not disparage", as well as banning "hateful ideology". The video-sharing platform has long taken the stance that its American counterparts overweigh abstract ideals of free speech against building a community that is pleasant to be a part of.

Twitter and Instagram did not reply to multiple requests for comment from the Guardian.

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Social networks' anti-racism policies belied by users' experience

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The world's biggest social networks say racism isn't welcome on their platforms, but a combination of poor enforcement and weak rules have allowed hate to flourish. In the hours after England's loss to Italy in the European Football Championship, both Twitter and Facebook, which owns Instagram, issued statements condemning the swelling racist abuse.

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‘Maus’ Book Sales Surge After Tennessee School Board Bans Graphic Novel

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‘Maus’ Book Sales Surge After Tennessee School Board Bans Graphic Novel

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WOW! GUESS WHO GOT BANNED! Joe Rogan, Maus, The Rock, Russia Ukraine, Bungie Sony & More in the News

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Sha'Carri Richardson Blasts Drug Double Standards in Olympic Sports

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Sha'Carri Richardson Blasts Drug Double Standards in Olympic Sports

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Runner Sha'Carri Richardson is speaking out after Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was allowed to compete at the Beijing Winter Olympics despite reportedly testing positive for Trimetazidine, a drug used to treat chest pain. The World Anti-Doping Agency lists trimetazidine as a prohibited metabolic modulator that could potentially function as a stimulant.

"Can we get a solid answer on the difference [between] her situation and mine?" Richardson tweeted. "My mother died and I can't run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I see is I'm a black young lady."

Last year, Richardson was dropped from Team U.S.A. for the relay and the 100-meter race at the Tokyo Olympics after she tested positive for marijuana, which is not considered a performance-enhancing drug, but is nevertheless banned. In her case, U.S. Track and Field gave away her spot on the team before it got to the International Olympic Committee.

As for Valieva, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said barring the figure skater - who, at 15, is not legally able to consent to drug use - from the Olympics "would cause her irreparable harm." On Monday, the IOC announced that she would be able to compete, but would not be awarded medals were she to land in the top three of her competitions. The IOC will also skip medal ceremonies for the events she may win or place in until her case "has been concluded," per The New York Times.

Team USA expressed their shock following the decision, with United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee chief executive Sarah Hirshland writing, "We are disappointed by the messages this sends. This appears to be another chapter in the systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia." (In fact, Russia has been found in violation of these policies so many times that the country is banned from officially competing in the Games, instead competing as the Russian Olympic Committee.)

Richardson, meanwhile, called out the sports organization for the delay in making the decision public since Valieva failed the doping test in December, yet her test results last year were made public within a week. "My name and talent [were] slaughtered to the people," she wrote, later adding, "Not one BLACK athlete has been about to compete with a case going on, I don't care what they say!!!"

About the delay in receiving the Dec. 25 drug test result, the panel noted that there were "serious issues of untimely notification of the results." (Valieva did not test positive for doping in Beijing.)

At the time of the positive marijuana result, Richardson was forced to sit out of the Olympics. Richardson made headlines at the time after qualifying for the Olympics a week after her mother died.

"People don't understand what it's like to have to ... go in front of the world and put on a face and hide my pain," Richardson told Today last summer. "I know what I did. I know what I'm supposed to do... and I still made that decision... Don't judge me because I am human. I'm you, I just happen to run a little faster."

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Sha'Carri Richardson Blasts Drug Double Standards in Olympic Sports

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Runner Sha'Carri Richardson is speaking out after Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was allowed to compete at the Beijing Winter Olympics despite reportedly testing positive for Trimetazidine, a drug used to treat chest pain. The World Anti-Doping Agency lists trimetazidine as a prohibited metabolic modulator that could potentially function as a stimulant.

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104-year-old Japanese immigrant receives an honorary USC degree

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104-year-old Japanese immigrant receives an honorary USC degree

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Frank Chuman was a Japanese American student who was forced to leave USC in 1942 and live in a detention facility with other immigrants. He has now received an honorary degree from USC nearly 80 years later.

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Frank Chuman (circled) and the Japanese Trojan Club are seen in the 1942 yearbook. (Photo/USC Libraries)

Law student Frank Chuman left USC with more than a hundred other students early in 1942, when U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt exiled Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants into detention facilities, primarily in the western United States.

Chuman is one of the Nisei generation - the sons and daughters of the Issei, Japanese citizens who had immigrated to the United States. Chuman and his fellow Nisei represented nearly 75% of the estimated 120,000 people ordered into the detention facilities. The others were Japanese immigrants, including parents and grandparents who were the first in their families to come to the United States.

The duration of detainment varied for every one of them. Chuman - who was forced to live at the Manzanar detention facility, a fenced-in camp east of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Owens Valley - was released from the camp after staying there for more than a year.

Over the next 60 years, Chuman climbed far from the valley and finished his law degree. Determined that no others should face such maltreatment, he became a renowned advocate for human rights, challenging discriminatory laws and court decisions. His strategy was crucial to a successful, decadeslong effort that ultimately led the courts to overturn the conviction of Fred Korematsu, who had been imprisoned after he refused to go to a detention facility, against Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066. By the time USC's living Nisei students were granted honorary degrees in 2012, Chuman had retired to Thailand.

When a decision by President Carol L. Folt in the fall allowed honorary degrees to be granted to all Nisei students, it seemed unlikely that any would still be living. Grace Shiba, executive director of the USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association, held out hope.

We managed to get in touch with him through our Trojan network. The rest is now history.

Grace Shiba, executive director,
USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association

"From the very beginning of this initiative, I was optimistic that I would find a surviving Nisei student, so I began to research the students that were on file," Shiba said. "Fortunately, I was encouraged to find that Frank Chuman was living in Thailand. We managed to get in touch with him through our Trojan network. The rest is now history."

Once Shiba made contact in mid-December, a team of leaders from the offices of the president, provost, admissions, advancement and registrar rushed to issue an honorary degree in Chuman's name. It was sent to his home in Thailand within days, and a video message from Folt was produced right away.

In full regalia, the president addressed the 104-year-old Trojan.

"On behalf of our university, I am so sorry you were never allowed to complete your law degree at our institution," Folt said. "Eighty years after this grave injustice, I hope you will accept the diploma as our way of thanking you for your distinguished career in law and your everlasting contributions to the Japanese American redress efforts.

"Your activism in civil rights and involvement in the landmark constitutional cases argued before the Supreme Court show what is just and right about the United States," she said. "You're a shining example that our students of today will aspire to follow."

Folt also praised Chuman's 1976 book The Bamboo People as a seminal work covering Japanese American legal history, alien land laws, immigration restrictions and wartime confinement.

The Nisei generation: 'The bamboo will not break'

Chuman wanted others to know his story. His memoir Manzanar and Beyond, published when he was 94, documents his life journey, which began in Santa Barbara County. By the time he was 7, Chuman's family had moved to Los Angeles. After a brush with gang membership as an adolescent, he became a super achiever in high school as a scholar, athlete and orator. Chuman also became an Eagle Scout before enrolling at UCLA, where he served in ROTC. As he neared graduation in 1938, he considered applying to the Foreign Service. The dean of UCLA's political science department at the time dissuaded him, telling Chuman the State Department would hire no one of his ethnicity.

Chuman describes a Depression-era climate in which racism was rampant. It was a time, he wrote, when Nisei Caltech graduates could not get engineering jobs and law firms would not hire Nisei attorneys. He found work in a market on West Beverly Boulevard lugging crates of produce. The hard lifting and splintered crates cut his hands; he had to use his knuckles to operate the cash register.

'Forget about this foolish dream. ... All the good jobs are for white people, not for people like us who are Japanese.' I remained silent knowing that what he was saying was true.

Frank Chuman, Manzanar and Beyond

Chuman believed there was more for him beyond manual labor at the market. He saved his wages to continue his education while facing invisible yet formidable barriers, an experience he later recounted:

"One day one of my coworkers in the produce department who was born in Japan approached me and in a sarcastic tone sneered, 'I heard you graduated UCLA and that you are saving up money for more education. Forget about this foolish dream. ... All the good jobs are for white people, not for people like us who are Japanese.' I remained silent knowing that what he was saying was true."

Chuman was hired as a messenger by Los Angeles County in fall 1938. He carried files around county departments and courts, where he found exchanges between lawyers and judges fascinating. He enrolled at USC as a law student in September 1940. After the incarceration order was issued on Feb. 19, 1942, Chuman was sent to live in Manzanar. He became administrator of the 250-bed hospital at the detention facility. In 1943, he resumed his education, first at the University of Toledo and then at the University of Maryland, where he was the institution's first Asian American law student. Chuman earned his law degree in 1945 and passed the bar in 1947.

Chuman sought opportunities to focus on civil rights issues, fight for rights and protections for immigrants and Japanese American citizens and to ensure their cultures were recognized. Throughout his law career, he served as legal counsel for the Japanese American Citizen League and helped found the Japanese American Research Project, a repository of documents defining the Japanese American experience.

In his memoir, Chuman recalls words from his early childhood, spoken by his mother. Her words would sustain him through a life that has lasted more than a century:

"You must be like the bamboo. When the wind blows, your body will bend low. Your heart will be full of despair and suffering. The ice and snow will form on the branches. The bamboo will not break. The bamboo is strong and resilient. That it will endure every hardship. You must be like the bamboo. You must not permit yourself to break under the buffeting you will face in your life."

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Trojan, 104, receives honorary degree, overcoming war, racism

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Law student Frank Chuman left USC with more than a hundred other students early in 1942, when U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt exiled Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants into detention facilities, primarily in the western United States. Chuman is one of the Nisei generation - the sons and daughters of the Issei, Japanese citizens who had immigrated to the United States.

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Neighbors in Houston have Anti-Semitic flyers thrown at their house. 

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Neighbors in Houston have Anti-Semitic flyers thrown at their house. 

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Authorities such as the local police department and the FBI are involved. No suspects have been obtained yet but the investigation is still underway.

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houston: anti-semitic and racist flyers litter 2 more neighborhoods - cnn

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2 more Houston-area neighborhoods littered with racist and anti-Semitic flyers

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Two neighborhoods in northeast Harris County were littered with hundreds of racist and anti-Semitic flyers over the weekend, resident Stacie Brady told CNN.

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“The right to vote is precious, almost sacred. People fought for it, bled for it, died for it. Honor their sacrifice. Vote.” ~Congressman John Lewis

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“The right to vote is precious, almost sacred. People fought for it, bled for it, died for it. Honor their sacrifice. Vote.” ~Congressman John Lewis

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VIOLA DAVIS (@violadavis)

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This article details a young black male, 14 years old, who over the course of two years was subject to stop and search over 30 times. The Metropolitan Police have consistently shown racial prejudice with no repercussion.

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A 14-year-old black schoolboy has accused the Metropolitan police of racist targeting after claiming he has been stopped by police about 30 times in the last two years. He has not been charged with or convicted of any offence.

The boy, who lives in south London with his 41-year-old mother, and hopes to train as an engineer, says he has been stopped and searched so many times by the police that he has become fearful of leaving home.

"Every time I hear sirens I think the police are coming for me. I don't want any headaches. I just don't want the police to stop me any more," he told the Guardian.

His mother has made complaints to the Metropolitan Police Service, which has confirmed that its Directorate of Professional Standards has launched an investigation, and to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. In her complaint to the IOPC the mother says she believes her son has been targeted on the basis of his race and his age.

"When the police stop me in the street to search me they put me in cuffs and ask me if I'm carrying weapons," the boy said. "I don't carry a knife and I'm not involved with drugs. I've even been stopped by the police when I've gone outside our flat to take the rubbish out for my mum."

He said that often when he has been stopped by the police they have not given him a written slip explaining the reasons for the stop. On some occasions when he was stopped they have given him a slip. Some of the slips are hard to read, others say he matches the description of people linked to crimes but does not provide detail of the descriptions police believe he matches.

One slip said he matched a description of a person or persons wearing black clothing, another said he matched a description of people carrying out a robbery but does not provide details of the description of the suspects.

"The first time the police stopped me was in June 2020 when I was 13," the boy said.

On 4 November 2021 police arrived at the family's home with a search warrant. They said the boy had been linked to an offence involving road rage that happened in Kingston several months ago. Police searched the boy's room but found nothing. The boy was at school at the time.

Later that morning police called the boy's mother and said he needed to present himself at a local police station to be interviewed. He attended with his mother but no charges were made against him.

"The police showed us a photo of the suspect. He looks nothing like my son. He is a grown man, not a 14-year-old boy. He was wearing different clothing and was wearing aviator shades. My son wears glasses but they are nothing like those ones. My son needs his glasses so he can see."

Kevin Blowe, campaigns coordinator at Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol), said: "Stop and search is a crude tactic with limited value. It legitimises racial profiling by insisting that officers have to stop black children and young black men because they are at a 'higher risk' of alleged gang activity. That is why searches happen over and over again - once a young person becomes a target, they tend to remain one."

Habib Kadiri, research and policy manager at the police monitoring organisation Stopwatch, said: "Repeated stop-searches of people with no criminal convictions or offences is a form of harassment worthy of a police state. It is clear to us that there are police units committed to over policing black boys in parts of the capital based on fake racial stereotypes."

A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: "We are aware of two complaints received in respect of the stop and search of a 14-year-old boy. Both incidents happened in June 2021. Both complaints relate to the use of force by officers in the course of stop and search. The mother of the juvenile has been contacted by police to discuss the complaints. Professional standards officers from the south-west command unit and the violent crime taskforce are conducting the inquiries."

The spokesperson declined to answer questions about whether the boy had been targeted and racially profiled by the police, adding that the force did not have a record of all the stops referred to by the boy nor of the road rage incident.

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Black boy in stop and search '30 times' accuses Met police of racist profiling

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Inquiry launched after 14-year-old and his mother from south London lodge complaint against force

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This is Eileen Feng Gu. She won a gold medal in the Olympic Games. But was criticized by some media because of his nationality.

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This is Eileen Feng Gu. She won a gold medal in the Olympic Games. But was criticized by some media because of his nationality.

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https://goodyfeed.com/18yo-eileen-gu/

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Alternatively known as "Snow Princess" Gu Ailang in China, the now 18-year-old athlete debuted before the eyes of the sporting world at age 15 when she clutched the silver medal for Slopestyle at the 2019 FSI Freeski and Snowboarding World Championship in France.

Ever the go-getter, Gu one-upped herself two weeks later in Italy, where she seized the gold medal for the Slopestyle.

Then, in what could only be described as a bold and controversial move, the US-born freeskier declared that she would be representing China instead of the United States of America, months after she stepped into the limelight.

Her Mixed Heritage

Eileen Gu was born in San Francisco, California, United States, on 3 September 2003, to an American father and a Chinese mother by the name of Gu Yan.

Her mother, Gu Yan, had emigrated from China 30 years ago and raised Eileen as a single parent, though the teenager has spent her summers in China ever since she was young.

Additionally, Eileen Gu is fluent in both English and Mandarin, even touting a natural Beijing accent whenever she speaks in front of the Chinese media.

Another fun fact about her is that like most Asian children who are made to master their education in a holistic manner, Eileen Gu plays the piano as well.

Announcement to Represent China

On 7 June 2019, Eileen Gu announced on Instagram that had chosen to represent China for the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

"I am proud of my heritage, and equally proud of my American upbringings," she writes after thanking both the US and China Skiing and Snowboarding Associations for their unwavering belief in her.

Of course, her decision had been shocking for a multitude of reasons.

In the United States, the land of freedom and advocate of human rights, she was scorned for representing the conservative China which had numerous counts of human rights violations.

Fox News even went as far as calling her an "ungrateful child of America... for her to betray, turn her back on the country that raised her, but turned her into a world-class skier with the training and facilities that only the United States of America can provide".

Similar comments voicing the same narrative can often be found in the comment section of her social media posts, though the athlete hardly ever acknowledges it.

Some have even accused her of betraying her homeland for profit; mostly supported by the fact that Eileen Gu has landed herself in a number of lucrative sponsorships deals ever since her declaration, such that her countenance is a frequent sight in the common streets of Beijing.

Nevertheless, her decision has been made.

Eileen Gu will drape a red flag with yellow stars on her shoulders proudly and sing to its national anthem whenever she attains a gold medal.

China's Reception of Gu Ailang

Her Weibo currently boasts more than two million fans, who ardently cheer her on at every event that she participates in.

But of course, the world can be a cruel place where only those that can bring home the results thrive:

And Gu Ailang hasn't disappointed China thus far with her marvellous results.

At the X Games Aspen 2021, she won two gold medals at the Halfpipe and Slopestyle, whilst taking the bronze in the Big Air.

During the 2021 FSI Skiing and Snowboarding World Championships, Gu grabbed the same medals for the same three events, further adorning her trophy cases with more shining metals.

It should be noted how phenomenal her achievements are, since freeskiers typically compete in either the Halfpipe or Slopestyle and Big Air.

To perfect a winning routine for a single event is already difficult enough; since Slopestyle and Big Air are the most similar, it's easier to double up, but attempting to land the same tricks on halfpipe is very different.

Hence, Gu has also claimed the title of being the first woman freeskier for taking two gold medals at the Freeskiing World Championships.

Naturally, the fact that Eileen Gu is a media darling herself with her fluent Mandarin certainly wins her bonus points among the Chinese media, and she certainly never shies away from the cameras when she also ventures into modelling under IMG Models as a side-gig.

The Dual-Citizenship Controversy

Regardless of what thoughts either country have about Eileen Gu, one irrefutable fact is that China has never condoned holders of dual citizenships.

In light of Gu's achievements and the approaching Beijing Winter Olympics, the renouncement of her US Citizenship has become a point of debate on Weibo with the hashtag "Gu Ailang's Nationality" becoming popular from 2 Feb to 4 Feb, the topic raking up more than hundreds of thousands of views.

The local Chinese media and Eileen Gu's supporting staff have been very careful about the topic too, never broaching the subject and pushing off interviews with the pretext that Gu was busy with her training.

It is highly likely that China bent its own rules to allow foreign-born athletes to keep two passports, especially in hopes of increasing its Olympic medal counts.

This notion is echoed by the Chinese officials' later statements where they purposefully emphasised on Gu Ailiang's chinese heritage rather than discuss her ties with another country.

For President Xi Jing Ping, he has always been of the belief that "overseas Chinese" still belong to the nation, and he has consistently pledged that he wanted to "unite overseas Chinese" with their relatives in China as part of the "Chinese dream".

Likewise, Gu echoes the same sentiments. Recently, she told the state-run nationalist tabloid Global Times that she has "very very deep roots in China".

Join our Telegram channel for more entertaining and informative articles at https://t.me/goodyfeedsg or download the Goody Feed app here: https://goodyfeed.com/app/

On Her Morals and Stances

Owing to the competitive and differing natures of the countries that Eileen Gu pledges her allegiance to, her online persona and public opinions are frequently under scrutiny.

There are some things she has been vocal about like the anti-Asian racism rhetoric after the series of shootings in Atlanta, Georgia in March 2021, which killed eight people that were mostly from Asian descent.

"I remember at the beginning of the pandemic, I was with my grandma in a Walgreens in San Francisco when this haphazard, haggard man runs in screaming profanities about Asian people and how they were bringing the virus in and how it was super dangerous, I don't think I've ever felt like that in my entire life," Gu spoke out in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post .

Gu always felt that her home-state was supposed to be the most liberal place where she would be sage, but she felt like she was in physical danger at that moment.

Afterwards, Gu immediately grabbed her grandma and ran out with her.

Then, with regards to the coronavirus that first spread from the Wuhan province and the corresponding hatred that Asian-Americans ended up receiving, Gu stated: "It's an absolutely absurd idea and it really comes from bigotry and a lack of information. Killing more Asian people isn't going to kill the virus."

Likewise, she has been very open about her support towards movements like Black Lives Matter and stopping race-fuelled hate crimes happening in America at large.

Gu is a proponent of gender equality too, as exemplified by how she gave her first speech about women in sports and the gender pay-gap, the sex-based educational discrimination, and the misinterpretation of women in media in her seventh grade.

Ergo, Gu was only twelve or thirteen and she was already a social activist.

Tightrope of Politics

Eileen Gu might be open about many things, but she steers clear of politics the best she can.

Even when it came to her own nationalities, she presents a cultivated image of herself; a balancing act that she must ensure she never slips from.

She creates content in both English and Chinese, posting photographs from Shanghai and California.

She uses the typical humour with her American audiences on Tiktok whilst coming on as guests in language documentaries in the mainland, spreading her exposure as widely and carefully as she can.

Winning Gold in the Olympics Freeski Big Air

Her latest and most dazzling achievement is that the Snow Princess managed to clutch gold after pulling off a double cork 1620 in her final run for the Big Air event on the icy slopes, with the iconic Shougang steel mill acting as her backdrop.

She twirled and spun in midair before landing with lesser grace, but her monumental stunt-which had only ever been successfully pulled off by Tess Ledeaux prior-brought Gu's tally up to 188.25, thus earning her a 0.75 advantage over the second-place 30-year-old Tess Leadeaux herself.

Gu can try to stay away from the geopolitical tensions rising between the countries, a matter that is far too complex for a young teenager to handle, but her circumstances might not necessarily let her.

The acceptance of her dual nationality and the thrust into the spotlight at the Beijing Winter Olympics has only proven China's ambition to attract foreign talent, even if it's another kind of Chinese athlete on the world stage that they can lay claim to through blood heritage.

Eileen Gu honestly stands a chance of winning three Olympic Golds for the events that she's participating in, and I sincerely wish her all the best.

Unlike practiced routines and conventional gravity in free falling, however, attempting to navigate the complexities of her dual identity will come as a far harder task.

Read Also:
Featured Image: Reuters From 18 February 2022, there would be new health protocols for COVID-19 in Singapore. Here's a summary of what you should know:

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Everything About the Controversy of Eileen Gu, The US-Born Skier Representing China in Beijing 2022

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Alternatively known as "Snow Princess" Gu Ailang in China, the now 18-year-old athlete debuted before the eyes of the sporting world at age 15 when she clutched the silver medal for Slopestyle at the 2019 FSI Freeski and Snowboarding World Championship in France.

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Congressional Democrats Target Bans on Teaching About Racism in Schools

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Congressional Democrats Target Bans on Teaching About Racism in Schools

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https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2022-02-02/congressional-democrats-take-aim-at-efforts-to-ban-critical-race-theory

This article is about people fighting for teachers to not stop teaching about racism in schools. We can't just say that we are protecting our children if we don't teach them about it. It is a huge part of our history and we need to teach them all about it so that we don't go back to how it was.

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Congressional Democrats didn't mince words when they sent a message this week to their GOP colleagues, Republican state leaders and conservative school board members mounting efforts to sanitize U.S. history by stripping teachings and banning books on divisive topics like race, racism and gender.

"It is our moral imperative to tell the truth about our past to finally reconcile with this nation's history of racism and white nationalism," Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a New York Democrat and former teacher and principal, said in a statement announcing legislation aimed at protecting and promoting the teaching of African American history in K-12 schools.

"The moment we are in requires of us a clear-eyed vision to ensure that not just our children but people of all ages, have access to resources and education that accurately recount African American history," he said. "As a Black man and an educator, I cannot make clear enough how important it is to the success of our democracy for us to come to a collective understanding and agreement that we must take our commitment to learn from our past seriously."

The legislation itself has the modest goal of directing some $10 million a year over five years to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which would in turn use the funds to develop and make available high-quality teaching materials related to teaching African American history, provide professional development for early childhood, elementary and secondary teachers, establish a teacher fellowship program and engage with local and state leaders interested in incorporating the museum's resources into their curriculum.

Editorial Cartoons on Education

But it comes amid a major backlash among conservatives to critical race theory - the academic assertion that racial inequity exists in all facets of American life, including education, health care, the criminal justice system and more.

As it stands, at least 36 states have introduced bills to restrict how educators can teach racism, sexism and other divisive topics - at least 14 of them have passed such measures. And school librarians across the country are being bullied into pulling books about Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement, former first lady Michelle Obama and others that center on LGBTQ characters off the shelves of their libraries.

The efforts are almost entirely driven by white parents and supported by Republican lawmakers.

In some of the most dramatic examples, legislation proposed in GOP-controlled Florida would ban public schools from making people feel "discomfort" when being taught about racial discrimination in U.S. history, and in Virginia, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin established a tip line for parents to report instances when educators teach "divisive" subjects.

In total, 17.7 million public school students - more than a third of all students in the country - have had their learning restricted by such local and state policies, according to a new study from the University of California, Los Angeles.

"Let's start with a basic fact: You cannot understand American history without knowing African American history," Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement.

The AFT, along with the National Education Association and dozens of additional education and civil rights advocacy organizations, are backing the legislation.

"Some people are making this a wedge issue - even bullying teachers and trying to stop us from teaching students accurate history," Weingarten said. "This bill will make sure every student learns about the history and contributions of African Americans throughout the years. And every educator should have the training and tools they need to engage and teach African American history."

Bowman's legislation, which is co-sponsored in the Senate by New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker, also comes amid a sudden and alarming increase in bomb threats being made against historically Black colleges and universities. On Jan. 31, six HBCUs received bomb threats, followed on Feb. 1 - the first day of National Black History Month - when an additional 12 HBCUs received bomb threats.

"The story of Black people in America is inextricably linked to the story of America," Booker said in a statement. "This story must be reckoned with so that we can honestly reflect upon our nation's past moral wrongs and the long and ongoing quest for justice that has been undertaken by Black Americans."

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Congressional Democrats Target Bans on Teaching About Racism in Schools

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Congressional Democrats didn't mince words when they sent a message this week to their GOP colleagues, Republican state leaders and conservative school board members mounting efforts to sanitize U.S. history by stripping teachings and banning books on divisive topics like race, racism and gender.

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Some officers are racist, Met Police boss admits

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Some officers are racist, Met Police boss admits

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60379131

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A senior officer has admitted racism remains a problem in the Met Police, after two black colleagues told the BBC that discrimination was getting worse.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bas Javid told BBC Newsnight some officers "have racist views and are racist".

But he denied the Met was a "racist organisation".

One officer said a supervisor called him a racist slur, while another said senior leaders suggested black people were not clever enough for the Met.

Warning: This report contains offensive language

Mr Javid, who is the brother of Health Secretary Sajid Javid, said he was "extremely disappointed" to hear the allegations from the black officers - which include claims that the Met is failing to deal with complaints of racism and putting pressure on victims.

He said: "The fact that you've had officers or staff come to you to make allegations, what I'd like to see is an organisation where people feel comfortable to come forward and report it so we can deal with it effectively."

The culture of London's Metropolitan Police force has come under close scrutiny, with Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick resigning after London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was not satisfied with her response to the scale of the cultural change required.

Among his concerns were the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer last year, and a report into abusive behaviour at Charing Cross police station published earlier this month.

It found that between 2016 and 2018, officers shared messages that were highly sexualised, violent and discriminatory against women, ethnic minorities, LGBT people and disabled people - which they defended as "banter".

The two black officers interviewed by BBC Newsnight said there needed to be changes among the Met's senior leadership to root out racism and misogyny.

One said some senior leaders refused to admit there were issues with discrimination, while the other suggested the next commissioner should be recruited from outside the force.

Mr Javid ruled himself out as a possible successor to Dame Cressida and said it would be for the mayor and home secretary to decide if the next commissioner was a person of colour.

Asked if he accepted racism was a problem in the Met, he said: "Yes, I do."

He added: "What I would say is, there are people who have racist views and are racist and they are in policing. But what I won't do is describe the organisation as a racist organisation."

Mr Javid, who is responsible for professional standards, said there was "absolutely no room for racism in policing, especially here in the Metropolitan Police".

"If people are found to be racist or discriminatory in any way, then I will do absolutely everything I can to make sure they're removed from the police," he said.

But one of the officers who spoke to the BBC said racism within the force had got worse and officers accused of discrimination did not face adequate sanctions.

When he raised a complaint, he said the Met Police "put more pressure on the victim than the accused".

He said he felt like he was the one who had to move departments, while the accused stayed in the same job.

"There shouldn't be any other option than for them to lose their job," he said.

"Until that changes, I don't think much will change in the Met."

'Incredibly traumatic'

He said a supervisor had referred to him as a monkey, "one of the most derogatory terms that someone could ever refer to you as a black person".

"It's hurtful and disgusting," he said.

The officer also said he had been victimised based on the way he speaks, and colleagues had called him a drug dealer or gang member.

The second officer, a black woman in a senior role, said working in the Met Police was "incredibly traumatic" for black officers because of the discrimination they faced.

She said it was common for people of colour to be undermined and humiliated in meetings.

In a recruitment meeting, senior leaders said black and Asian people were not joining the Met because they were not clever enough, she said.

Both officers said things could not change in the Met Police unless there was a recognition of racism and misogyny in the force.

"I'm not convinced things will change," the male officer said.

"Things will remain the same until there are a group of top rank bosses who are replaced, in my opinion - the bosses who refused to admit there are issues in the Met."

The female police officer said the next Met Commissioner should be recruited from outside the force.

"Everyone who Cressida surrounded herself with were people who mirrored what she believed. You need an outsider," she said.

Additional reporting by Joseph Lee

More on this story

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Met Police: Some officers are racist, professional standards chief admits

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A senior officer has admitted racism remains a problem in the Met Police, after two black colleagues told the BBC that discrimination was getting worse. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bas Javid told BBC Newsnight some officers "have racist views and are racist". But he denied the Met was a "racist organisation".

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Sha'Carri Richardson sees a double standard in allowing Kamila Valieva to compete

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Sha'Carri Richardson sees a double standard in allowing Kamila Valieva to compete

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Sha’Carri Richardson sees a double standard in allowing Kamila Valieva to compete

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“The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady,” U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson said, after the Russian figure skater is allowed to compete at the Olympics despite a failed drug test.

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Books Being Banned in Schools Under the Pretense of Critical Race Theory 

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Books Being Banned in Schools Under the Pretense of Critical Race Theory 

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Book bans in schools are catching fire. Black authors say uproar isn’t about students.

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Parents and patrons initiate more than half of all book challenges in the U.S., compared to 1 percent from students, the American Library Association reported.

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An African American-Latino Army Lieutenant pepper sprayed during traffic stop

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An African American-Latino Army Lieutenant pepper sprayed during traffic stop

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*Trigger Warning: The video of the encounter embedded in this link is very violent* I first found the footage of this on tik tok and was completely outraged. The only thing I could think of was that I would never ever experience such violence and aggression by police as a white woman ESPECIALLY during something as small as a traffic stop. The second thing that came to mind was this lieutenant is actively serving this country and in uniform, which I would expect to give him more respect and appreciation from anyone (by risking his life for this country), he was still antagonised and discriminated against because of the colour of his skin. Again, I assume this is about race because I could never see myself being approached by law enforcement like that in the same situation. This is because I am a white woman which is not seen to society as threatening, however, black males are.

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Virginia's attorney general sued the town where a police officer appeared to threaten the execution of a Black Army lieutenant during a traffic stop, alleging Thursday that the city's police department engages in a broader pattern of discriminatory policing.

In a written statement, top state prosecutor Mark Herring recalled the "egregious treatment" of U.S. Army officer Lt. Caron Nazario and said a monthslong investigation prompted by the case uncovered "huge" disparities in enforcement against Black drivers and a "troubling lack of policies and procedures" to prevent discrimination.

"We even discovered evidence that officers were actually being trained to go 'fishing' and engage in pretextual stops," Herring said.

Nazario's traffic stop occurred Dec. 5, 2020, in the town of Windsor, about 30 miles west of downtown Norfolk, when officers pulled him over for not having a license plate.

A lawsuit filed earlier this year by Nazario against Windsor officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker alleges excessive force and other constitutional violations, and claims the officers struck Nazario with their knees after he was "compliant and blinded" by pepper spray.

In the suit, Nazario, who is Black and Latino, said he had a new vehicle tag clearly visible in his rear window and didn't immediately pull over because he was looking for a safe place to stop.

When he finally did, Gutierrez told him he was "fixin' to ride the lightning," according to the lawsuit and body camera video of the incident. The lawsuit states the expression is a reference to execution by electric chair.

The video showed Nazario saying he was afraid to get out of his car and officers pepper spraying him.

Gutierrez was later fired by the department and Crocker was disciplined.

Their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday, but in court filings Gutierrez and Crocker denied the allegations in Nazario's suit, saying they used "reasonable" force and did not violate his rights. Gutierrez also denied that he was planning to execute Nazario, the filing says.

In the suit filed Thursday, Virginia state prosecutors claimed that Windsor police officers disproportionately stop Black drivers.

Between July 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, Black drivers accounted for 42 percent of the department's traffic stops, a rate 200 to 500 percent greater than what it should be based on the size of the area's Black population, the suit claims.

The suit also alleges that officers disproportionately search Black motorists and that the department provided different traffic stop and citation data to local and state authorities.

The suit, filed in circuit court in Isle of Wight County, seeks to reform the department through court-ordered policy changes.

Windsor town officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but in a statement to a local newspaper, the Suffolk News-Herald, the town described Herring's suit as "clearly political."

Before and after Nazario's traffic stop, the police department practiced non-discriminatory policing, the statement said. Still, officials took measures to increase police training and accountability, the statement said - measures that state prosecutors "were fully aware of" for "several months."

The statement also said that data cited by the attorney general's office was "questionable," though it did not provide additional details.

In an interview Thursday, a lawyer for Nazario, Tom Roberts, said he was "happy to see the attorney general of the state of Virginia has taken the Dec. 5 incident as seriously as we do."

He added that Nazario is in treatment for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and views what happened last year as a "horrible betrayal."

"It's shaken him to his core," he said.

CORRECTION (Dec. 31, 2021, 1:22 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this story misstated where the lawsuit was filed. It was Isle of Wight County Circuit Court, not Isle of Wright County Circuit Court.

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Virginia AG sues town where police threatened Black Army lieutenant during stop

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Virginia's attorney general sued the town where a police officer appeared to threaten the execution of a Black Army lieutenant during a traffic stop, alleging Thursday that the city's police department engages in a broader pattern of discriminatory policing. In a written statement, top state prosecutor Mark Herring recalled the "egregious treatment" of U.S.

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Willie O’Ree - Blocking Out Racism & Gaining the Respect of Players and Fans | The Daily Show

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Willie O’Ree - Blocking Out Racism & Gaining the Respect of Players and Fans | The Daily Show

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Willie O’Ree reflects on the racism he encountered when he became the first Black player to compete in the NHL in 1958, discusses how he was able to play professional hockey for 21 years while legally blind in one eye, and explains why he encourages kids of color to get on the ice.

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Willie O’Ree - Blocking Out Racism & Gaining the Respect of Players and Fans | The Daily Show

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I found this video to be interesting as I believe this also applies to the Hispanic community. Women in the Hispanic community with indigenous features do not regularly receive representation in films or are provided roles outside of stereotypes. Certain popular Mexican shows in the 70's showcase Indigenous female actors as unintelligent and slow. However, actresses like Yalitza Aparicio have been at the forefront of representing women with indigenous features in film with her breakout role in Netflix's film "Roma". The film received so much success that she was nominated for Best Actress making her the first Mexican women in fourteen years and the first Indigenous women in history. It's upsetting that it has taken so long for this form of representation to occur for women that look like Yalitza and I but it's a step forward in the right direction toward more diversity and inclusion.

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Ahmaud Arbery was chased and killed because he was a black young guy

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Ahmaud Arbery was chased and killed because he was a black young guy

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On februray 20, 2020 Arbery a young 25 years old man was killed by three men. It is surprising that federal hate crime trial is just beginning after two years. It is not the first time that innocent black men were kill because of racism. It is very hard to change the people perception about racism.

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Arbery hate-crimes trial is first to ask role of hate in 2020 killing

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The trial expected to start Monday will focus on whether the White men who killed Ahmaud Arbery viewed him suspiciously because he was Black.

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This is a good read to catch up on the inequalities going on in the Nursing field. We all may have heard about how minority patients get treated but I was haven’t heard yet about the minorities who are trying to/have become nurses. Now that I think about it I have been mainly seen white nurses.

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The recently retired NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya swung by Tucker Carlson's show this week to talk about why she felt compelled to leave her high-profile sports media job and get involved in politics. To promote her appearance, Fox News posted this quote from Tafoya on social media: "It breaks my heart that my kids are being taught that skin color matters."

A pretty rich statement coming from Tafoya, for multiple reasons.

First, she reportedly lives in Edina, Minn. - a suburb of Minneapolis that was founded and populated by Black people in the 1890s until they were systematically driven out by racial covenants embedded in property deeds. The covenants stated that property could be sold only to white people.

In 1948, the Supreme Court ruled that courts could not enforce the covenants, but residents could adhere to them if they wanted to. Edina, which reportedly had nearly 3,000 residential properties with racial covenants in their deeds as recently as last fall, is roughly 85% white. And Tafoya says her heart breaks because "my kids are being taught that skin color matters." ... Well, the joke pretty much writes itself.

Opinion Columnist

LZ Granderson

Second, her attack against critical race theory is especially nonsensical considering the league she covered for two decades could be Exhibit A for systemic racism. The NFL has been accused of racism in two lawsuits in the past two seasons alone.

The Brian Flores case regarding head coach hiring is the most recent suit to grab headlines. But until recently the NFL used a practice called race norming when determining payouts from a concussion settlement between retired players and the league. The premise: Black players were assumed to be less intelligent than white players. This made it more difficult for Black men - who currently make up 70% of the NFL's players - to prove brain damage caused by the game than white men. The league settled the lawsuit for $1 billion in 2021 and vowed to stop the practice.

A town built on racism is where Tafoya calls home.

A league famous for racism has been her beat for years.

And yet she appears to be more concerned that her children might learn about racism than she is about the racism happening all around her children.

She signaled just how seriously we should take her views on social justice issues when she agreed to go on Carlson's show in the first place. This is a man who said President Biden's immigration policies were designed "to change the racial mix of the country, to reduce the political power of people whose ancestors lived here and dramatically increase the proportion of Americans newly arrived from the Third World." If that sentiment sounds vaguely familiar, it should. " Jews will not replace us " was one of the phrases torch-carrying white supremacists chanted in Charlottesville, Va., back in 2017. So yeah, if Carlson's show is where you choose to appear, we sort of have an idea of where the conversation is headed.

Tafoya, who identifies as a libertarian, is said to be co-chairing the gubernatorial campaign of Kendall Qualls, a Black man who led a nonprofit organization called TakeCharge MN. According to the website, it is "committed to countering the prevailing narrative in popular culture that America is structured to undermine the lives of black Americans." The organization says that "we also denounce the idea that the country is guilty of systemic racism."

It would seem that Tafoya has hitched her wagon to a candidate who, much like herself, won't let facts get in the way of a good story.

Earlier this week, she said if NFL teams believed Colin Kaepernick "could win them a Super Bowl, he would be on a team right now." In 2017, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Kaepernick is "a starter in this league." I interviewed a head coach in 2020 who told me off the record that the owner wouldn't let him bring Kaepernick in, after the player's public stance against systemic racism. In 2021, Alex Smith, who played with Kaepernick, said "it doesn't make sense" that he's not in the NFL. But Tafoya wants you to believe it wasn't protesting that's kept Kaepernick out of the league, but simply ability.

We all know why he's not in the league ... whether the Tafoyas talk honestly about the history or not.

Speaking of history, did you know when the Federal Aid Highway Act was passed in 1956, it led to the construction of a number of highways that connected major cities to predominantly white suburbs, destroying Black neighborhoods and businesses in the process? One such freeway was I-35 West, which ripped through South Minneapolis, providing easier access to such quaint little places as Edina.

Yes, that Edina.

But by all means, do go on about how the color of one's skin does not matter in this country.
@LZGranderson

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Granderson: The twisted career path that leads from covering the NFL to denying systemic racism

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The recently retired NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya swung by Tucker Carlson's show this week to talk about why she felt compelled to leave her high-profile sports media job and get involved in politics. To promote her appearance, Fox News posted this quote from Tafoya on social media: "It breaks my heart that my kids are being taught that skin color matters."

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The future of teaching about racism in schools

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The future of teaching about racism in schools

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This article covers how the government is wanting to start to teach about racism in schools. This is progress! They are still discussing the best way for teachers to bring this upon students in a sensitive and  non biased way. These issues of racism are very controversial, so educators are still trying to brainstorm the best way to come about it. The purpose is to get younger generation familiar with values in society and understand the laws around it.

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The government is rolling out guidance to schools on how to approach teaching racism for the first time, following controversial ministerial intervention in classrooms.

Schools are already required to teach in a politically impartial way, but this instruction from ministers will specifically advise teacher on how to address "sensitive issues".

The guidance comes after the education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, waded into a debate over the teaching of anti-racism in Brighton schools last week, and ordered an investigation after becoming "concerned" by non-discriminatory resources being shared with students.

Slides from race training given to teachers in Brighton and Hove schools leaked to The Sunday Telegraph said that "between the ages of three and five, children learn to attach value to skin colour: white at the top of the hierarchy and black at the bottom".

"Over the last few years, there has been much discussion about political impartiality in schools, often in the context of specific political issues and movements," the education secretary said of the government's unique guidance.

"I know that this has at times been difficult for school leaders, teachers, and staff, as they navigate how to handle and teach about these complex issues sensitively and appropriately.

"That is why I'm pleased this government is publishing clear guidance explaining schools' existing legal duties on political impartiality."

The manual suggests that the teaching of historical figures should focus on "factual information" about them, and that teaching of the British empire should be presented in "a balanced manner".

One scenario refers to teaching pupils about racism and cautions that teachers should be aware that campaign groups such as Black Lives Matter "cover partisan political views".

The recommendations say that "teachers should be clear that racism has no place in our society" when covering this topic with pupils, and should "help pupils to understand facts about this and the law".

It adds that some campaign groups such as BLM may cover "partisan political views ... which go beyond the shared principle that racism is unacceptable, which is a view schools should reinforce".

"Examples of such partisan political views include advocating specific views on how government resources should be used to address social issues, including withdrawing funding from the police," it adds.

The guidance says that for recent historical events, "including those which are particularly contentious and disputed, political issues may be presented to pupils".

It also states: "This includes many topics relating to empire and imperialism, on which there are differing partisan political views, and which should be taught in a balanced manner," adding that schools should be free to teach pupils about significant political figures, including "those who have controversial and contested legacies".

But it adds that this may need to be reserved for older pupils, and says that it could be advisable to focus teaching on "what these figures are most renowned for and factual information about them", if teachers think pupils may not be able to understand the full context of contested information about their lives.

The guidance states that when teachers are discussing the decriminalisation of homosexuality with pupils, they should not present discriminatory beliefs held at the time in an uncritical way, or as though they are acceptable today.

It adds that pupils should not be presented with views that oppose fundamental societal values, such as views denigrating freedom of speech or the democratic process.

When inviting politicians or campaigners to speak in schools, teachers should aim to invite a range of speakers with varying views, or teach directly about other candidates or political parties to promote balance.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "It has never been more important to facilitate and encourage discussions about political and contemporaneous issues as it is now.

"Young people are exposed to a swirl of misinformation online, and an increasingly toxic discourse on social media as well as in political debate among those who should know better.

"Schools have a vital role in providing a safe space in which young people can examine and understand controversial issues.

"The vast majority of teachers are very good at managing these discussions in a way that is balanced and impartial. We welcome anything which helps them to navigate this difficult territory."

He added: "However, we are keen that this should not be over-prescriptive as it could have the unintended consequence of deterring open discussions."

Last October, the government published its response to a report from the Education Select Committee that claimed that terminology such as "white privilege" may have contributed towards a "systemic neglect" of white working-class pupils.

Mr Zahawi said: "I know one of the reasons many teachers feel so passionate about the profession is the remarkable role they play in young people's lives, helping them understand more about themselves and their views of the world.

"I don't want there to be any barriers - real or perceived - to teachers' vital work in this space, which is why I am reinforcing that no subject is off-limits in the classroom, as long as it is treated in an age-appropriate way, with sensitivity and respect, and without promoting contested theories as fact.

"Clearer guidance on political impartiality is just one part of my wider work to give children the best possible education as the government continues to prioritise skills, schools and families, to enable young people to reach the full height of their potential."

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Government rolls out 'guidance' on teaching racism in schools

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The government is rolling out guidance to schools on how to approach teaching racism for the first time, following controversial ministerial intervention in classrooms. Schools are already required to teach in a politically impartial way, but this instruction from ministers will specifically advise teacher on how to address "sensitive issues".

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Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary: Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome

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Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary: Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome

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This video is really long, but incredibly worth the watch if you find yourself uneducated on the history of Black people in America. Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary is a highly intelligent women, who frames her arguments in an extremely effective manner. Watching this is definitely worth it, and a step in the direction of education when it comes to racism. In my opinion, this content of education should be mandatory for schools, which would be part of teaching Critical Race Theory. Please watch this.

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Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary: Post Traumatic Slave Disorder

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NFL needs to hire more African American Coaches

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NFL needs to hire more African American Coaches

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This article discussed the countries push to hire more African American coaches in the NFL. Currently 2 out of 31 coaches are African American. The article discusses the fact that the game itself is comprised of many African American individuals and it's preposterous to think that they are unable to coach the game as well as a White a man. President Joe Biden along with many others have made the issue clear to the people incharge of the league and commissioner Roger Goodell has announced that its something to take seriously.

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Biden says NFL needs to live up to its words on hiring more Black coaches

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President Joe Biden waded into the controversy surrounding the NFL’s hiring practices in an interview that aired Sunday, stating it’s “just some generic decency” to ensure more head coaching opportunities for Black and minority candidates.

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The pandemic's spotlight on inequity offers fuel for efforts to remove race as a factor in clinical equations.

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The pandemic's spotlight on inequity offers fuel for efforts to remove race as a factor in clinical equations.

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This article highlights the stories of racial inequality in medicine today. The article explains that after many social injustices and the murder of George Floyd, racism has been on the forefront of people's minds, and people are ready to act in solidarity to end racial injustices. The article then explains that with the the global pandemic circulating, it becomes evident when people are receiving different treatment solely based on race.

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Seminal events during the pandemic - such as the protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020 and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color - have brought the issues of systemic racism and injustice to the forefront of the public's consciousness.

For some health care providers, the moment also has presented an opportunity to leverage the national conversation into new efforts to examine how existing policies and practices in medicine may be perpetuating racial health inequities.

"We're at a pivotal time," says Dr. Nichola Davis, chief population health officer for NYC Health + Hospitals, New York City's public hospital and health care system. "People's ears are open and they are willing to hear and have these courageous conversations that they maybe weren't able to have in 2019."

At issue are clinical algorithms that factor in race when assessing a patient's risk for a host of health conditions, ranging from death in connection with heart surgery to urinary tract infections in children. Critics of such calculations contend they may result in patients of color receiving less access to and poorer quality of care than their white counterparts, fueling long-standing racial health disparities.

"Race was never necessary or needed" in these algorithms, says Dr. Milda Saunders, an ethicist and health equity researcher and associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. "I think a lot of times when we're measuring race we're measuring racism, both structural and interpersonal racism."

Race-based adjustments within algorithms that help make clinical assessments have been around for decades. But while there is widespread acceptance within the scientific and medical communities that the concept of race is not based on biology and is instead a social construct, race correction continues to influence patient diagnoses and treatments.

And despite growing acknowledgment of the potential harms caused by race correction in medicine, so ingrained are these calculations in clinical assessments that the effort to overhaul them is often complicated with questions over what factors can be an adequate replacement.

"These are conversations that have been happening among certain subsets of people for years," Davis says. "This isn't new work for some people."

There has been notable movement of late, however: Last May, for example, NYC Health+Hospitals announced its removal of a patient's race from calculations used to assess kidney function - part of the launch of the health system's broader " Medical Eracism" initiative.

Race was first introduced in the late 1990s to calculate estimated glomerular filtration rate, or eGFR, which is commonly used by clinicians to measure the kidneys' ability to filter waste from the blood. A higher eGFR score normally suggests better kidney function.

Black patients, though, are typically assigned a race adjustment that raises their eGFR by approximately 16% or more than non-Black patients, depending on the equation used. The adjustment is tied to past findings showing higher levels of the waste product creatinine among Black people.

"Explanations that have been given for this finding include the notion that Black people release more creatinine into their blood at baseline, in part because they are reportedly more muscular," a 2020 article in The New England Journal of Medicine states. "Analyses have cast doubt on this claim, but the 'race-corrected' eGFR remains the standard."

Davis says this adjustment can negatively impact the quality of health care Black patients receive, causing delays in receiving medical interventions such as referrals to a nephrologist or dialysis. One such potential consequence was outlined in a November piece published by STAT, in which Glenda V. Roberts - a woman with kidney disease who identified as Black - wrote of how the equation delayed her evaluation for a kidney transplant.

"Unfortunately, when you look at the clinical algorithms, what many of them do is they may downplay the severity of some illnesses when you do that race correction," Davis says.

"The big change is that more institutions like the hospital system, hospital leadership and administrators are more on board with efforts toward equity than they were in prior years," says Dr. Monica Maalouf, associate program director of internal medicine for Loyola Medicine, a health system based in the Chicago area.

Maalouf says Loyola is in the process of determining how to remove race as a variable within the health system's eGFR calculations. That process has involved talks with physicians and laboratory coordinators and directors, as well as working with information technology specialists on how to remove the racial designation from the risk score's automated reporting system.

National Kidney Foundation President Dr. Paul Palevsky says the new equation marks an important step toward efforts to achieve equity in health care by providing a more accurate, race-free approach to assessing kidney function.

"It was the most common equation used in medicine that incorporated race that was reported to be used in clinical care," Palevsky says, estimating a race-inclusive equation for kidney function is used approximately 240 million times a year.

But while the change in the eGFR calculation signifies a substantial step forward, eliminating race correction in calculations for other health conditions has been more challenging, despite increased recognition about the potential harms and health disparities that can come from their continued use.

"The field has realized that when we are using race as a factor in our clinical assessments that we're actually not using a precise measure like we would do for measuring sex, or age, or other things that we use to make our clinical decisions," says Saunders, with the University of Chicago. "But we want to find the best answer, so that may involve sort of reexamining the questions and not just saying, 'Let's just drop race,' but asking what was race measuring, and then substituting that measure."

Saunders says University of Chicago Medicine recently removed race in calculating eGFR in patients, opting to adopt the algorithm endorsed by the National Kidney Foundation. She notes there also has been a broader push among clinicians in recent years to consider the impact of social drivers like income, access to food, housing status and access to transportation on patients of color when making clinical assessments.

Much of the recent attention toward removing race in clinical assessments began with the 2020 article published in the The New England Journal of Medicine, which listed about a dozen tools that included race in assessing clinical areas such as patients' lung function, risk of in-hospital death from heart failure and survival from cardiac surgery. Such tools hold the potential for harmful consequences, the article noted, and could lead to issues such as nonwhite patients not getting health care interventions as early as white patients.

"Many of these race-adjusted algorithms guide decisions in ways that may direct more attention or resources to white patients than to members of racial and ethnic minorities," wrote the authors, from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and NYU Langone Health. "If doctors and clinical educators rigorously analyze algorithms that include race correction, they can judge, with fresh eyes, whether the use of race or ethnicity is appropriate."

Last May, a study published by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology introduced an updated model that does not factor in patient race for use in estimating the chance of a successful vaginal birth for women who previously had a cesarean section. By lowering the estimated chance of success for women of color, a previous version of the VBAC calculator - a tool singled out in the NEJM piece - could push them toward a C-section, which is a major surgical procedure many maternal health experts believe is performed too often.

At the same time, adjusting for race in some cases may raise the question of whether doing so is useful if it results in minority groups potentially receiving more consideration.

For example, race adjustment within an atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk estimator - which estimates the risk of having an event like a stroke and helps clinicians determine when to start patients on cholesterol-lowering medication - can put patients who identify as Black at higher risk than white patients. Having race correction within the tool could make it more likely clinicians will intervene earlier for Black patients.

"Using race in these clinical algorithms hasn't been all bad," says Dr. Malika Fair, senior director of equity and social accountability for the Association of American Medical Colleges. "Their intent when they were being used sometimes was to identify health inequities."

Fair says unilaterally removing race from every algorithm is a feasible approach, but fails to answer whether doing so would make things better or worse for patients. "We have to take the time to figure that out so that we don't end up inadvertently creating more racial health inequities when we remove race from the equation," Fair says.

Notably, a study published last year in The Lancet Oncology found that removing race from an eGFR equation could undercut cancer treatment in Black patients.

Dr. Megan Mahoney, chief of staff for Stanford Health Care and a clinical professor of medicine at Stanford University, says professional medical societies can play a huge part in providing and promoting guidance on alternatives that clinicians can use to assess disease risk without factoring race. Yet much of the action taken thus far aimed at eliminating race-based clinical assessment has been led by individual hospitals and health systems, which have made policy decisions after deliberation and consideration from their own experts.

Mahoney says medical societies can streamline the decision process for hospitals by serving as a trusted arbiter to review the evidence and provide guidance that most will accept.

"A particular health care system can do it, it's just that it's going to be harder to get buy-in from those who are actually implementing the change - the physicians on the front line - without the professional societies backing them," Mahoney says.

Mahoney agrees it's important to identify the root causes of health disparities for patients of color that have led to differences in risk outcomes. But she fears leaving race-based algorithms in place could reinforce concepts that tie race to biology, and could have long-term social and clinical ramifications.

"Even if there are going to be downstream changes that might put African Americans at a disadvantage, the perpetuation of race as a biological factor both in medical education and in medicine in general, the risk of that far outweighs that minor benefit some racial groups might be getting from the current state," Mahoney says. "We are really putting our medical students and a whole generation of trainees at a disadvantage when the concept of biological race is reinforced in their training."

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Seminal events during the pandemic - such as the protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020 and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color - have brought the issues of systemic racism and injustice to the forefront of the public's consciousness.

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UC Berkeley has a poor reputation among Black students. It’s trying to change that

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UC Berkeley has a poor reputation among Black students. It’s trying to change that

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I thought this was an interesting article which was about how black students of UC Berkeley felt out of place or as if they didn't belong. Fortunately UC Berkeley has started to recognize that and has increased admission rates and financial aid for black students specifically.

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Two years ago, UC Berkeley seemed like a dream campus for Ahmad Mahmuod.

The San Diego-born son of Somali refugees, the first in his family of nine to attend a four-year university, could hardly believe he'd earned admission to the world-famous campus, known for its top academic rankings and history of progressive activism.

But he quickly learned that Berkeley had another, dubious reputation: It's known for having the worst campus climate for Black students in the University of California system.

On his big move-in day in August 2018, Mahmuod said, no one would get into the residence hall elevator with him even though it was empty. On his first day of classes, he encountered only one other Black student among some 800 peers in three courses - statistics, Arabic, oceanography - and all of his professors were white. That fall, only 3.4% of Berkeley's nearly 31,000 students were Black.

"I made it to the No. 1 public university in the world," Mahmuod said, "but it took less than 10 minutes for me to feel I did not belong."

That persistent feeling among many Black students at Berkeley - and years of demands for remedies - have led to what campus officials call their most concerted effort ever to improve diversity and combat anti-Blackness and other racism.

The effort, which includes changes to admissions, increased financial aid, expanded student support and new communal spaces, has been given greater urgency by the nationwide movement for racial justice triggered by the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May.

The efforts are paying off. Last week, Berkeley announced it had accepted the largest number of Black students in three decades, accounting for 5% of the admitted California freshman class. The figure is close to mirroring the proportion of California high school graduates who are Black, 5.3%, but it's too early to know how many students will actually enroll.

"The most important thing is creating a campus in which everybody feels that they belong, that they're valued, that they're respected and that they're heard," Chancellor Carol Christ said in an interview. "My commitment to that work is, today, stronger than ever given the state of race relations in our country and the moral imperative to provide justice, equity and opportunity for all."

Berkeley's problems started as the state's Black share of residents began to decline in the 1990s and were exacerbated by the 1996 passage of Proposition 209, which banned affirmative action. Black student numbers plummeted from a high of 7.4% of all undergraduates in 1989 to a low of 3.2% in 2016. Berkeley now has the smallest percentage of Black students among UC's nine undergraduate campuses except San Diego and Irvine.

Eddie Comeaux, a UC Riverside professor, attended Berkeley before the affirmative action ban and said the critical mass of Black students then gave him a sense of belonging.

"There were more opportunities to build community with people who look like you," said Comeaux, who has studied Black student college choices. "When you don't see that, it sends a signal that you're not wanted."

A 2019 study by the USC Race and Equity Center ranked Berkeley last among UC campuses in equity for Black students based on four factors. Berkeley scored an A for its Black student-faculty ratio, a B for gender diversity, a C for numerical representation and a D for its six-year Black student graduation rate of 75.4% - 15.9 percentage points lower than the campus' overall student rate.

The USC study was largely based on 2016 data; Berkeley has since increased the number of Black students to 1,084 last fall, raised the graduation rate to 77.5% and added five Black full-time faculty members as of fall 2018.

Black Berkeley students have expressed dismay with their campus climate. In a 2018 UC undergraduate survey, 58% of Black respondents said they felt their race was disrespected, the highest proportion among UC campuses.

Those feelings were exacerbated in December, when a video went viral showing a UC Berkeley student using racial slurs against Black people, prompting a university review and statement of condemnation. Mahmuod and other Black students also complain about being racially profiled by campus police - being stopped for ID, for instance, more often than other students.

After years of Black student demands for change, Christ accelerated diversity efforts.

"If [students] don't experience diversity in their classrooms, living spaces and extracurricular activities; if they don't learn how to live and work in a diverse world, we're really shortchanging them educationally," she said.

To forge a new way forward, Berkeley hired Femi Ogundele away from Stanford University to serve as assistant vice chancellor and director of undergraduate admissions. He believes that enrolling more Black students will improve the negative campus environment for them.

"The only way that we're going to be able to fight that narrative is to get into those communities and let them know that not only are you good enough but we are actively looking for you," he said.

He and his team have "doubled down" on partnerships with Black community groups and high school counselors to widen the pipeline of potential applicants. They've expanded their recruiting efforts, both close to home in places such as Vallejo and Richmond and farther out, adding a recruiter in the mid-Atlantic region and a second one in Los Angeles.

They've used social media to publicize Berkeley's commitment to diversity, including an Instagram post last month by Black admission staff speaking out against racism and anti-Blackness. Berkeley also has begun to read applications differently to understand the context of a student's background before evaluating their grades and test scores.

The student-led Black Recruitment and Retention Center has visited high schools, sponsored basketball camps and organized study jams, community barbecues, scholarships and networking opportunities.

"Even though we have a lot of issues here, it kind of motivates us to fight because I don't think just giving up on this school is going to be beneficial for the Black students who are here," said Nazak Wali-Ali, the center's community development coordinator and a rising senior in legal studies and ethnic studies.

More generous financial aid has been a key recruiting tool. Berkeley launched a special scholarship program for Black students in 2018, raising private funds for it, and increased the $8,000 annual awards to 44 recipients this year compared with 12 last year.

Such financial aid sealed the deal for students such as Nicole Anyanwu, a student senator and rising senior majoring in molecular biology.

Yet when she arrived, Anyanwu soon felt isolated, as the only Black student in many of her classes. When she walked through Sproul Plaza, which is typically lined with campus clubs trying to recruit members, she said no one offered her fliers - a common experience known as "Sprouling while Black." When she did try to join a campus consulting club, Anyanwu said, she was told she wasn't a good "cultural fit."

Meanwhile, Black students have worked hard to create a sense of community among their limited numbers. They gather on Sproul Plaza each "Black Wednesday" to hang out and used demonstrations, including blockading the Golden Bear Cafe, to successfully lobby for a Black Resource Center.

The center, named after civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, opened in 2017 and has become a sanctuary. Another gathering spot is the African American themed dorm.

The resource center features African art, a library and an altar dedicated to ancestors bearing flowers and inspiring messages. During a recent visit, students studied and socialized; some snacked on pupusas and built "vision boards" to set their intentions for the new decade.

Jasmine Sozi, a rising senior majoring in ethnic studies, said the spaces and programming - on Black self-care, for instance - give her a sense of community. "Our experience at Berkeley would just like be completely different without the center," Sozi said. "At a school where there's maybe like 30,000 students, I maybe might see three Black people a day. So that's one of the reasons I come to the center all of the time. I'm always able to see a friendly face here."

In addition, the African American Student Development Office has added staff to provide academic guidance, social and emotional support, career development and community building. "Black joy" events, such as cultural food tastings, are also important to offset negativity and stress, Director Takiyah Jackson said.

Christ said, however, that much work remains. Campus officials are planning workshops to counter anti-Blackness and increased research opportunities for Black students. They also are working to hire more faculty of color, a major issue for many Black students.

Chezliah Osman, a rising fourth-year student in history, said she dropped out of her first-choice major, political science, because she found too many classes "incredibly Eurocentric and whitewashed." In one course on wars, for instance, the professor said only European conflicts would be studied because of their technological advances. But last year, Berkeley hired assistant professor of political science Desmond Jagmohan, who has begun to teach a course on the History of African American Political Thought.

Raven Gatson, an incoming freshman from San Antonio, said she already senses change.

She was awarded an $8,000 scholarship and has been invited to a summer bridge program to ease her into Berkeley's academic rigor. Several Black students and staff already have reached out to welcome her.

"If I as a Black female don't go to Berkeley, it means one less Black person there," she said. "Having a seat at the table is important."

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UC Berkeley has a poor reputation among Black students. It's trying to change that

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UC Berkeley is known as one of the nation's best public research universities, but one of the worst University of California campuses for Black students. The campus is trying to change that with better recruitment, financial aid and student support.

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Forced Relocation Left Native Americans More Exposed to Climate Threats 

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Forced Relocation Left Native Americans More Exposed to Climate Threats 

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This Article highlights the racial inequity in the United States. Native American tribes have been pushed onto smaller lands, and these lands have less hospitable climates. The result of this is has caused for higher electricity costs for already low income residents on the reservations. Sadly, the extreme heat has pushed tribal members away from their communities and into cities. This has created further damage to the indigenous culture and language.

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Tribal nations have lost 99 percent of their historical territory. Where they live now is more vulnerable to extreme weather, adding to the debate over how to address racial injustice.

Curtis Naseyowma, a Hopi rancher living in the village of Moenkopi, Ariz., examining his corn crop last month. Credit... Tomás Karmelo Amaya for The New York Times

WASHINGTON - Centuries of land loss and forced relocation have left Native Americans significantly more exposed to the effects of climate change, new data show, adding to the debate over how to address climate change and racial inequity in the United States.

The findings, which took seven years to compile and were published Thursday in the journal Science, mark the first time that researchers have been able to quantify on a large scale what Native Americans have long believed to be true: That European settlers, and later the United States government, pushed Indigenous peoples onto marginal lands.

"Historic land dispossession is a huge factor contributing to extreme climate change vulnerability for tribes," said Kyle Whyte, one of the study's authors, who is a University of Michigan professor and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

The new data comes as the United States suffers through increasingly severe heat waves, drought, wildfires and other disasters made worse by a warming planet. By demonstrating that government actions have made Native Americans more exposed to climate change, the authors argue, the data strengthens the case for trying to make up for that damage, however imperfectly.

"This is not just a story of the past harms," said Justin Farrell, a Yale University professor and another of the study's authors. "We have to think about ways to recompense for this history."

To measure the effects of forced migration on climate exposure, the authors assembled a database showing the historical land bases and land loss of 380 individual tribes, based on data from tribal nations' own records, land cession treaties and other federal archives. Most of the data spanned the period from the 1500s to the 1800s.

The authors then compared the amount of land tribes used to have with each tribe's present-day reservations. In total, the amount of land shrank by 98.9 percent. In many cases, no comparison was possible: Of the 380 tribes they examined, 160 have no federally or state-recognized land base today.

But for the remaining 220 tribes, the authors found that their present-day lands, on average, are just 2.6 percent the size of their historical lands - an average reduction of 83,131 square miles.

In addition to occupying far less land, most tribes were pushed far from their historical lands. The average distance between historical and current lands was 239 kilometers (149 miles); one tribe, the Kickapoo, moved 1,366 kilometers (849 miles).

A dry irrigation ditch in the Many Farms Lake area of the Navajo Nation in Arizona. Credit... Kalen Goodluck for The New York Times

Not only were tribes pushed onto smaller lands far from their original territory; those lands also have less hospitable climates.

The authors measured exposure to extreme heat by tabulating the average annual number of days above 100 degrees Fahrenheit between 1971 and 2000 across each tribe's present-day lands, and then doing the same for historical lands.

They found that overall, present lands experience two additional days of extreme heat each year. But for some tribes, the difference is far greater.

The Mojave tribe, whose current land is along the Colorado River, experiences an average of 117 days above 100 degrees or 62 more than on its historical lands.

The Hopi reservation, in Northeast Arizona, recorded 57 days above 100 degrees on average, compared with just two days on their historical lands, which included higher ground. The Chemehuevi, along the California and Arizona border, experienced an average of 84 days of extreme heat each year, 29 days more than on their historical lands, which likewise included higher ground.

More extreme heat means higher electricity costs, according to Brian McDonald, secretary treasurer for the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe. He said those higher costs are especially challenging because many residents have low incomes.

Extreme heat increases the incentives for tribal members to leave their reservation and relocate to cities, where there's more access to air-conditioned spaces and more transportation options to get to those places, according to Nikki Cooley, co-manager of the Tribes & Climate Change Program at Northern Arizona University.

"In the past, we used to go to the high country, where we had our summer camps. That's where we would cool off," said Ms. Cooley, who is a citizen of the Diné (Navajo) Nation. "We don't have that, because all of the high-elevation communities are off the reservation."

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico discussed water issues with local officials near Abiquiu, N.M., in August. Credit... Susan Montoya Bryan/Associated Press

As heat pushes tribal members away from their communities, the result is the further erosion of Indigenous culture and language, Ms. Cooley said.

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"You're disconnecting their umbilical cord - their tie to the land, and to the elders, who most likely will not be moving with them to these urban locations," she said.

The authors looked at the difference in other types of climate vulnerability. They found that another change was rainfall: Across all 220 tribes, average annual precipitation was almost one-quarter lower on current-day lands than on historical ones.

Among the tribes who receive less rainfall is the Pueblo of Laguna, whose current lands are west of Albuquerque. According to the new data, the average annual precipitation on the tribe's current land is about half of what its historical lands receive.

The tribe's members include Deb Haaland, whom President Biden appointed as the first Native American to lead the Interior Department, which has responsibility for tribal lands.

Secretary Haaland's office declined a request for an interview about the steps her agency has taken to make tribal nations more resilient against the effects of climate change.

Representative Teresa Leger Fernández, a Democrat from New Mexico and chair of the House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States, praised the infrastructure bill that Mr. Biden has pushed, which includes $216 million for climate resilience and adaptation for tribal nations.

More than half of that money, $130 million, would go toward "community relocation" - helping Indigenous Americans leave dangerous areas.

"That is not enough. But it is more than we have ever received," Ms. Leger Fernandez said in an interview. She said the government should pursue other options, including helping to transfer more land back to tribal nations that previously occupied that land - including land now held by the federal government, or using federal money to purchase private land from willing sellers.

"Be aware, and be educated, about the hard history of our nation," Ms. Leger Fernandez said. "I think all of those options are on the table."

Paul Berne Burow, another of the paper's authors and a doctoral student at Yale, said giving land back should be seen as a form of reparation, and also a way to make tribal nations more resilient to a changing climate.

"There are really meaningful, deep connections that people have to place," Mr. Burow said. "Returning dispossessed lands is one of the best things that can be done to begin to address these inequalities."

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Forced Relocation Left Native Americans More Exposed to Climate Threats, Data Show

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Tribal nations have lost 99 percent of their historical territory. Where they live now is more vulnerable to extreme weather, adding to the debate over how to address racial injustice.

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Racism in College Fraternities and Sororities 

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Racism in College Fraternities and Sororities 

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After reading this article about various different experiences people of color have had whilst associating with their college's greek life, I have noticed that there have been more negative experiences than positive ones. One California state college alum recalls a moment in her sorority where there was a dress code in that all members had to wear nude. Having a tanner complexion than most of her peers, she wore heels that matched her skin tone. She was then forced to get different heels that were her fellow members definition of "nude", a lighter shade that did not match her skin tone. This is just one of the many experiences people of color face when trying to join associations on campus.

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When Ellie, a graduate of a California state school, was told that she and her fellow sorority sisters had to wear nude heels for rush, she figured she would have to buy a new pair of shoes that fit her skin tone. But when she came back with tan heels, she was told to exchange them for a lighter pair. She said it was clear to her that to the chapter's recruitment chair, nude really meant the shade of white skin tones. Even though the lighter color didn't match her darker skin, Ellie had to replace her new heels to fit in with the rest of her predominantly white sorority.

Throughout the next three years, Ellie, a biracial, first-generation Chinese American student who asked to use a pseudonym to speak candidly, says she became used to biting her tongue when witnessing such microaggressions - as well as more blatant forms of racism. While the friendships she eventually gained gave her good enough reason to avoid dropping, she, along with hundreds of student leaders across the country, are now calling for the abolition of Greek life, citing pervasive racism within the system.

Ellie's shoe ordeal is just one example of the exclusionary attitudes that she says are commonplace in sororities, particularly during rush week, when houses present themselves to prospective members hoping to snag the most "desirable" freshmen girls. She recalled hearing members say that their house needed more blonde girls since they looked better in photos; that the "ethnics" belonged in other sororities.

While even more egregious instances of racism within the institution dominate headlines - blackface, cultural appropriation, and bigoted hazing rituals come to mind - it is the smaller exclusionary acts, such as those Ellie experienced, that many say expose the racism behind these houses' intimidating doors.

"Greek life is not a broken system; it's exclusive because it was built to be exclusive," Maya, a member of a sorority at Washington University in St. Louis who is now leaning toward the abolishment of the Greek system, tells Teen Vogue. "Birds of a feather flock together. You end up breeding these groups of people that are predominantly white and predominantly wealthy that are going to inherently exclude people of color."

This kind of privileged segregation has historically helped carry members to positions of power long after they've left campus. As University of Kentucky professor Alan DeSantis noted in his 2007 book on the Greek system, at the time of publication, 85% of Supreme Court justices since 1910, 85% of Fortune 500 executives, 76% of U.S senators, and 18 presidents since 1877 were fraternity men.

Greek life's lack of diversity is no secret. The hefty price of joining a chapter is reason enough for low-income students not to rush in the first place. Maya says her dues amount to $459 per semester, while Ellie paid $310 per quarter to be part of her California sorority. Some of the students we spoke to said the dues essentially work as a filter, resulting in many chapters across the country that are, to put it simply, white and rich. A 2011 review Princeton University conducted of its own Greek system found that "77% of sorority members and 73% of fraternity members were white."

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Behind the Growing Push to Abolish Campus Greek Life

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When Ellie, a graduate of a California state school, was told that she and her fellow sorority sisters had to wear nude heels for rush, she figured she would have to buy a new pair of shoes that fit her skin tone.

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This article discusses a legislation that will hopefully be passed in Pittsburgh to put an end to traffic stops due to minor violations. The article goes into detail about how people of color are pulled over at disproportionate rates. More often than not, these traffic stops for minor violations result in people of color being interrogated by police. I thought this would be a good article to share because it highlights the systemic racism that people of color face at the hands of law enforcement.

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The Tribune-Review is a multi-platform news organization, covering the Steelers, Pirates, Penguins and Western Pennsylvania.

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How does the Anti-Filipino Race Riots in the 1930s shape the diasporic experience of Filipino/a/x today? 

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How does the Anti-Filipino Race Riots in the 1930s shape the diasporic experience of Filipino/a/x today? 

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- Fear of kinship between Filipino men with white women, especially around leisure of dance.
-"Anti-Filipino riots quickly spread throughout California to the cities of Stockton, San Francisco, Salinas, and San Jose"
-Policies to construct and enforce the racial categories.
-The expansion of the American Empire and ideals.

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A few miles from Monterey Bay on the Central Coast of California, Watsonville is the heart of Pajaro Valley, a lush farmland. But for five days in 1930, Watsonville was engulfed by an Anti-Filipino Race Riot.

Roy Recio, son a Filipino farmworker, will present a webinar, on Saturday, January 23, 2021: Watsonville Talk Story: 1930 Anti-Filipino Watsonville Race Riots.

Please join this community Talk Story presentation and discussion to learn about the events and neglected history of the 1930 Anti-Filipino Watsonville Race Riots, which took place from January 19 to January 24. This year will mark the 91st anniversary of this fateful event where White mobs terrorized Filipino immigrants on the Central Coast. You can register here for this free event.
Background
The Immigration Acts of 1917 and 1924 allowed Filipinos to fill farm labor positions for two decades. They endured harsh working conditions while cultivating and harvesting asparagus, celery, and lettuce in the valleys of California.

Filipino farm workers frequented pool halls or attended street fairs. They sought the companionship of women outside their own ethnic community, since immigration laws restricted Filipinas. They danced with White women at taxi dance halls. It aggravated growing racial tension among Whites. They decried the takeover of farm jobs and companionship of young White women by Filipino men.
Race Riot
From January 19 to January 23, 1930, the most explosive anti-Filipino riot occurred in Watsonville in Pajaro Valley.

On January 19, early dawn, a white mob attempted to "rescue" the White ladies and to burn down a taxi dance hall. Mobs relentlessly harassed Filipinos at downtown and on ranches and farms. Hunting parties violently dragged Filipinos from their homes and savagely beat them on streets and fields.

The Race Riot reached its climax on the evening of January 23. White rioters shot at a bunkhouse in Murphy Ranch. A bullet struck and killed 22-year-old Fermin Tobera.

The Sheriff arrested a few White rioters. But none were charged with Tobera's murder .
Aftermath
Anti-Filipino riots quickly spread throughout California to the cities of Stockton, San Francisco, Salinas, and San Jose. Anti-Filipino vigilante groups committed acts of violence. The Whites believed that Filipino field laborers mixed with White women, depressed wages in the harvest fields, and took jobs belonging to Americans. Filipino immigration to work on the farms plummeted, replaced by Mexicans.

In 1933, the California Legislature amended its anti-miscegenation law to cause any marriage of Whites with "negroes, Mongolians, members of the Malay race, or mulattoes to be illegal and void."

In 1934, the United States Congress passed the Tydings-McDuffie Act -Philippine Independence Act. The Act recognized the Philippine Islands as an independent country. But it also limited Filipino immigration, as aliens, to the United States to 50 persons per year.

In 1935, the United States Congress passed the Filipino Repatriation Act, which encouraged Filipinos to voluntarily return to the Philippines.

Approved by Governor Jerry Brown, on September 28, 2011, the California Legislature apologized:
Resolved, That the Legislature, on behalf of the people of the state, apologizes to Filipino Americans for violations of civil liberties and constitutional rights caused by ant-miscegenation laws that prohibited marriage between Filipinos and Caucasians; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature, on behalf of the people of the state, expresses its regret for the suffering and hardship those individuals and their families endured as a direct result of governmental actions taken because of the state's various policies and laws that it had enacted; ...
On November 10, 2020, Watsonville City Council issued an official proclamation as an apology.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WATSONVILLE FORMALLY APOLOGIZING FOR THE ACTIONS BY THE CITY'S RESIDENTS AGAINST THE FILIPINOS IN WATSONVILLE, PARTICULARLY IN THE 1920S AND 1930S ...
Roy Recio, son of Dioscoro Roy Recio, Sr., a farmworker at Watsonville in 1930,is an advocate for the Tobera Project at Watsonville.
The exhibit, "Watsonville is in the Heart," depicts first-hand family histories of the early Filipino immigrants who came to the Pajaro Valley in the 1920's and 1930's. The exhibit features vintage photos, articles, artifacts, local history and moving poetry. Interview
RAYMOND CHONG: Why is not 1930 Watsonville Anti-Filipino Race Riot widely known?

ROY RECIO: Because the people of powers that control the narrative do not want to shed light on the atrocities and impact of the dominant society's behavior. It is much easier to sweep these instances of history under the rug rather than expose the hegemony of the system.

RAYMOND CHONG: Why did Filipinos migrate to Watsonville?

ROY RECIO: The Pajaro Valley is one of the most fertile and productive agricultural regions in the world. As the country was expanding, they needed food products, thusly the call for immigrant labor was heard by Filipinos who were recruited by Americans after the Spanish-American War when The Philippines was declared a colony of the US. Missionaries came to the Philippines to recruit Filipinos under the guise of the "American Dream."

RAYMOND CHONG: After the Race Riot, what were the impact on Filipinos?

ROY RECIO: After the Race Riots, the US enacted the 1934 Tydings-McDuffy Act which served to close off immigration from the Philippines. Due to concerns of "Yellow Peril," Americans became weary of Filipinos stealing their jobs and women before and after the Race Riots.

RAYMOND CHONG: Have racial and economic conditions improved for Filipinos in Watsonville?

ROY RECIO: We have become assimilated and white-washed to believe in Betsy Ross and George Washington, but we have failed to link our own history into the weaving and building of the American fabric. It is up to us to preserve, honor and celebrate our history. Nobody is going to do it, but ourselves.

RAYMOND CHONG: Tell your family history.

ROY RECIO: My father, Dioscoro Roy Recio, Sr., came to the US in 1928. He had ten brothers and sisters and was the only one who came. He got married at 14 and had two daughters. During the birth of his second daughter, his wife died. His father and mother encouraged him to go to America. He worked in many secondary labor force jobs; washing dishes, canneries in Alaska, but mostly working in the agricultural fields mostly as an irrigator. He would travel around and follow the crops up and down the West Coast.
On my Mother's , Sally Ann Dalisay, side, my grandfather came to America in the 1920's and married a White lady, who was a dust-bowl settler from Kansas. They had to get married in New Mexico as the state would not allow mixed-race marriages. They lived in Fresno and Salinas. They could not be seen walking in public together. My grandfather was a labor contractor and they had five children, one of whom was my mother. My grandfather died in a car accident when my mother was in high school.
RAYMOND CHONG: What drove you to do the Tobera Project?

ROY RECIO: My mom died two years-ago and I felt it was my responsibility to do something to honor both my parents. I collaborated with like-minded children of the Manong (elderly) generation, like myself who felt the same way. The term in Tagalog is "Utung Na Loob" which translates to; paying a debt of gratitude.

RAYMOND CHONG: Tell us about the Tobera Project and Watsonville is in the Heart?

ROY RECIO: The Tobera Project is name for the umbrella endeavor because it pays homage to Fermin Tobera who was killed in the 1930 Anti-Filipino Race Riots. I want to make sure his name lives on. Filipinos were told to go home and were not wanted at the time. Now, we are three, four and five generations deep steeped in history, culture, and pride in America.
The "Watsonville is in the Heart" project has a couple components; a calendar project that is a collection of family history to highlight and raise awareness of the Filipino family histories on the Central Coast. It is complete with family photos and histories. We also have a "Watsonville is in the Heart" exhibit currently on lockdown at the Watsonville Public library due to the pandemic. The exhibit features vintage photos, family histories, articles, artifacts and moving poetry.
RAYMOND CHONG: What is the meaning of the recent apology by Watsonville City Council?

ROY RECIO: Their apology is a step in the right direction. Ultimately, we would want something more substantial in the form of a school name, street name, mural or plaque or statue to be erected in the city's main plaza. We would like to have a historical site designation.

RAYMOND CHONG: What is vision of Tobera Project?
The big picture goal of the project is to develop a professional website, create a platform to establish and institute an oral archive and create a traveling exhibit once the pandemic subsides.
RAYMOND CHONG: What is your advice to the next generation?

ROY RECIO: Embrace your heritage and realize your family history is just as important as anyone else. You are the leader that you are waiting for.
Close
Roy Recio poignantly closes:
Despite struggle, sacrifice and hardship the unwavering and proud spirit of the Filipino community of the Pajaro Valley serves as a testament of hard work and perseverance that is implanted in the American fabric. AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We're an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. Check out our new Instagram account. Go to our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. Please consider interning, joining our staff, or making a financial contribution to support us.

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1930 Anti-Filipino Race Riots in California Remembered - AsAmNews

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A few miles from Monterey Bay on the Central Coast of California, Watsonville is the heart of Pajaro Valley, a lush farmland. But for five days in 1930, Watsonville was engulfed by an Anti-Filipino Race Riot. Roy Recio, son a Filipino farmworker, will present a webinar, on Saturday, January 23, 2021: Watsonville Talk Story: 1930 Anti-Filipino Watsonville Race Riots.

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Social Media Amplifying Trump's Racial Remarks

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Social Media Amplifying Trump's Racial Remarks

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The basis of this article discusses the surface of every racist thing that Trump, and the people working close to him, either posted or said in interviews. This was while he was president. The President of the United States was being openly racist in interviews, on social media, as well as to the individuals face that he was targeting. This article just goes to show what America thought was an appropriate leader at a point in time.

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On July 15, President Donald Trump stepped onto the South Lawn of the White House for the third "Made in America" showcase. In a transcript that stretches to more than 5,000 words, he discussed manufacturing policy, immigration, trade deals, China, Joe Biden, whether a boat could beatan anti-ballistic missile system, African American unemployment rates, drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve, insourcing, strengthening the Buy American standards in federal procurement guidelines, and half a dozen other topics.

Did you hear about any of it? I suspect not.

I mention all this to establish a principle: There is quite a lot Trump says that the media - both the mainstream media and social media - ignores. There is no operative mandate that holds that every word that comes out of the president's mouth makes the news.

But some of them do. Toward the end of that South Lawn speech, Trump was confronted with his tweets telling Reps. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib to go back to their home countries. Asked about criticisms that his comments were racist, Trump replied, "It doesn't concern me because many people agree with me." I bet you heard about that one. We in the media were all over that comment. I was all over that comment.

The past few weeks, consequently, have hosted one of the grimmer news cycles in American politics. Trump has kept reiterating his racist comments. Asked to defend the president, Kellyanne Conway wheeled on a Jewish reporter and demanded, "What's your ethnicity?" At a subsequent rally, Trump slandered Omar, then luxuriated as the crowd chanted "send her home."

Trump, thrilled with the coverage he's received, has kept beating the drum. He amped up his attacks on Omar, then turned to calling Rep. Elijah Cummings, an African American Democrat from Baltimore, a "racist" who represents a "rat and rodent infested mess."

I agree with the liberal consensus that these controversies are, in some sense, bad for Trump, who is far less popular than the economy suggests he should be. But they're also bad for the country. The people I fear are benefiting most from these spectacles are racists, who are seeing their views mainstreamed and watching the Republican Party contort itself closer to their positions in order to defend their president (my colleague Jane Coaston's piece on the "Trump racism spin cycle" is worth considering here). A Pew poll found two-thirds of Americans say "it's become more common for people to express racist views since Trump became president."

We in the media have amplified every moment of this horror show. How can we not? What could be more newsworthy than this purified racism from the president of the United States and his supporters? It's a moment to stand up and be counted. "What Americans will do now will define us forever," wrote Adam Serwer in a powerful essay.

But what if the thing Americans should do next - or at least the thing the media should do next - is stop playing our part in this nightmare? What if the right answer here isn't to meet Trump's worst invective with round-the-clock coverage but to deny him the thing he wants most when he makes those comments: attention?

Does sunlight disinfect, or does it make things grow?

I don't write this piece as a media critic. I write it as a journalist who believes our fundamental duty is to inform. I started Wonkblog at the Washington Post, and then co-founded Vox, with the intention of shining light on important stories that went ignored, or unexplained, amid the frenzy of the news cycle. As a writer, I have written tens of thousands of words about Trump's worst comments. As an editor, I have assigned dozens of stories on them. I know the peculiar mix of moral urgency, journalistic values, and competitive pressure that generates our news cycles.

But it is hard for me to look at American politics in 2019 and say that what we are doing is working. Is the public more informed? Are the incentives we've constructed leading to a healthier national debate? If the answer is no - and I think it is - then we need to be open to rethinking the decisions that drive our coverage.

Let me start by being transparent about my own thinking. When I choose to cover racist comments like the ones Trump made, my implicit rationale for focusing on that story rather than anything else is something like this: It is newsworthy that the president of the United States is an unreconstructed racist. It is important that the public knows he is an unreconstructed racist. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

But as the media scholar Whitney Phillips has argued, the problem lurks inside the metaphor. Sunlight isn't only, or even mainly, a disinfectant. What sunlight mostly does is help things grow. When Trump says of his racist arguments that "many people agree with me," I agree with him. I believe, as many do, that there's a lot of racism in America, and that one reason we don't see more of it is it's held in check by social opprobrium.

What I fear Trump is doing, with the media - including, at times, me - as his accomplice, is suffusing one of the hardiest weeds in American life with sunlight. These controversies are a constant signal to racists. They say, in short: You are not alone. You do not have to hide. You have powerful allies.

Phillips, whom I discussed this with on my podcast, argues that the "sunlight" metaphor has led the media astray. She prefers an ecological metaphor, where journalists are one of many groups trying to maintain the health of a public ecosystem. In this frame, some of what we cover is best understood as pollution - perhaps an inevitable byproduct of the ecosystem, but not something we want to disproportionately dump into the waterways.

What Trump is offering, so often, is pollution. His attacks are not a statement of policy. They are not honest or illuminating, save insofar as they reveal his own character. He's designing a set-piece showdown between the septuagenarian white man in the White House and the young women of color who make up "the Squad." It is a symbolic clash over power in America, designed to aggravate the racial polarization Trump believes to be key to his success.

Trump, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013, is nothing if not a master of getting people to watch him fight. He chooses his enemies based on who he thinks will rile up his base. He uses outrageous, offensive insults to get the media to take notice. And then he feeds off the energy unleashed by the confrontation.

Let's take another example. For years now, Trump has been calling Sen. Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas." This particular insult has received an unusually large and continual amount of coverage. It's bullying with a sheen of bigotry. Isn't that newsworthy? It is. Yet what did covering it so often do aside from enhance its power?

For Trump, the gambit worked: He eventually baited Warren into releasing a DNA test, which damaged the rollout of her presidential campaign. Did the coverage work for anyone else? Of course not. Trump said something offensive, the media amplified it relentlessly, and the result was social damage, not stronger guardrails. The public knows far more about Warren since the media has started ignoring Trump's insults and paying attention to her plans.

The Buddhist teacher Shinzen Young famously said that "pain times resistance equals suffering." The idea is that pain is often amplified by the energy we spend resisting it. I've wondered, ever since my conversation with Phillips, if a similar equation doesn't apply to Trump. I'd frame it as something like: Offensiveness times media amplification equals social damage.

This further crystallized for me while reading John Higgs's strange, brilliant book on the British band the KLF. The band dissolves after watching the music industry it loathes profit from, and enjoy the experience of, their assaults, which included firing a machine gun loaded with blanks into an audience of record executives. Of the music industry, Higgs writes:

It can absorb any attack, no matter how heartfelt, because it simply doesn't care about anything but the bottom line. As the Situationists put it, "opposition to the spectacle can produce only the spectacle of opposition." Or to quote Raoul Vaneigem, "pissing on the altar is still a way of paying homage to the Church." In this way the music of The Sex Pistols was eventually played to the Queen at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, and the music of Kurt Cobain was eventually covered by the Muppets.

This seems to me to describe the media's relationship with Trump: We are part of his show, because the amplification and opposition we offer him are part of his brand. Our sunlight doesn't disinfect him; it's the medium in which he grows. That might be fine if it was also serving our purposes of a more informed public and a healthier political ecology. But I see little evidence of that.

Perhaps Trump should have to normalize himself

The most important, least discussed idea in journalism is amplification. The one thing the media is doing all the time - whether we are creating a news dispatch, an investigative report, an op-ed, a cable news block, a narrative podcast, a documentary, or an essay like this one - is choosing to amplify some subject while ignoring others.

Yet we have almost no criteria - and certainly no transparent, rigorous criteria - for making those choices. The closest we come, at least on the news side, is the concept of "newsworthiness." But newsworthiness is slippery. "Journalism academics have always known that newsworthiness, as the American press defines it, isn't a system with any coherence to it," says the press critic Jay Rosen. "It doesn't make any sense. It's just a list of factors that occasionally come together to produce news."

Were Trump's comments about the Squad newsworthy? I can answer that, I think: Of course they were. But let's go a level down. Why were they so much more newsworthy than anything else? What made them more newsworthy than, say, the memo revealing that the Trump administration has basically abdicated the job of prosecuting white-collar criminals, or Senate Democrats' continuing efforts to pass a bill that would address the asylum crisis in a humane way?

Part of the problem here is that the media isn't a "we." For all the claims of media bias or conspiracy, we're actually a collection of outlets in competition with each other for the audience's attention. When everyone else is covering something, it's hard not to also cover that thing. Moreover, we're a collection of outlets navigating a shaky business model: Trump coverage means traffic, and traffic is part of the business. In practice, those incentives do not enter our editorial conversations explicitly, but they are part of the context in which those decisions are made.

Trump, for one, understands this perfectly. "Another reason that I'm going to win another four years is because newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if I'm not there," he told the New York Times.

Still, there are easier - much easier - ways of making money than journalism. Most outlets are mission-driven first. if Trump's comments didn't fit our definitions of newsworthiness, they wouldn't receive coverage. But they are newsworthy. It would be malpractice to suppress coverage of Trump's racism. The question is whether it should receive continual headline coverage, whenever he chooses to engage in it. For instance, both Vox and the New York Times responded to Trump's words by republishing long articles detailing dozens of racist actions and statements stretching back through Trump's career. Those pieces were first published long ago. We knew Trump was racist before he said a word about Ilhan Omar. By suffusing the airwaves with his racism, were we further informing the public, or further polluting the ecosystem?

These are hard questions, and they defy easy answers. I asked Phillips for her advice over email. Her reply was tough:

The never ending news cycles about Trump's racist tweets isn't NOT warranted, what he did was horrifying. But think of the footage that's on loop - it's the racist stuff the white people are saying, and chanting, over and over and over. And I think that comes from a place of, "light disinfects." We have to say what racist things he said, because they were so bad. But do we need to see and hear that crowd chant "send her back" that many times for the message to sink in? Again, whose stories are we most interested in telling, here? Why are our cameras only ever pointing at white faces, even when what they're saying is an abomination?

Since Trump was elected, there's been a constant refrain to avoid "normalizing" an abnormal president. It's an argument I've made myself. But thinking back on it, I wonder if we got it backward in the execution.

The effort to avoid normalizing Trump has been operationalized by, in effect, lowering the bar to covering Trump. We're on high alert for his abnormal statements - moments of racism, sexism, or bigotry; outright lies; flirtations with fascist ideas or autocratic leaders - so all he needs to do to refocus the political media and thus the country on the worst possible conversation is to make a comment that falls into one of these buckets.

But what if we reversed that approach? What if instead of lowering the bar to cover Trump, we raised it? Perhaps Trump's behavior - the lies, the insults, the ignorance, the feuding that happens outside the realm of official administration policymaking - shouldn't get coverage.

One way of thinking about this is the press offers the least coverage to the most predictable things politicians do. Barack Obama didn't get much coverage for boilerplate comments about tax fairness or how Obamacare was working pretty well. There's little attention paid to Mitch McConnell's daily fulminations against regulations and socialism. Perhaps offense and bigotry should be understood as Trump's baseline - newsworthy, just as the central projects of other leaders are newsworthy, but not worthy of blanket coverage upon every utterance.

Perhaps Trump should only get the coverage he seeks when he acts like the president rather than an internet troll. In this theory, a new health care proposal released by the White House might deserve coverage, but the latest round of insult comedy at a rally gets ignored. Perhaps, to receive the coverage he seeks, Trump should have to normalize himself.

Maybe that strategy would leave more room, too, to cover everyone else in politics, so people could more clearly see and debate possible solutions to actual problems the country faces. Perhaps, to Phillips's point, the energy that goes to condemning Trump's racism would be better spent covering the actual ideas of the nonwhite politicians he's slandering.

I wouldn't endorse this as a totalizing theory: Surely some forms of presidential offense deserve mention, and the distinction between Trump's words and the administration's ultimate actions are not a bright line.

Still, we ignore topics - and Trumpian set pieces - all the time. To circle back to where all this started, the Made in America showcase was meant to be a spectacle. It took place at the White House. The historic lawn was covered in boats and motorcycles, missiles and buck knives. It was suffused in patriotic branding. It failed because the media didn't care. The event itself released no energy. If a spectacle takes place and no one watches, it's not a spectacle at all.

Whether we like it or not, we in the media are the crucial amplifiers of American politics. Trump has learned that he can get us to amplify racist invective as often as he wants. We have set up a very particular incentive structure for not only him but everyone else in politics, where the coverage that can be generated by abnormal, offensive behavior far outweighs the coverage on offer for simply trying to do a good job and be a decent person.

If there's truth to the equation "offensiveness times media amplification equals social damage," well, we can't control the offensiveness, but we can control the amplification. The question we have to ask ourselves now is whether we're comfortable with the role we're playing in American politics.

Writing this piece, I kept thinking of the remarkable, poised press conference the Squad gave amid Trump's storm of invective. Rep. Ayanna Pressley was the first to speak, and she directed her remarks to the media that had assembled before her, a much larger audience than attended most of her press conferences. "I encourage the American people and all of us in this room and beyond to not take the bait," Pressley said of Trump's remarks about her. "This is a disruptive distraction from the issues."

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The media amplifies Trump's racism. Should it stop?

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On July 15, President Donald Trump stepped onto the South Lawn of the White House for the third "Made in America" showcase. In a transcript that stretches to more than 5,000 words, he discussed manufacturing policy, immigration, trade deals, China, Joe Biden, whether a boat could beatan anti-ballistic missile system, African American unemployment rates, drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve, insourcing, strengthening the Buy American standards in federal procurement guidelines, and half a dozen other topics.

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After looking through many of these sad pallets, I was hoping to find a unitarian society here in nSnata Barbara, which is amazing! It is through UCSB, some of their goals are as follows:

Mobilize congregational groups for action e.g. prison justice, anti-racism, immigration justice, and other actions related to racial justice.

Integrate our commitment to racial justice into our worship services, education programs, spiritual practices and daily life.

Build community connections and follow the lead of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) organizations and other faith groups as partners for racial justice.

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The Anti-Racism Commission

Established by the Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Society, June 2020

To establish an Anti-Racism Task Force that addresses bias, injustice and institutional racism in ourselves, our community and our world, acknowledging t hat the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara plays a role in advancing racial justice in our community and the United States.

June 2020 USSB congregation adopted a Statement of Conscience:

"USSB supports the five demands of Black Lives Matter SB. We urge the Santa Barbara City Council and the County Board of Supervisors to condemn police brutality and declare racism a public health emergency. USSB further supports and affirms Black Lives Matter and will renew and strengthen our commitment to anti-racism work and to dismantling all systems of white supremacy."

The Problem

Institutional racism and white supremacy culture cause harm and suffering to all members of society and until all are free, none of us are free.

We Believe

Racial justice is an ethical issue.

Racial Justice is a spiritual issue.

Racial Justice is a leadership issue.

Racial Justice is a community issue.

Racial Justice is a public health issue.

Goals

Create fair and loving communities.

Create opportunities for members of the congregation to work on their own racism and understanding of supremacy culture, individually and collectively.

Integrate our commitment to racial justice into our worship services, education programs, spiritual practices and daily life.

Mobilize congregational groups for action e.g. prison justice, anti-racism, immigration justice, and other actions related to racial justice.

Build community connections and follow the lead of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) organizations and other faith groups as partners for racial justice.

Support the development and inclusion of multiracial, multiethnic, multicultural UU congregations.

Support congregational education addressing anti-racism and white supremacy through book clubs, seminars, trainings, and more.

Membership

The Anti-Racism Commission shall have a minimum of five members recruited by the board. Commission members will include at least one member of the board and leadership of relevant committees or ministry teams. Commission members will serve for at least a period of two years. The Commission may select its own chair and reports to the board.

Assessment/Evaluation

Board will review program and actions of the Commission every other month. The board will assess on a two-year basis what has been accomplished.

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Established by the Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Society, June 2020 To establish an Anti-Racism Task Force that addresses bias, injustice and institutional racism in ourselves, our community and our world, acknowledging t hat the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara plays a role in advancing racial justice in our community and the United States.

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This issue has been around for too long. Doctors have come together to end the race-based adjustments made in medical care. Although these conversations have been had for years now, this racial component has had nothing to do with giving medical assistance and some doctors have had enough.

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Seminal events during the pandemic - such as the protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020 and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color - have brought the issues of systemic racism and injustice to the forefront of the public's consciousness.

For some health care providers, the moment also has presented an opportunity to leverage the national conversation into new efforts to examine how existing policies and practices in medicine may be perpetuating racial health inequities.

"We're at a pivotal time," says Dr. Nichola Davis, chief population health officer for NYC Health + Hospitals, New York City's public hospital and health care system. "People's ears are open and they are willing to hear and have these courageous conversations that they maybe weren't able to have in 2019."

At issue are clinical algorithms that factor in race when assessing a patient's risk for a host of health conditions, ranging from death in connection with heart surgery to urinary tract infections in children. Critics of such calculations contend they may result in patients of color receiving less access to and poorer quality of care than their white counterparts, fueling long-standing racial health disparities.

"Race was never necessary or needed" in these algorithms, says Dr. Milda Saunders, an ethicist and health equity researcher and associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. "I think a lot of times when we're measuring race we're measuring racism, both structural and interpersonal racism."

Race-based adjustments within algorithms that help make clinical assessments have been around for decades. But while there is widespread acceptance within the scientific and medical communities that the concept of race is not based on biology and is instead a social construct, race correction continues to influence patient diagnoses and treatments.

And despite growing acknowledgment of the potential harms caused by race correction in medicine, so ingrained are these calculations in clinical assessments that the effort to overhaul them is often complicated with questions over what factors can be an adequate replacement.

"These are conversations that have been happening among certain subsets of people for years," Davis says. "This isn't new work for some people."

There has been notable movement of late, however: Last May, for example, NYC Health+Hospitals announced its removal of a patient's race from calculations used to assess kidney function - part of the launch of the health system's broader " Medical Eracism" initiative.

Race was first introduced in the late 1990s to calculate estimated glomerular filtration rate, or eGFR, which is commonly used by clinicians to measure the kidneys' ability to filter waste from the blood. A higher eGFR score normally suggests better kidney function.

Black patients, though, are typically assigned a race adjustment that raises their eGFR by approximately 16% or more than non-Black patients, depending on the equation used. The adjustment is tied to past findings showing higher levels of the waste product creatinine among Black people.

"Explanations that have been given for this finding include the notion that Black people release more creatinine into their blood at baseline, in part because they are reportedly more muscular," a 2020 article in The New England Journal of Medicine states. "Analyses have cast doubt on this claim, but the 'race-corrected' eGFR remains the standard."

Davis says this adjustment can negatively impact the quality of health care Black patients receive, causing delays in receiving medical interventions such as referrals to a nephrologist or dialysis. One such potential consequence was outlined in a November piece published by STAT, in which Glenda V. Roberts - a woman with kidney disease who identified as Black - wrote of how the equation delayed her evaluation for a kidney transplant.

"Unfortunately, when you look at the clinical algorithms, what many of them do is they may downplay the severity of some illnesses when you do that race correction," Davis says.

"The big change is that more institutions like the hospital system, hospital leadership and administrators are more on board with efforts toward equity than they were in prior years," says Dr. Monica Maalouf, associate program director of internal medicine for Loyola Medicine, a health system based in the Chicago area.

Maalouf says Loyola is in the process of determining how to remove race as a variable within the health system's eGFR calculations. That process has involved talks with physicians and laboratory coordinators and directors, as well as working with information technology specialists on how to remove the racial designation from the risk score's automated reporting system.

National Kidney Foundation President Dr. Paul Palevsky says the new equation marks an important step toward efforts to achieve equity in health care by providing a more accurate, race-free approach to assessing kidney function.

"It was the most common equation used in medicine that incorporated race that was reported to be used in clinical care," Palevsky says, estimating a race-inclusive equation for kidney function is used approximately 240 million times a year.

But while the change in the eGFR calculation signifies a substantial step forward, eliminating race correction in calculations for other health conditions has been more challenging, despite increased recognition about the potential harms and health disparities that can come from their continued use.

"The field has realized that when we are using race as a factor in our clinical assessments that we're actually not using a precise measure like we would do for measuring sex, or age, or other things that we use to make our clinical decisions," says Saunders, with the University of Chicago. "But we want to find the best answer, so that may involve sort of reexamining the questions and not just saying, 'Let's just drop race,' but asking what was race measuring, and then substituting that measure."

Saunders says University of Chicago Medicine recently removed race in calculating eGFR in patients, opting to adopt the algorithm endorsed by the National Kidney Foundation. She notes there also has been a broader push among clinicians in recent years to consider the impact of social drivers like income, access to food, housing status and access to transportation on patients of color when making clinical assessments.

Much of the recent attention toward removing race in clinical assessments began with the 2020 article published in the The New England Journal of Medicine, which listed about a dozen tools that included race in assessing clinical areas such as patients' lung function, risk of in-hospital death from heart failure and survival from cardiac surgery. Such tools hold the potential for harmful consequences, the article noted, and could lead to issues such as nonwhite patients not getting health care interventions as early as white patients.

"Many of these race-adjusted algorithms guide decisions in ways that may direct more attention or resources to white patients than to members of racial and ethnic minorities," wrote the authors, from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and NYU Langone Health. "If doctors and clinical educators rigorously analyze algorithms that include race correction, they can judge, with fresh eyes, whether the use of race or ethnicity is appropriate."

Last May, a study published by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology introduced an updated model that does not factor in patient race for use in estimating the chance of a successful vaginal birth for women who previously had a cesarean section. By lowering the estimated chance of success for women of color, a previous version of the VBAC calculator - a tool singled out in the NEJM piece - could push them toward a C-section, which is a major surgical procedure many maternal health experts believe is performed too often.

At the same time, adjusting for race in some cases may raise the question of whether doing so is useful if it results in minority groups potentially receiving more consideration.

For example, race adjustment within an atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk estimator - which estimates the risk of having an event like a stroke and helps clinicians determine when to start patients on cholesterol-lowering medication - can put patients who identify as Black at higher risk than white patients. Having race correction within the tool could make it more likely clinicians will intervene earlier for Black patients.

"Using race in these clinical algorithms hasn't been all bad," says Dr. Malika Fair, senior director of equity and social accountability for the Association of American Medical Colleges. "Their intent when they were being used sometimes was to identify health inequities."

Fair says unilaterally removing race from every algorithm is a feasible approach, but fails to answer whether doing so would make things better or worse for patients. "We have to take the time to figure that out so that we don't end up inadvertently creating more racial health inequities when we remove race from the equation," Fair says.

Notably, a study published last year in The Lancet Oncology found that removing race from an eGFR equation could undercut cancer treatment in Black patients.

Dr. Megan Mahoney, chief of staff for Stanford Health Care and a clinical professor of medicine at Stanford University, says professional medical societies can play a huge part in providing and promoting guidance on alternatives that clinicians can use to assess disease risk without factoring race. Yet much of the action taken thus far aimed at eliminating race-based clinical assessment has been led by individual hospitals and health systems, which have made policy decisions after deliberation and consideration from their own experts.

Mahoney says medical societies can streamline the decision process for hospitals by serving as a trusted arbiter to review the evidence and provide guidance that most will accept.

"A particular health care system can do it, it's just that it's going to be harder to get buy-in from those who are actually implementing the change - the physicians on the front line - without the professional societies backing them," Mahoney says.

Mahoney agrees it's important to identify the root causes of health disparities for patients of color that have led to differences in risk outcomes. But she fears leaving race-based algorithms in place could reinforce concepts that tie race to biology, and could have long-term social and clinical ramifications.

"Even if there are going to be downstream changes that might put African Americans at a disadvantage, the perpetuation of race as a biological factor both in medical education and in medicine in general, the risk of that far outweighs that minor benefit some racial groups might be getting from the current state," Mahoney says. "We are really putting our medical students and a whole generation of trainees at a disadvantage when the concept of biological race is reinforced in their training."

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Seminal events during the pandemic - such as the protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020 and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color - have brought the issues of systemic racism and injustice to the forefront of the public's consciousness.

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Racist Taunts at a Highschool Basketball Game

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Racist Taunts at a Highschool Basketball Game

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I was extremely disheartened after reading through this article. School sporting events are supposed to be lighthearted competitions to bring unity amoungst others schools for the common purpose of participating in something you love to do. The fact that there were racial taunts and slurs being thrown out at this Minnesota High School's basketball game is very unsettling.

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The New Prague School District is investigating accusations of racism at a Tuesday night girls high school basketball game.

The district's team played Robbinsdale Cooper High School at home, and the one of the Cooper coaches says some of the New Prague fans were racially taunting some of the players.
READ MORE: Amir Locke's Funeral Underway Thursday At Minneapolis Church READ MORE: HOW TO WATCH: Fmr. Officer Kim Potter To Be Sentenced Friday In Daunte Wright's Killing
The New Prague district says it hired an outside firm to investigate. Should the accusations prove true, the district says it will take action.
MORE NEWS: COVID In MN: Positivity Rate Drops Below 10%
In a statement, the Robbinsdale district aid that the spectators made monkey sounds toward the Cooper team, adding that such chants have long been used to ridicule Black athletes.

"This type of behavior is abhorrent and unsportsmanlike," said David Engstrom, superintendent of Robbinsdale Area Schools. "It is cruel to use racial taunts toward anyone - especially students."

The Robbinsdale district says it took steps Wednesday to offer support to the Cooper athletes.

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Investigation Underway After Accusations Of Racist Taunts At High School Basketball Game

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The New Prague School District is investigating accusations of racism at a Tuesday night girls high school basketball game. The district's team played Robbinsdale Cooper High School at home, and the one of the Cooper coaches says some of the New Prague fans were racially taunting some of the players.

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Racist signs on college president's door

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Racist signs on college president's door

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I found this article of a UC undergraduate president who received racist flyers on his door. Sadly, Michael Cheng was not too surprised at this happening, but was disheartened, as anyone would be.

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Two paper signs bearing racist slurs were posted on the door of Undergraduate Council President Michael Y. Cheng '22 on Monday morning, sparking condemnation from Quincy House faculty and students.

Cheng said he first became aware of the flyers - which called him an anti-Asian slur and included the phrase "SAVE THE UC" - when he left his dorm in Quincy House on Monday morning. Another Quincy resident reported the flyers to House administrators shortly after, according to Cheng.

Cheng called the act disheartening but "not that surprising" and linked the incident to previous criticism of his political platform.

"It's disappointing that I feel desensitized to all this noise, even though this is just objectively racist," he said.

"It's right after the UC midterm elections," Cheng added. "There are some people that are frustrated by decisions we've made."

Cheng was elected UC president in November after pledging during his campaign to "defund" the body and rewrite its constitution. His inauguration was marred by hostility between his administration and other general members of the UC.

In an email to Quincy residents on Monday, Cheng requested an apology from the perpetrator and for previous "exaggerated attacks" on his character.

"I don't care about punishment, I would just appreciate a personal apology," he wrote.

Quincy Faculty Deans Eric Beerbohm and Leslie J. Duhaylongsod condemned the flyers and offered their support to Cheng in an email to House residents that denounced the slurs as "deplorable."

"We want to say in the strongest possible terms that this is absolutely unacceptable; none of these actions is consistent with Quincy's focus on a safe, respectful, and inclusive community," they wrote. "Hate has no place at Quincy House."

The Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Women's Association released a statement co-signed by 11 other student groups Monday rebuking the "act of direct racism" and calling on the College to take concrete steps to respond to the incident.

"We actively strive to fight injustices across an intersectional network of issues that affects all of us as students," the statement reads. "We must not let these actions go unrecognized without consequence."

Cheng said he was heartened by the messages of support he received.

"I've gotten emails and messages from a lot of people," he said. "It's definitely great to hear that people care about me."

In their email, the Quincy faculty deans also solicited information about the incident.

On Monday, Cheng speculated that the vandalism was committed by one of his political opponents.

"I presume if you care enough to do something like this, you're probably on the UC," Cheng said.

-Staff writer Mert Geyiktepe can be reached at mert.geyiktepe@thecrimson.com.

-Staff writer J. Sellers Hill can be reached at sellers.hill@thecrimson.com.

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Racist Signs Posted on UC President's Door | News | The Harvard Crimson

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Two paper signs bearing racist slurs were posted on the door of Undergraduate Council President Michael Y. Cheng '22 on Monday morning, sparking condemnation from Quincy House faculty and students. Cheng said he first became aware of the flyers - which called him an anti-Asian slur and included the phrase "SAVE THE UC" - when he left his dorm in Quincy House on Monday morning.

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Interesting news article about bomb threats at multiple historically black colleges and universities on the first day of black history month. This is a heartbreaking event and the worst part is that its not as surprising as it really should be.

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hbcu bomb threats: at least 9 schools are on alert tuesday - cnn

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At least 9 HBCUs get bomb threats on the first day of Black History Month

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A growing number of historically black colleges and universities have had to lock down or postpone classes due to bomb threats on the first day of Black History Month.

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University Of Toronto send ancestor money to students during the Chinese New Year

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University Of Toronto send ancestor money to students during the Chinese New Year

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In China medallions are burned to the ancestors at the Qingming Festival, no one will receive them at the Chinese New Year. It is very ominous to give ancestor money to the living. It is no different than wishing you to die at Christmas time or giving you a blessing by saying 666.

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On the evening of the Lunar New Year-one of the most important festivals in Chinese culture-Graduate House, a University of Toronto graduate residence building, placed a bowl on the main entrance's front desk, filled with lucky money envelopes holding notes meant for the deceased.

The "joss paper," which had the words "HELL BANK NOTE" printed on its front and back in English, has shocked the people of the Chinese community at the University of Toronto. A photo documenting the notes for the deceased, taken by a resident of Graduate House, has spread across Chinese social media platforms, including WeChat, and English social media platforms, including the r/uoft Reddit forum and Instagram, where social media posts continue to be widely shared.

In response to backlash, Graduate House issued an apology in an email sent to the residents of the building. "In celebration of Lunar new year [ sic], our team placed a bowl with red envelopes for residents yesterday," wrote Graduate House. "We were not aware of the inappropriate nature of the currency inside the envelopes until it was too late. We want to express our sincerest apologizes [ sic] for this error. Our goal was to create a festive atmosphere and did not realize the error we made. There was no malicious attempt behind this action and we deeply apologize for this error and the impact it had on our residents."

"We aim to promote a safe and inclusive space at Graduate House, and we will be more vigilant in the future. To prevent any similar occurrences, we will work together with our community partners to recognize cultural appropriateness. We would like to share the following helpful resources to support your wellness during this time," the email continued. The email concluded with notes that Residence Advisors are available for phone support during certain hours of the week.

The WeChat account for the Governing Council of the University of Toronto (marked as official and verified by the platform) released an apology written in Chinese at 8:31 pm ET on February 3, viewed by over 6,000 users at the time of publication. The version machine-translated by WeChat software states: "The University of Toronto has received information from students about a New Year red envelope event at Graduate House, the university's student residence. Upon learning of the incident, the University of Toronto contacted the relevant departments and teams to understand the incident and withdrew all the red envelopes. The University of Toronto understands the impact of this incident and apologizes for this error."

"The Chinese New Year should be happy and peaceful, and the University of Toronto regrets this mistake," the statement continued. "The University is strongly committed to the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion. We will continue to strengthen our important on-campus education efforts to increase knowledge and understanding of our diverse community in order to deepen the sense of inclusion and belonging across our three campuses."

In an English language statement to The Strand, an unnamed University of Toronto spokesperson wrote that "incorrect bank notes were unintentionally placed into the red envelopes; by the time the error was realized, all the envelopes had been taken. The University of Toronto deeply regrets this error." The statement continued: "We will continue our important educational efforts to better understand our diverse communities, and to foster inclusion across our three campuses." The statement then referred to upcoming programming by U of T's Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office, "with a specific focus on the unique experiences of Asian communities and addressing anti-Asian racism," providing a link to upcoming programming.

Photo (redacted personal information) | Submitted to The Strand, courtesy of Graduate House resident

Why has this event sparked intense criticism against the residence building?
Kevin Huang-the Executive Director of the Hua Foundation, a Vancouver-based non-profit that works for the Asian diasporic community to support racial equity and civic engagement-described the joss paper as spiritual items reserved for ancestors and the deceased to use in the afterlife. In his interview with The Strand, he noted that joss paper is "heavily associated with people passing away" and typically reserved for "cultural observances" associated with paying respects to the dead.

Lunar New Year is instead a celebration of life. "Lunar New Year is actually a moment of renewal, a moment of looking forward to the next year," said Huang. "Anything related to ... the afterlife should not be a part of [or] anywhere near Lunar New Year." The introduction of paper for the deceased was "very offensive because it is bringing deaths and afterlife and those types of concepts into a period" for celebrating life.

A typical reaction to receiving an envelope with joss paper was described by Dr. Gao Yunxiang, a professor who studies Chinese history at X (Ryerson) University, in an email to The Strand. "One can imagine the shock and anger a Chinese person experiences, opening a gift envelope with "joss money," which is meant to be burned for the enjoyment of the dead in an alternative world," she wrote. "The message is to wish death to the recipient and his family. Whoever knowingly presents such a gift is asking to pick a serious fight!"

"Anytime, such [a] practice is insulting and belligerent enough. It is worse during the Lunar New Year season, when everything is supposed to be about setting luck and fortune for the rest of the year. Such a present meant to ruin such luck for the family. One would not be surprised that the recipient and his family blames anything bad that happens to them in the near future to this evil envelope of 'joss money,'" she continued.

Ryan Chan, the Project Lead on Online Hate and Social Media at the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice (CCNC-SJ), further explained the cultural significance of lucky red envelopes. "They're a symbol of respect, and they're an important part of family and communal identities," he said in an interview with The Strand. Since the intent of the envelopes is to wish others good fortune, he remarked, the discovery of joss notes is shocking, and its inclusion is antithetical to the purpose of the envelopes.

Dr. Min Zhou, a professor of sociology and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, affirmed the severity of the transgression in an emailed statement to The Strand. "I am shocked to see the culturally insensitive photo of Chinese josspaper [envelopes]," she wrote. "[Red] packets with fake money are supposed to be burnt as a way of sending them to the loved ones in the other world. Doing this to the living is bad luck, and a curse."

Photo | Submitted to The Strand, courtesy of Graduate House resident

What are the ways that the University can continue to respond?
Chan was critical of the Graduate House for failing to consult the Chinese community before arranging the celebration. He noted that universities take pride in "marketing themselves on this issue of diversity ... yet they don't take the minimal amount of effort it is to do the research, consult people of Asian backgrounds that have some understanding of these cultural identities." He also strongly criticized the institution for failing to notice the words "HELL BANK NOTE" written in English on the front and back of the bills. Huang similarly said that additional consultation with the Chinese community before celebrating the Chinese holiday could have prevented the incident.

The lack of care by the residence is a consequence of institutions overlooking anti-Asian racism, asserted Chan. "Anti-Asian racism often goes unnoticed," he said. To address this, he noted that it is important for members of the Chinese community to "add their voices to the conversation," and to continue to speak and show a sense of community for each other. "I do hope that it's basically an encouragement for other members of the community to keep speaking out," he said.

Jennifer Vong, Coordinator at the CCNC-SJ, also criticized the apology issued by Graduate House, in an interview with The Strand. "There were no mentions [of] the group that was actually targeted for this. There is no mention of the actual cultural ramifications of these [actions] as well," she said. She also highlighted that the apology omitted an acknowledgement that students "may feel that this could also have been an attack because we are dealing with really heightened senses of ... anti-Asian racism in Toronto right now." The assertion is backed by a two-year University of Toronto study, which reported a sharp rise in anti-Asian discrimination over the COVID-19 pandemic.
University of Toronto community responds with criticism, activism
An early call to action was by activist Patricia Quan, a Master of Social Work student at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. Quan, who noted to The Strand that she did not directly witness the joss notes in the envelopes, volunteered to represent Graduate House residents to raise attention.

Quan addressed an email to the housing leadership team of the residence and student unions, including the University of Toronto Chinese Students and Scholars Association (UTCSSA) and the University of Toronto Graduate Students' Union (UTGSU). She summarized the events and issued calls to action from the residence team and related services, which include the provision of "culturally appropriate anti-oppressive support in residence" for negatively-impacted students, and the publicization of a plan of "steps ... to take in the future for preventing similar oppressive practices."

In a statement to The Strand, Zewei (Kurt) Tang, the director of campus affairs of the UTCSSA, reflected solidarity for the Chinese students who are residents of the Graduate House, and called for the provision of "another formal email to explain and apologize" for what occurred.

UTGSU External Commissioner Justin Patrick forwarded an email jointly written by the UTGSU commissioners to The Strand, which stated that the UTGSU "stands in solidarity" with the grassroots activism by Quan, and echoes her calls to action. The UTGSU later released a statement calling for the Graduate House and related services to "consult with students who celebrate the Lunar New Year before implementing Lunar New Year activities" and "provide anti-oppression training for residence staff."

Quan reflected to The Strand that the incident is a result of broader problems in society that enable these transgressions to occur, echoing Chan's analysis. The incident at the Graduate House is not the first in recent times where joss money was used in a culturally inappropriate context. In January, The Guardian and the BBC also caused controversy by presenting paper for the deceased with lucky money envelopes.

-With support by Sarah Abernethy, Drew-Anne Glennie, and Khadija Alam

The article has been updated to include in-depth analysis and context behind the reactions of the Chinese community to the incident, and include an English language statement sent by the University of Toronto to The Strand on February 4.

Editor's note: The breaking segment of the article has been updated to reflect that UofT's Chinese language statement was released at 8:31 pm in localized Eastern Time, instead of 9:31 pm.

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Spiritual money for the dead offered to graduate students by University of Toronto residence on Chinese New Year - The Strand

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On the evening of the Lunar New Year-one of the most important festivals in Chinese culture-Graduate House, a University of Toronto graduate residence building, placed a bowl on the main entrance's front desk, filled with lucky money envelopes holding notes meant for the deceased.

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Sha'Carri Richardson, 21, has slammed the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision to allow Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva to compete

Valieva was given the green light to continue competing on February 14 after the Court ruled she could face 'irreparable harm' from the ban

The figure skater tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) on February 8 from a test taken in December

Richardson, who faced immense backlash after testing positive for marijuana, said the only difference between 'her situation and mine' is skin color

'The only difference I see is I'm a black young lady.' she said on Twitter

The Court also ruled that if Valieva is to win her upcoming events, there will not be a medal ceremony held to honor her

Valieva already won the figure skating team event for the Russian Olympics Committee. Russia has been banned for four years for doping

US track star Sha'Carri Richardson has slammed the International Olympic Committee for double standards after it allowed Russian figure skating phenomenon Kamila Valieva, 15, to compete despite an ongoing investigation into her failed doping test.

The 21-year-old claimed in a tweet on Monday that 'not one black athlete' has been able to compete while under investigation for doping, and that the only difference between 'her situation and mine' is the color of their skin.

'Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mine?' she wrote on Twitter on Monday. 'My mother died and I can't run and was also favored to place top three. The only difference I see is I'm a black young lady.'

'It's all in the skin,' she continued. '[By the way] THC is definitely not a performance enhancer!!!!'

Richardson was disqualified from the 2020 Tokyo Games after testing positive for the marijuana after her test from the Olympic Trials came back. She claimed she smoked marijuana after finding out from a reporter that her biological mother died.

In comparison, Valieva tested positive for banned heart drug, trimetazidine, in December at her national championships. Bizarrely, the results were not reported by anti-doping authorities until last Tuesday after she was the star performer when Russia won gold in the team discipline a day earlier.

A Court of Arbitration for Sport panel ruled on Monday that she will be allowed to compete because she is a protected person under the age of 16.

Trimetazidine is a heart medication drug that can increase blood flow efficiency and improve endurance and it has been abused by some Russian athletes to enhance performance. The drug is banned both in and out-of-competition by WADA.

Richardson explained in July on the Today Show that she had used marijuana after being shaken by the news that her biological mother had died. She found out from a reporter.

'It definitely was a very heavy topic on me and people don't really understand what it's like to have to put on a face and have to go out in front of the world and hide my pain.'

She was suspended from the sport for 30 days, ruining her chances of competing in the 2020 Olympics.

Now the track star is calling out the length of time it took to receive Valieva's results, which was taken in December.

'[She] failed in December and the world just now knows, however, my results were posted within a week and my name [and] talent was slaughtered to the people,' she wrote on Twitter on Monday.

Valieva, who is only 15, is considered a 'protected person' since she is a minor and therefore is under different rules than adult athletes.

Athletes under 16 like Valieva have more rights under anti-doping rules and typically are not held responsible for taking banned substances. The focus of any future investigation will be on her coaches, doctors and nutritionists.

Officials said on Monday that she could face 'irreparable harm' from the ban - much like Richardson, who faced immense criticism after the scandal broke.

CAS stated in its ruling: 'The panel considered fundamental principles of fairness, proportionality, irreparable harm, and the relative balance of interests as between the applicants and the athlete, who did not test positive during the Olympic Games in Beijing and is still subject to a disciplinary procedure on the merits following the positive anti-doping test undertaken in December 2021.

'In particular, the panel considered that preventing the athlete from competing at the Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in these circumstances.

'The CAS panel also emphasized that there were serious issues of untimely notification of the results in the athlete's anti-doping test that was performed in December 2021 which impinged upon the athlete's ability to establish certain legal requirements for her benefit, while such late notification was not her fault, in the middle of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.'

However, Richardson isn't the only person irate with CAS' decision to allow her to compete. The decision has sparked outrage from fellow competitors who say it has whiffs of corruption and shows Russia's 'disregard for clean sport.'

American former Olympic champion Tara Lipinski said Valieva's age should not be a factor in the decision and called her reinstatement a 'permanent scar on our sport.'

And after the decision by the Swiss-based CAS, the Olympic Committee announced that while Valieva will be allowed take part in the women's individual figure skating competition there will be no medal ceremony if she is among the prize winners.

How Russian skating phenomenon Kamila Valieva's doping scandal unfolded

Much like earlier in the week, where the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) won gold in the figure skating team event on February 8, if Valieva places in any of her upcoming events, there will be no medal ceremony. The ceremony was postponed after Valieva's test came back positive for trimetazidine, which can enhance performance. Because of this rule, Team USA did not get to accept their medals at a ceremony.

At the team event, Valieva landed a historic quadruple jump - a first-ever by a woman at the Winter Olympics.

Russia has been banned from competing at the Games for four years after several athletes were caught doping. Although individual athletes can compete for ROC.

A CAS panel last night said Valieva should continue to perform due to the 'exceptional circumstances' of her case.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it was disappointed with the ruling because 'it appears that the CAS panel decided not to apply the terms of the Code, which does not allow for specific exemptions to be made in relation to mandatory provisional suspensions for 'protected persons,' including minors,

'Concerning the analysis of the athlete's sample, WADA always expects Anti-Doping Organizations to liaise with the laboratories in order to ensure they expedite the analysis of samples so that the results are received prior to athletes traveling to or competing in a major event.'

The statement levied blame at Russia for not getting Valieva's sample fast-tracked so that there was a result before the Olympics in Beijing.

'The sample in this case was not flagged by RUSADA as being a priority sample when it was received by the anti-doping laboratory in Stockholm, Sweden. This meant the laboratory did not know to fast-track the analysis of this sample,' it said.

US former Olympic champion Tara Lipinski posted on Twitter: 'At the end of the day, there was a positive test and there is no question in my mind that she should not be allowed to compete. Regardless of age or timing of the test/results. I believe this will leave a permanent scar on our sport.'

Meanwhile, two-time Olympic figure skating champion Johnny Weir said: 'I can't condone the decision. There was a positive drug test, therefore the athlete who tested positive, at fault or not, regardless of age or timing of test/result, should not be allowed to compete against clean athletes.'

The United States Olympic Committee (USPOC) described the decision as 'another chapter in the systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia.'

Nevertheless, Russian officials welcomed the decision, with the ROC saying: 'Tomorrow the whole country will cheer on her and all our wonderful figure skaters in the individual competition.'

Russian Figure Skating Federation President Alexander Gorshkov said: 'I'm very happy for Valieva and glad that common sense and justice triumphed.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to Richardson for comment.

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Sha'Carri Richardson slams double standard after Russian can compete

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Sha'Carri Richardson, 21, has slammed the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision to allow Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva to compete Valieva was given the green light to continue competing on February 14 after the Court ruled she could face 'irreparable harm' from the ban The figure skater tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) on February 8 from a test taken in December Richardson, who faced immense backlash after testing positive for marijuana, said the only difference between 'her situation and mine' is skin color 'The only difference I see is I'm a black young lady.'

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I came across this article and it seemed very interesting to me because it shows how complicated racial identity is in the US. It is a good example of how race and cultures are put into categorize when in reality it is much more complicated than that.

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There's a reality about race in the U.S. that has confounded many people of Middle Eastern or North African descent.

The federal government officially categorizes people with origins in Lebanon, Iran, Egypt and other countries in the MENA region as white.

But that racial identity has not matched the discrimination in housing, at work and through other parts of daily life that many say they have faced.

Younger people of MENA descent have "had a plethora of different experiences that made them feel that some of their experiences were actually closer to communities of color in the U.S.," says Neda Maghbouleh, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Toronto, who has conducted research on the topic.

The paradox has been hard to show through data.

But a newly released study co-authored by Maghbouleh offers suggestive evidence that a majority of people with MENA origins do not see themselves as white. Meanwhile, a substantial percentage of white people who do not identify as MENA or Latino do not perceive MENA people as white either, the study also suggests.

The findings match the lived realities of many people of MENA descent

For the paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - which cites NPR's reporting - Maghbouleh, along with her co-authors Ariela Schachter and René D. Flores, used online surveys to conduct experiments last summer with close to 1,100 participants.

They included one group of people who identified as white and not MENA or Latino, as well as two cohorts who either identified as Middle Eastern or reported having at least one grandparent born in the Middle East or North Africa.

Presented with a "Middle Eastern or North African" category, 88% of people of MENA descent in the study (who could select one or more categories) chose that option when identifying their race, ethnicity or origin. The results also show that adding "Middle Eastern or North African" to a list of response options dramatically lowered the share of people with MENA origins self-identifying with only the "White" category.

Another part of the study asked participants to classify made-up profiles of individuals that included names, ancestors' countries of origins and other details.

Characteristics related to the Middle East or North Africa, the findings suggest, would not be categorized as white by many people of MENA descent or by white people who do not identify as MENA or Latino.

"I think that's a very powerful finding, which I think anecdotally has been felt by most Arab Americans in their daily lives," says Kristine Ajrouch, a professor of sociology at Eastern Michigan University whose research on white identity and Arab Americans is cited in the paper.

It's hard to do research about people of MENA descent in the U.S.

Like the paper's co-authors, Ajrouch notes that research is limited by the challenges in finding large numbers of people with MENA origins to participate in studies.

"This is a really big problem that kind of haunts a lot of social science research," said Maghbouleh, who adds that people of North African descent are underrepresented among the study's participants.

Maghbouleh conducted extensive interviews with younger people of MENA descent for the 2017 book The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian Americans and the Everyday Politics of Race. The new study tries to ascertain concrete numbers for some of the insights Maghbouleh gained through that book's qualitative research.

But there is still a gap.

Researchers are hamstrung by the federal standards that require the Census Bureau to include people with MENA roots in data about white people. With no separate "Middle Eastern or North African" checkbox on the U.S. census forms, there is no direct way of producing a national count of people of MENA descent in the United States.

"It makes it very difficult to identify Middle Eastern and North African individuals or those of Arab ancestry when there's been decades of conditioning and socializing to say, 'When you fill out the form, you're supposed to check white,' " says Ajrouch, who is currently trying to study how prevalent Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are among older Arab Americans.

In effect, many people of MENA descent in the U.S. are rendered invisible in official statistics that researchers rely on for health research and other key studies.

The history of whiteness and people of MENA descent is complicated

The complicated relationship many people with MENA origins have with whiteness is entangled with a naturalization system in the U.S. that, until 1952, imposed racial restrictions on which immigrants could become citizens.

First arriving in large numbers in the late 1800s, the earliest generations of immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa saw whiteness as the path towards claiming full rights in their new country.

There were several court cases where Syrian immigrants emphasized their Christianity because it was considered a European religion and, therefore, a marker of whiteness, says Sahar Aziz, a law professor at Rutgers University Law School and author of The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom.

"They argued they were white in court because the only immigrants that could naturalize to become U.S. citizens had to be found white by law," she says.

Anti-Black racism in the media and other parts of U.S. society, Aziz adds, has helped drive many immigrants from around the world to try to "disassociate themselves from Blackness and try to associate as close to whiteness as possible."

In more recent decades, however, there's been a growing disconnect between the way the federal government officially categorizes people of MENA descent by race and many people's lived realities - a dissonance that was underlined after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Over the past 20 years, people who are from the Middle East and North Africa have experienced a form of stereotyping that presumes that they are inherently prone to violence, that they are prone to being sympathetic to terrorism, that they are forever foreign," says Aziz, who served as a senior policy adviser for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties during former President Barack Obama's administration.

"All of these stereotypes are what people who do not have the privileges of whiteness experience," she adds.

A MENA checkbox may show up on the 2030 census

To fully understand the experiences of people of MENA descent in the U.S., Aziz and other researchers say an additional checkbox for "Middle Eastern or North African" is needed on forms for the once-a-decade head count.

To prepare for the 2020 count, Census Bureau researchers concluded that including a "Middle Eastern or North African" category on questionnaires would be "optimal" in part because it "helps MENA respondents to more accurately report their MENA identities."

But during former President Donald Trump's administration, an effort that began during the Obama years to introduce a MENA checkbox as part of a revamped census question about race and ethnicity stalled. It required approval from the White House's Office of Management and Budget, and the lack of a public decision by OMB forced the bureau to drop the plans.

In 2018, bureau officials also announced that the agency needed to conduct research and testing to address feedback from "a large segment of the Middle Eastern and North African population" who think MENA should be considered a category for an ethnicity, not a race.

Trump's travel bans targeting people from several Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa also raised concerns among some longtime advocates for a new census checkbox about how the public could have perceived rolling one out under the previous administration.

Last year, however, the Biden administration confirmed to NPR that it has revived the review of the proposal that would allow the bureau to overhaul how the census asks about race and ethnicity. If OMB gives the green light, a "Middle Eastern or North African" checkbox could be on track to show up on updated forms for the country's largest survey, the bureau's American Community Survey, as well as the 2030 census.

"There is so much more work that needs to be done," Aziz notes. "I don't think that that empirical work can be done until the U.S. census adds a category, whether it's under a race or whether it's under ethnicity."

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The U.S. census sees Middle Eastern and North African people as white. Many don't

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There's a reality about race in the U.S. that has confounded many people of Middle Eastern or North African descent. The federal government officially categorizes people with origins in Lebanon, Iran, Egypt and other countries in the MENA region as white.

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I stumbled upon this article from this website when I was in my statistics class last semester. I kept it as a bookmark because it provided many claims and had great supporting data to pillar their statements. I thought it would be interesting to share this link so people can get an overview of racial economic inequality.

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Systemic racism has contributed to the persistence of race-based gaps that manifest in many different economic indicators. The starkest divides are in measures of household wealth, reflecting centuries of white privilege that have made it particularly difficult for people of color to achieve economic security. This series of charts begins with a look at how the pandemic has exacerbated racial inequalities.

Racial Wealth Divide

By the middle of the 21st century, the United States will be a "majority minority" nation. If we hope to ensure a strong middle class, historically the backbone of the national economy, then improving the financial health of households of color will become even more urgent than it is today. Closing the persistent "wealth divide" between white households and households of color, already a matter of social justice, must become a priority for broader economic policy.

According to Survey of Consumer Finances data, the median Black family has $24,100 in wealth. This is just 12.7 percent of the $189,100 in wealth owned by the typical white family. The median Latino family, with $36,050, owns just 19.1 percent of the wealth of the median white family. The Institute for Policy Studies Racial Wealth Divide report provides more detail on this disturbing trend and proposed solutions.

Families that have zero or even "negative" wealth (meaning the value of their debts exceeds the value of their assets) live on the edge, just one minor economic setback away from tragedy. Institute for Policy Studies analysis of Federal Reserve data show that while the racial wealth gap has improved slightly, an estimated 28 percent of Black households and 26 percent of Latino households had zero or negative wealth in 2019, twice the level of whites.

As with total wealth, home ownership is heavily skewed towards white families, our 2023 report with the National Community Reinvestment, Still a Dream , shows. Between 1960 and 2020, the rate of Black home ownership increased but the gap in ownership rates between Black and white families widened, from 26 percentage points to 30. Structural barriers, including lower incomes, higher rates of mortgage denials, and racial segregation, deny many Black families the opportunity to acquire this wealth-building asset.

Black people also have to deal with larger student debt burdens. Black students on average have to take out larger loans to get through college than their white peers. A National Center for Education Statistics study reveals that Black Bachelor's degree and Associate's degree graduates face 13 percent and 26 percent more student debt, respectively, than their white peers. The challenge of paying off greater student debt is also worsened for Black graduates due to their lower average incomes. Black Bachelor's degree and Associate's degree holders earn 27 percent and 14 percent lower incomes, respectively, than whites with the same degree.

Racial Income Inequality

In 2021, Fortune 500 CEOs, who earned $18.3 million on average, included just four Black and 17 Latino people - just 4 percent of the total. By contrast, these groups made up 43 percent of the U.S. workers who would benefit from a raise in the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025, according to Institute for Policy Studies analysis of Economic Policy Institute data. Black and Latino people comprise 31 percent of the entire U.S. labor force.

The income threshold for entry into the top 10 percent is another indicator of racial disparities at the top of the U.S. earnings scale. According to the Pew Research Center, for white families to make it into this tier of earners in their racial group, they need to have annual income of at least $117,986 - nearly twice as much as the threshold for Black families.

Racial discrimination in many forms, including in education, hiring, and pay practices, contributes to persistent earnings gaps. As of the third quarter of 2023, the median white worker made 24 percent more than the typical Black worker and around 28 percent more than the median Latino worker, according to BLS data.

Race and Gender Inequality

Within racial groups, Bureau of Labor Statistics the largest pay gaps between men and women appear among whites and Asians - not because Latinas and Black women have made faster progress towards equity but because average pay for men in these groups falls far below the compensation of white and Asian men.

While student loan burdens have grown significantly for all racial groups, they are particularly heavy for Black students- especially women. Women comprise 56 percent of college students, but hold nearly two-thirds of outstanding student loan debt. According to the American Association of University Women, Black women graduate with the most debt - $37,558, on average - compared to $31,346 for white women and $29,862 for white men.

Racial inequality in terms of the official poverty rate is also particularly acute for women of color. As National Women's Law Center research shows, while in 2019 the U.S. poverty rate for white men is 6.0 percent, it is 18 percent for Black women, 15 percent for the Latino community, and 18 percent for Native American women.

Racial Inequality and Covid-19

According to APM Research Lab , white and Asian Americans have substantially lower Covid-19 mortality rates than those of other racial and ethnic groups. Between the start of the pandemic and October 2, 2022, indigenous people suffered 582 deaths per 100,000 people - more than twice the death rate for whites and Asians.

People of color are more likely to suffer severe illness from Covid-19, regardless of their age. According to , hospitalization rates have been highest among indigenous and Black Americans. About 2,100 indigenous and 1,700 Black Americans were hospitalized for Covid-related symptoms per 100,000 people in their respective ethnic and race groups between the beginning of the pandemic and October 22, 2022.

The racial disparities in Covid-related health indicators have contributed to a steeper decline in the U.S. life expectancy for people of color, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the CDC. Between 2019 and 2021, American Indians and Alaska natives experienced the biggest drop, with life expectancy at birth plunging by more than 6 years to 65.2. The Latino and Black communities both experienced a drop of four years, while Asian and white Americans have seen a decrease of about two years since the start of the pandemic.

The pandemic-related economic crisis in 2020 was particularly devastating for people of color. When the shutdown sent unemployment levels skyrocketing in March and April of that year, Black and Latino workers were much more likely to be jobless than white workers, according to BLS data. This remained true despite the fact that people of color made up a disproportionate share of essential workers who had to remain on the job at the start of the pandemic. While the overall unemployment rate has dropped significantly, racial disparities remain. As of October 2023, the unemployment rate for Black workers was 5.8 percent, compared to just 3.9 percent for U.S. workers as a whole.

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the share of U.S. workers who are teleworking for health reasons, but not everyone has the same ability to work from home. According to the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety (NIOSH) and Health, Black and Non-white Hispanic workers are less likely to report being able to telework than white and Asian workers. Some 38 percent of Asian workers and 24 percent of white workers reported working from home between May 2020 and July 2021. By contrast, only 19 percent of Black and 14 percent and Non-white Hispanic workers reported working from home in that same time period. The researchers attributed 80 percent of this divide to racial education gaps, since college graduates are more likely to be able to telework. Workers of color with public-facing jobs have been exposed to greater virus risks.

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Racial Economic Inequality - Inequality.org

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Systemic racism has contributed to the persistence of race-based gaps that manifest in many different economic indicators. The starkest divides are in measures of household wealth, reflecting centuries of white privilege that have made it particularly difficult for people of color to achieve economic security.

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Fighting Systemic Racism in K-12 Education

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Fighting Systemic Racism in K-12 Education

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This article discusses the increase in police brutality due to all the recent tragedies that have happened to the black communities. These tragedies have brought awareness of the need for systemic change towards criminal justice policies. We not only need to spread awareness, but people also need to educate themselves whether they are a part of the black communities or not and listen to people. What the black communities need are allies. We as a society should be approaching this by advocating for equitable funding, advocating for less policing and surveillance of students, and fighting to end de-facto segregation through school and district boundaries. The black communities need to know they have support through education funding systems, and this ensures that opportunities are not being condemned based on where you live.

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Allies should also work with Black communities to support efforts to combat structural racism in education, housing, and other social policies. Their opposition, silence, or lack of engagement in these efforts can contribute to the perpetuation of inequities and further limit access to opportunities for communities that are Black, Indigenous, and people of color ( BIPOC). Because systemic racism in education is a root cause of so many other inequities that BIPOC face, it is critical that allies stand shoulder to shoulder with these communities in calling for large-scale changes to the U.S. education system. Particularly because education is often thought of as a local concern or personal matter for parents and families, it is especially important that allies lift their voices for BIPOC communities to ensure that the call for change is unified and focused. This column details three ways in which allies should leverage their influence and power beyond social media to combat systemic racism in education.

1. Advocate for equitable funding

Money matters in education, with multiple studies showing that increasing funding improves outcomes while cuts hurt them. Still, the United States' school funding systems remain inequitable, disproportionately shortchanging BIPOC students. More than 35 percent of public school revenue comes from property taxes that favor and stabilize funding in wealthier areas, while other communities must rely on more volatile state revenues. This is one reason why predominantly nonwhite school districts across the country annually receive $23 billion less than their predominantly white counterparts.

Black, Indigenous, and other non-Black students of color attend schools that are statistically more likely to be under-resourced, outdated, and in many cases hazardous to their health. Last month, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report that estimated more than half of the nation's public school districts needed to update or entirely replace multiple systems, such as HVAC or plumbing, in their school buildings-and many of these districts are concentrated in high-poverty areas. If left unaddressed, these infrastructure problems could pose significant air quality issues, contribute to exacerbating asthma and chronic absenteeism in students, and negatively affect students' academic performance. Notably, higher-poverty districts have less local revenue than low-poverty districts to fund the capital construction costs of addressing these kinds of repairs.

While state funding offsets some of these local disparities, it is not enough. As a result of the Great Recession of 2008, most states significantly cut their education funding-an action shown to have disproportionately affected higher-poverty districts. A number of states still had not restored their education funding to prerecession levels years after the recession ended. Now, in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, states are once again forecasting massive cuts to their education budgets because of historic shortfalls in income and sales tax revenue.

Allies have a role to play in ensuring that states use stabilization funds-federal funding allocated to states for education purposes to offset their depleted revenue-to prevent these cuts. They should call for increased investments in education as well as fairer and more transparent funding policies at the state and local levels to make sure that capital projects, programs, and overall spending are equitable in schools that serve large numbers of BIPOC students. Organizations such as Gwinnett StoPP and other members of PEER Partners, as well as the Maryland Fair Funding Coalition, include BIPOC-led organizations actively working to advance these efforts.

2. Advocate for less policing and surveillance of students

Within six months of the deadly 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, legislatures in 26 states allocated nearly $960 million for security upgrades and the addition of police officers to school campuses. While gun violence in schools must be prevented, there is evidence that increased policing and surveillance do not effectively address the threat of gun violence in schools. Black students in particular feel less safe in the presence of police and are more likely to be policed than they are to be protected.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, Black, Hispanic male, and American Indian students face higher rates of school disciplinary consequences such as suspension and expulsion than white students, and they are also subject to more interactions with police in schools in the form of contraband sweeps, interrogations, physical restraints, and arrests. Black students are also more likely to be subjected to social media surveillance and the use of biased artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology.

Additionally, recent data show that approximately 1.7 million students attend schools with police officers but no counselors; 3 million students attend schools with police but no nurses; 6 million students attend schools with police but no psychologist; and 10 million students attend schools with police but no social workers. Middle and high schools with higher concentrations of law enforcement officers compared with mental health staff are more likely to be in areas that serve primarily Black students.

Allies could join one of the many youth- and parent-led BIPOC groups that are part of the Dignity in Schools Campaign to advocate for more counselors, nurses, and social workers in schools instead of increased police presence and security. They should also demand transparency about school discipline data and policies in their local communities to ensure that students' civil rights are not being violated.

3. Advocate to end de-facto segregation through school and district boundaries

Sixty-six years ago, the unanimous Brown v. Board of Education decision declared school segregation unconstitutional, but many public districts and schools remain segregated by race and socioeconomic status today. In many cases, this was an intentional result of the design of school district and neighborhood school assignment boundaries. Since 2000, for example, 128 communities in states from Maine to Utah have attempted to secede from larger school districts. The secession of wealthier and whiter areas takes local tax revenue from districts and increases the number of schools that are racially segregated.

Debates about opportunity hoarding are not limited to particular regions or states. Even in areas that champion their diversity, such as Montgomery County, Maryland-which borders Washington, D.C.-the mere idea of analyzing school attendance boundaries or reassignment plans has caused an uproar. White and Asian parents have protested that any changes to school boundaries that would reduce high concentrations of students from low-income families is unfair to parents who have " worked hard" to live in more affluent neighborhoods. In Howard County, Maryland, a superintendent's plan to reassign students to alleviate crowding and create greater socioeconomic equity resulted in fervent opposition and even a death threat. In addition, the use of screening tests and biased admissions practices for gifted and talented programs in elementary grades and selective middle and high schools have historically woefully underrepresented BIPOC students.

Allies should join with their BIPOC neighbors and show up to their local school board meetings to push for school boundaries and selection criteria that are designed with a race-equity lens. These reforms would ensure that students are not locked out of opportunities based on where they live. In Arlington, Virginia, wealthy and white parents are working with Latinx parents to protest the move of a dual-language immersion school to an area that would be more difficult for Latinx families to attend. Likewise, in Brooklyn, New York, parents of all backgrounds worked together to eliminate gifted tracking programs in favor of enrichment programs available to all students. Allies should also call on their state legislatures and local school boards to create policies that ensure equitable access to rigorous and advanced coursework for all students.

What lies ahead

Black communities face injustices that extend beyond the horrifying examples of police killings that have led to calls for big changes to police funding, structures, and policies. Combating the pervasive and deeply rooted forms of systemic racism will require allies-including those in affluent communities-to speak up and speak out.

From the lack of adequate mental health services to inequitable access to advanced and rigorous coursework to unhealthy school buildings, education systems disproportionately fail Black students. Allies can play a role in breaking down these barriers by pushing for change at both state capitols and local school board meetings. They must be vocally supportive of education funding systems that target dollars where they are needed most in order to ensure that opportunities are not restricted based on where people live.

Education budgets are statements of values and should reflect a material commitment to racial equity in schools, not just lip service to diversity. BIPOC students simply cannot afford spending cuts, particularly at a time when they are disproportionately experiencing the worst effects of COVID-19, which will require additional supports and services. Rather than enhanced police and security theater, Black students need more voices calling for equitable resources in schools. Allies must support equitable and diverse schools that improve access to opportunities for BIPOC students and students from low-income families. Parents from affluent communities would not stay silent if their children's public schools were not equitably funded, so they should not remain silent for other children.
Roby Chatterji is a senior policy analyst for K-12 Education at the Center for American Progress.

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Fighting Systemic Racism in K-12 Education: Helping Allies Move From the Keyboard to the School Board

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The surge of new allies in the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice presents a welcome opportunity to implement systemic changes in the U.S. K-12 education system-and allies should start by following the lead of communities that are Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

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This is a great example of contemporary artists bringing light to racial violence between people.

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XXXTENTACION - Hate Will Never Win (Official Music Video)

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https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/2/15/uc-president-racist-flyers/
Undergraduate Council President Michael E. Cheng had two papers with racist slurs written on them posted on his door.

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Two paper signs bearing racist slurs were posted on the door of Undergraduate Council President Michael Y. Cheng '22 on Monday morning, sparking condemnation from Quincy House faculty and students.

Cheng said he first became aware of the flyers - which called him an anti-Asian slur and included the phrase "SAVE THE UC" - when he left his dorm in Quincy House on Monday morning. Another Quincy resident reported the flyers to House administrators shortly after, according to Cheng.

Cheng called the act disheartening but "not that surprising" and linked the incident to previous criticism of his political platform.

"It's disappointing that I feel desensitized to all this noise, even though this is just objectively racist," he said.

"It's right after the UC midterm elections," Cheng added. "There are some people that are frustrated by decisions we've made."

Cheng was elected UC president in November after pledging during his campaign to "defund" the body and rewrite its constitution. His inauguration was marred by hostility between his administration and other general members of the UC.

In an email to Quincy residents on Monday, Cheng requested an apology from the perpetrator and for previous "exaggerated attacks" on his character.

"I don't care about punishment, I would just appreciate a personal apology," he wrote.

Quincy Faculty Deans Eric Beerbohm and Leslie J. Duhaylongsod condemned the flyers and offered their support to Cheng in an email to House residents that denounced the slurs as "deplorable."

"We want to say in the strongest possible terms that this is absolutely unacceptable; none of these actions is consistent with Quincy's focus on a safe, respectful, and inclusive community," they wrote. "Hate has no place at Quincy House."

The Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Women's Association released a statement co-signed by 11 other student groups Monday rebuking the "act of direct racism" and calling on the College to take concrete steps to respond to the incident.

"We actively strive to fight injustices across an intersectional network of issues that affects all of us as students," the statement reads. "We must not let these actions go unrecognized without consequence."

Cheng said he was heartened by the messages of support he received.

"I've gotten emails and messages from a lot of people," he said. "It's definitely great to hear that people care about me."

In their email, the Quincy faculty deans also solicited information about the incident.

On Monday, Cheng speculated that the vandalism was committed by one of his political opponents.

"I presume if you care enough to do something like this, you're probably on the UC," Cheng said.

-Staff writer Mert Geyiktepe can be reached at mert.geyiktepe@thecrimson.com.

-Staff writer J. Sellers Hill can be reached at sellers.hill@thecrimson.com.

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Racist Signs Posted on UC President's Door | News | The Harvard Crimson

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Two paper signs bearing racist slurs were posted on the door of Undergraduate Council President Michael Y. Cheng '22 on Monday morning, sparking condemnation from Quincy House faculty and students. Cheng said he first became aware of the flyers - which called him an anti-Asian slur and included the phrase "SAVE THE UC" - when he left his dorm in Quincy House on Monday morning.

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This article addresses the many ways racial inequality has affected the education system in the United States. The article lists problems that affect African Americans from preschool all the way through college education.

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Education Lab is a Seattle Times project that spotlights promising approaches to persistent challenges in public education. The Seattle Foundation serves as the fiscal sponsor for Education Lab, which is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Learn more about Ed Lab.

It's always time to talk about racial inequity in education.

But the police killing of George Floyd, and coronavirus school closures that may deepen vast opportunity gaps between Black and white students, are driving new conversations about how schools should confront structural racism.

Racial inequity is baked into the nation's education system in ways big and small. Black children face the most extreme hurdles to academic success.

Within individual classrooms, teachers may mistake a Black preschooler's chattiness for hyperactivity or bad behavior, instead of recognizing the child's skillful storytelling abilities. Within public school districts, recruitment and hiring practices tend to leave out Black educators or pay them less than their peers. Higher education has a long history of excluding Black people entirely. Racism and hate crimes persist on many college campuses.

These inequities compound over the years when Black children and adults are in school. Some are insidious, such as false but pervasive cultural messaging that Black students are less capable learners than their peers. Others are overt: K-12 school policies allow students to be arrested on their campuses, and Black students face this fate far more often than others.

Education Lab, a project of The Seattle Times, was founded to examine how such problems are reinforced and to report evidence-based solutions that could help undo them. Here are some of the systemic ways public education creates barriers to learning for Black students.
Academics
The idea that success comes primarily from hard work minimizes systemic problems many Black children face.

Discrimination and racial bias against Black students begins as early as preschool. Several studies bear this out, including one from last year, in which researchers reported that teachers asked to rate students' academic abilities scored Black children far below white peers with identical scores. Such implicit bias can have serious negative consequences: Teachers tasked with recommending students for gifted and talented programs, for example, might overlook Black students who would excel. In Seattle, the Black-white divide in such programs is among the nation's largest.
How we got here:
School climate is also important: Whether Black students feel safe and like they belong, or have adults they trust or who look like them at school, may affect how well they perform on assignments and standardized tests; they are more likely to enroll in honors classes, for instance, if those courses are taught by Black teachers. Seattle Public Schools has created a department devoted to the achievement of Black boys and teenagers, a population officials deem "furthest from educational justice."

Black and Latino students are also far more likely to attend schools in low-income neighborhoods, which is tied closely to academic achievement, in part because of a lack of resources.
How we got here: Discipline
Zero-tolerance discipline policies, like mandatory suspensions or expulsions for offenses that don't include violence or drugs, fuel the school-to-prison pipeline. Such policies fall hardest on Black students: In the 2015-16 school year, for instance, Black students nationwide made up about 15 percent of public school students but 31 percent of those referred to police or arrested at school. In Seattle Public Schools last year, Black students made up half of police referrals, but only 14% of the district's enrollment.
How we got here:
Disproportionate rates and severity of discipline begin in preschool and extend over the years of Black children's education. A few years ago, Education Lab took a close look at how such policies play out in schools across the Puget Sound region. The data was bleak. Discipline varies by district, but Black students were disciplined at disproportionately higher rates across the board.
How we got here:
The series also examined fixes, such as using in-school suspensions instead of sending children home for long periods, or keeping truant children out of court. King County court officers began using restorative justice instead of traditional prosecution with young people who commit felonies.
Higher Education
Black students face significant barriers that keep them from enrolling in college and ultimately earning a degree. It starts with their K-12 education: If schools fail to prepare them early on, they're more likely to struggle to get in or possess study habits that allow them to persist and earn a degree. Students who go to school in low-income neighborhoods might not have the standardized test scores required for admission.
How we got here:
Black college students face hurdles once they enroll. Some highly selective schools use test scores for admission to certain majors, such as those in the STEM fields, which works to systemically keep out many Black students. Many predominantly white institutions also have a history and culture that makes Black students feel unwelcome.

Black students might be excluded from study groups, have a greater chance of experiencing racism on campus or have trouble forging strong connections with faculty members, though some colleges in Washington are striving to make changes by creating programs such as the University of Washington's Brotherhood Initiative.

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To understand structural racism, look to our schools

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Racial inequity is baked into the public education system and for Black children, begins as early as preschool. Here are some of the systemic ways public education creates barriers to learning for Black students.

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This video went viral due to tiktok. It's a grown man assaulting a teenager over a smoothie and calling her racist remarks and lying about his son having a peanut allergy to justify his actions.

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CT Man Arrested For Throwing Smoothie At Worker

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Ahmaud Arbery's killers caught using racial slurs on social media and in text messages.

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Ahmaud Arbery's killers caught using racial slurs on social media and in text messages.

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I looked up "race news" and this instantly caught my eye. I remember this horrific murder of an innocent black man who was simply jogging in his neighborhood when three disgustingly racist white men chased him and killed him. This news article shows even more now that this was a racially motivated killing rather than one out of fear like the killers claimed it was.

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Two of the three White men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery repeatedly used racial slurs in text messages and social media posts, an FBI witness testified Wednesday in their federal hate crimes trial.

FBI intelligence analyst Amy Vaughan led the jury through dozens of conversations that Travis McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan allegedly had with others, identified only by their initials, in the months and years before the 25-year-old Black man's killing. The FBI wasn't able to access Greg McMichael's phone because it was encrypted, Vaughan said.

In text and Facebook conversations with friends, Travis McMichael frequently used the N-word to describe Black people, Vaughan said. In a Facebook conversation with a friend, he also allegedly shared a video of a young Black boy dancing on a TV show with a racist song that included the N-word playing over it. He also allegedly said that Black people "ruin everything" and repeatedly said he was glad he wasn't a Black person, using a racial slur.

In other social media posts, Travis McMichael advocated violence against Black people, Vaughan said. In December 2018, he allegedly commented on a Facebook video of a Black man playing a prank on a White person: "I'd kill that f----ing n----r."

And in June 2017, he allegedly shared a TV news story about a violent confrontation between two White women and two Black customers upset over cold food at a Georgia restaurant, using a racial slur to comment that he would beat the Black people "to death if they did that to (name redacted by the FBI) or my mother and sister." He allegedly added that he would have no more remorse than putting down a rabid animal.

Bryan also used the N-word, but his preferred slur was one that refers to a derogatory characterization of a Black person's lips, Vaughan said. Over a number of years, Bryan allegedly exchanged racist messages on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In messages sent in the days surrounding Arbery's killing, Bryan was clearly upset that his daughter was dating a Black man, Vaughan said.

Greg McMichael allegedly posted a meme on Facebook in 2016 saying White Irish slaves were treated worse than any race in the U.S. but that the Irish aren't asking for handouts.

"I ain't really shocked," Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery, told reporters outside the courthouse. Still, he said he didn't realize "all that hate was in those three men."

Defense attorneys had few questions for the FBI analysis and didn't dispute the posts. They said in their opening statements to the jury Monday that racist comments by their clients were offensive and indefensible but don't prove that they committed hate crimes.

Travis McMichael's attorney, Amy Lee Copeland, said some of his texts and posts lacked context, and "you can't hear that inflection of voice and see what's going on."

The McMichaels armed themselves and used a pickup truck to chase Arbery as he ran through their coastal Georgia neighborhood on February 23, 2020. A neighbor, Bryan, joined the pursuit in his own truck and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery with a shotgun.

No arrests were made until the video leaked online two months later.

Defense attorneys have insisted the deadly pursuit of Arbery was motivated by an earnest, though erroneous, suspicion that Arbery had committed crimes.

Both McMichaels and Bryan were convicted of murder last fall in a Georgia state court and sentenced to life in prison. Racist comments by the men weren't presented as evidence in the murder trial, in which prosecutors downplayed issues of race and focused on proving the three had no justification for pursuing and killing Arbery.

All three pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges accusing them of violating Arbery's civil rights and targeting him because he was Black. A jury of eight White people, three Black people and one Hispanic person was sworn in Monday.

Trending News

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Two of the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery repeatedly used racial slurs in text messages and on social media, FBI witness says

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Two of the three White men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery repeatedly used racial slurs in text messages and social media posts, an FBI witness testified Wednesday in their federal hate crimes trial.

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This was interesting when I looked up racism.

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Credit... The New York Times

One question lingers amid all the debates about critical race theory: How racist is this land? Anybody with eyes to see and ears to hear knows about the oppression of the Native Americans, about slavery and Jim Crow. But does that mean that America is even now a white supremacist nation, that whiteness is a cancer that leads to oppression for other groups? Or is racism mostly a part of America's past, something we've largely overcome?

There are many ways to answer these questions. The most important is by having honest conversations with the people directly affected. But another is by asking: How high are the barriers to opportunity for different groups? Do different groups have a fair shot at the American dream? This approach isn't perfect, but at least it points us to empirical data rather than just theory and supposition.

When we apply this lens to the African American experience we see that barriers to opportunity are still very high. The income gap separating white and Black families was basically as big in 2016 as it was in 1968. The wealth gap separating white and Black households grew even bigger between those years. Black adults are over 16 times more likely to be in families with three generations of poverty than white adults.

Research shows the role racism plays in perpetuating these disparities. When, in 2004, researchers sent equally qualified white and Black applicants to job interviews in New York City, dressed them similarly and gave them similar things to say, Black applicants got half as many callbacks or job offers as whites.

When you look at the data about African Americans, the legacies of slavery and segregation and the effects of racism are everywhere. The phrase "systemic racism" aptly fits the reality you see - a set of structures, like redlining, that have a devastating effect on Black wealth and opportunities. Racism is not something we are gently moving past; it's pervasive. It seems obvious that this reality should be taught in every school.

Does this mean that America is white supremacist, a shameful nation, that the American dream is just white privilege? Well, let's take a look at the data for different immigrant groups. When you turn your gaze here, the barriers don't seem as high. For example, as Bloomberg's Noah Smith pointed out recently on his Substack page, Hispanic American incomes rose faster in recent years than those of any other major group in America. Forty-five percent of Hispanics who grew up in poverty made it to the middle class or higher, comparable to the mobility rate for whites.

Hispanics have lately made astounding gains in education. In 2000, more than 30 percent of Hispanics dropped out of high school. By 2016, only 10 percent did. In 1999, a third of Hispanics age 18 to 24 were in college; now, nearly half are. Hispanic college enrollment rates surpassed white enrollment rates in 2012.

The Hispanic experience in America is beginning to look similar to the experience of Irish Americans or Italian Americans or other past immigrant groups - a period of struggle followed by integration into the middle class.

A study by scholars from Princeton, Stanford and the University of California at Davis found that today's children of immigrants are no slower to move up to the middle class than the children of immigrants 100 years ago. It almost doesn't matter whether their parents came from countries from which immigrants are mainly fleeing misery and poverty, or from countries from which immigrants often arrive with marketable skills, children of poor immigrants have higher rates of upward mobility than the children of the native-born.

This economic success obviously does not mean immigrant groups do not face hardship, bias and exploitation. Almost every immigrant group in American history has faced that. It just means that education and mobility can help overcome some of the effects of this bias. According to that same study, immigrant groups are largely doing well because they come to places where opportunity is plentiful. They are not so much earning more than those around them, but earning more along with those around them.

Economic progress is one thing. What about cultural integration?

A landmark 2015 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that the lives of immigrants and their children are converging with those of their native-born neighbors, in good ways and bad. This pattern applies to how well educated they are, where they live, what language they speak, how their health is and how they organize their families. A study by a Brown University sociologist, for example, found that Mexican immigrants are learning English at increasingly higher rates and growing less isolated from non-Mexican Americans.

Rising intermarriage rates are one product of this integration. According to a 2017 Pew Research Center report, about 29 percent of Asian American newlyweds are married to someone of a different race or ethnicity, along with 27 percent of Hispanic newlyweds. The intermarriage rates for white and Black people have roughly tripled since 1980. More than 35 percent of Americans say that one of their "close" kin is of a different race.

Blending identities is another sign of this integration. There was an idea going around a few years ago that America was about to become a majority-minority country. This would be true only if you rigidly divided Americans into white and (with one drop of nonwhite blood) nonwhite categories.

But real humans are very quick to adopt multiple and shifting racial identities. The researchers Richard Alba, Morris Levy and Dowell Myers suggest 52 percent of the people who self-categorize as nonwhite in the Census Bureau's projections for America's 2060 racial makeup will also think of themselves as white. Forty percent of those who self-categorized as white will also claim minority racial identity.

In an essay for The Atlantic, they conclude: "Speculating about whether America will have a white majority by the mid-21st century makes little sense, because the social meanings of white and nonwhite are rapidly shifting. The sharp distinction between these categories will apply to many fewer Americans."

When you look at the data across groups, a few points stand out.

First, you can see why some people have issues with the phrase "people of color." How could a category that covers a vast majority of all human beings have much meaning? The groups that the phrase attempts to bring together have different experiences and even face different kinds of bias. Perhaps this phrase covers over real identities instead of illuminating them.

Writing in GQ, Damon Young argues that the term "people of color" has become a linguistic gesture, "shorthand for white people uncomfortable with just saying 'Black.'" In The New Yorker, E. Tammy Kim argues, "'People of color,' by grouping all nonwhites in the United States, if not the world, fails to capture the disproportionate per-capita harm to Blacks at the hands of the state."

Second, it's certainly time to dump the replacement theory that has been so popular with Tucker Carlson and the far right - the idea that all these foreigners are coming to take over the country. This is an idea that panics a lot of whites and helped elect Donald Trump, but it's not true. In truth, immigrants blend with the current inhabitants, keeping parts of their earlier identities and adopting parts of their new identities. This has been happening for hundreds of years, and it is still happening. This kind of intermingling of groups is not replacing America; it is America.

Finally, it may not be accurate to say that America can be neatly divided into rival ethnic camps, locked in zero-sum conflict with each other. The real story is more about blending and fluidity. I'm just one guy with one (white) point of view. But my reading of the historical record suggests groups do well by mingling with everybody else while keeping some of their own distinct identities and cultures. "Integration without assimilation" is how Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks put it.

The interwoven reality of America defies simple binaries of white versus nonwhite. Over the last several years Raj Chetty and his team at Opportunity Insights have done much of the most celebrated work on income mobility. They find that, indeed, Black Americans and Native Americans have much lower rates of mobility because of historic discrimination.

But Chetty's team emphasizes that these gaps are not immutable. If, for example, you use housing vouchers and other grants to help people move to high-opportunity neighborhoods with low poverty rates, low racial bias and more fathers in the neighborhoods, then you can help people of all races lead lives with higher incomes and lower rates of incarceration as adults.

The reality of America encompasses both the truth about structural racism and the truth that America is a land of opportunity for an astounding diversity of groups from around the world. There's no way to simplify that complexity.

Last week I saw a young Black woman wearing a T-shirt that read, "I am my ancestors' wildest dreams." I took her message as a statement of defiance, pride, determination and hope. If you can keep discordant emotions like that in your head, you can get a feel for this discordant land.

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One question lingers amid all the debates about critical race theory: How racist is this land? Anybody with eyes to see and ears to hear knows about the oppression of the Native Americans, about slavery and Jim Crow.

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When I looked up "racism" on twitter for this assignment there were over 1,200 tweets in the last hour regarding the topic. This was at the very top. This shows how relevant the topic is day to day in our society.

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As we celebrate Black History month, let’s carry forward the work of our lives together — to dismantle systemic racism, to fight for dignity, and to fulfill America’s promise for everyone.

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As we celebrate Black History month, let’s carry forward the work of our lives together — to dismantle systemic racism, to fight for dignity, and to fulfill America’s promise for everyone. https://t.co/Px6e3vBZcC

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As we celebrate Black History month, let’s carry forward the work of our lives together — to dismantle systemic racism, to fight for dignity, and to fulfill America’s promise for everyone. pic.twitter.com/Px6e3vBZcC
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 15, 2022

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As we celebrate Black History month, let’s carry forward the work of our lives together — to dismantle systemic racism, to fight for dignity, and to fulfill America’s promise for everyone. https://t.co/Px6e3vBZcC

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As we celebrate Black History month, let’s carry forward the work of our lives together — to dismantle systemic racism, to fight for dignity, and to fulfill America’s promise for everyone. https://t.co/Px6e3vBZcC

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As we celebrate Black History month, let’s carry forward the work of our lives together — to dismantle systemic racism, to fight for dignity, and to fulfill America’s promise for everyone.

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This article caught my attention because I see this stuff happen all the time especially on social media. Society has this N-word circling the internet with many different rap songs and also with the types of words people choose to speak on a daily basis. Some being affirmations of a positive way to talk to one another and the other being a harsh racial slur towards another person. It can go both ways, yet on top of that when it comes from a Caucasian person it can be misinterpreted of a sign of disrespect.

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Joe Rogan apologises for using N-word and racist Planet of the Apes story

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This article touches on how students are affected because of the racism they face. It starts with a prime example of Zion Agostini and his thoughts on this topic and how he has been affected.

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A new study shows that the pressures associated with discrimination contribute to the achievement gap.

For 15-year-old Zion Agostini, the start of each school day is a new occasion to navigate a minefield of racial profiling. From an early age, walking home from elementary school with his older brother, Agostini took note of the differential treatment police gave to black people in his community: "I [saw] people get stopped ... get harassed ... get arrested for minor offenses." Almost a decade later, Agostini said he now faces the same treatment as a sophomore at Nelson Mandela School for Social Justice in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. "Me being a black male, I'm more likely to be stopped and frisked by a cop. Then, [I'm] going to school with more cops ... [messing] with me at 7 in the morning."

The strain of these interactions is heightened by the daily routine of passing through a metal detector, emptying pockets, and removing clothing that frequently makes him late to his first-period class. "The fact is now I'm [tardy] because I'm being scanned four times because of the metal in my necklace or my keys. I missed whatever [the teacher] was explaining ... a lot goes on in [chemistry], and because of that I'm behind." All of this combined takes a toll on his schoolwork, he said. "It does make it extremely hard to focus on the classwork ... You're upset, or sad, or just emotional about what just happened. It takes a while to settle."

A recent study from Northwestern University corroborates Agostini's experience, suggesting that the stress of racial discrimination may partly explain the persistent gaps in academic performance between some nonwhite students, mainly black and Latino youth, and their white counterparts. The team of researchers found that the physiological response to race-based stressors-be it perceived racial prejudice, or the drive to outperform negative stereotypes-leads the body to pump out more stress hormones in adolescents from traditionally marginalized groups. This biological reaction to race-based stress is compounded by the psychological response to discrimination or the coping mechanisms youngsters develop to lessen the distress. What emerges is a picture of black and Latino students whose concentration, motivation, and, ultimately, learning is impaired by unintended and overt racism.

Emma Adam, a professor of human development and social policy at Northwestern and the study's senior author, said prior research had established racial differences in levels of cortisol-a hormone that increases when the body is stressed-between black and white youth, and linked this to the impact of discrimination. In the current research review, she and her co-authors set out to connect the dots. "We had observed these [dissimilarities] and knew that sleep and stress hormones have strong implications for cognition ... we also knew that there was a strong racial gap in academic attainment."

Two sources of stress encountered by black and Latino students and examined in the report are perceived discrimination-the perception that you will be treated differently or unfairly because of your race-and stereotype threat, the stress of confirming negative expectations about your racial or ethnic group. According to the paper, among this population of students, perceived discrimination from teachers was "related to lower grades, less academic motivation ... and less persistence when encountering an academic challenge." The study also found that the anxiety surrounding the stereotype of academic inferiority undermined students performing academic tasks.

Over time, Adam said, children develop strategies to reduce the racial stressors, but these, too, have consequences for academic success. Students might devalue the importance of doing well on tests or decide that doing well in school isn't a part of their identity-"If you don't care, then you're not going to feel as stressed in those academic circumstances," she said, "but obviously that [affects] your performance."

While conceding that many factors contribute to academic achievement-school quality and teacher quality among them-Adam said knowing how race-based stress affects the body holds possible answers to addressing achievement disparities. "Promoting positive ethnic racial identity would be one way to reduce those feelings of separation or exclusion and improve students' ability to focus in the classroom. Reducing student exposure to racial discrimination and improving race relations in the U.S. more generally are the ultimate solutions to this, but in the meantime, there are ways to help students deal with the stress."
"Being a person of color, you're constantly ... being targeted just because you're a person of color."
L'Heureux Lewis-McCoy, an associate professor of sociology and Black Studies at the City College of New York, said exploring the role that stress plays in the lives of black and Latino youth is a good addition to much of the research literature on academic gaps that focuses on socioeconomic factors, family background, and neighborhood characteristics. He added that the paper's conclusion-negotiating racial indignities leads to stress, and in turn, makes it harder for students of color to sleep and stay on task-is a useful contribution to the educational dialogue.

"It opens up the door for us to think about some of the interventions that we can do at the school level ... talking to children about how to process stress ... as well as the interpersonal work that we have to do [thinking] about what everyday racism looks like," Lewis-McCoy said. "Not just race as an institutional practice, or racism in terms of [school segregation], but the [routine] experiences of those people who are black and Latino."

He expressed some concerns, however, with the study's premise that black students confronted with racial hurdles regularly disconnect from school or no longer desire an education. To the contrary, he found in researching his book Inequality in the Promised Land -a look at race and suburban schooling-that black children often sought ways to circumvent race-based obstacles. "Young people are facing discrimination on the playground ... in who gets called on in the classroom and what type of feedback they receive ... in which colleges or post-education opportunities they're offered," Lewis-McCoy said, noting that children living with discrimination learn to pivot when "they don't have adults who acknowledge that or work with them to change the arrangements." The CUNY professor said the common belief that race-based stressors lead black students to disassociate from academic achievement is "actually a wrong interpretation of their actions. We can't assume that every blocked opportunity leads to someone retreating. In fact, I think the narrative and the arc around black education is often finding success in spite of barriers."

Agostini, the New York City teen, identifies with the stress of racial inequity-or what he calls the "psychological trauma" of constant racial harassment. He said it can take him up to a day to recover. "It's not something that easy to shake. Being a person of color, you're constantly ... being targeted just because you're a person of color. It makes it hard to deal."

But as Lewis-McCoy states, Agostini has found tools to combat the racial discrimination he's experienced, channeling his emotions into action. He is a member of the Urban Youth Collaborative, a citywide coalition of youth organizers working on school-based social-justice issues. Looking ahead, he hopes to break the cycle of racial targeting for future students like himself.

"I hope to be an example [via] protests, and actions, and rallies, and whatever I have to do," he said. "I don't want other black and Latino students being pushed out of school ... I want them to be able to go to school and get their education ... I want them to be able to walk home from school ... I want them to be able to just chill in the park and just hang out with their friends ... I want to change people's lives for the positive."

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How the Stress of Racism Affects Learning

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A new study shows that the pressures associated with discrimination contribute to the achievement gap.

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This article caught my eye and I think it is crazy that as of February 2nd, 36 states have introduced a bill that restricts teachers from teaching about racism, sexism, and other dissolved topics and 14 of those states have passed it. In the article it talked about how librarians are now supposed to pull certain books off the shelves such as topics about Martin Luther King Jr, the civil rights movement, and Michelle Obama. I find this absolutely crazy because I think it is important for the upcoming generation to learn about our history, especially since it is inextricably linked to the story of America. Jamaal Bowman, a former teacher and principal, stated, “As a Black man and an educator, I cannot make clear enough how important it is to the success of our democracy for us to come to a collective understanding and agreement that we must take our commitment to learn from our past seriously.”

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Congressional Democrats didn't mince words when they sent a message this week to their GOP colleagues, Republican state leaders and conservative school board members mounting efforts to sanitize U.S. history by stripping teachings and banning books on divisive topics like race, racism and gender.

"It is our moral imperative to tell the truth about our past to finally reconcile with this nation's history of racism and white nationalism," Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a New York Democrat and former teacher and principal, said in a statement announcing legislation aimed at protecting and promoting the teaching of African American history in K-12 schools.

"The moment we are in requires of us a clear-eyed vision to ensure that not just our children but people of all ages, have access to resources and education that accurately recount African American history," he said. "As a Black man and an educator, I cannot make clear enough how important it is to the success of our democracy for us to come to a collective understanding and agreement that we must take our commitment to learn from our past seriously."

The legislation itself has the modest goal of directing some $10 million a year over five years to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which would in turn use the funds to develop and make available high-quality teaching materials related to teaching African American history, provide professional development for early childhood, elementary and secondary teachers, establish a teacher fellowship program and engage with local and state leaders interested in incorporating the museum's resources into their curriculum.

Editorial Cartoons on Education

But it comes amid a major backlash among conservatives to critical race theory - the academic assertion that racial inequity exists in all facets of American life, including education, health care, the criminal justice system and more.

As it stands, at least 36 states have introduced bills to restrict how educators can teach racism, sexism and other divisive topics - at least 14 of them have passed such measures. And school librarians across the country are being bullied into pulling books about Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement, former first lady Michelle Obama and others that center on LGBTQ characters off the shelves of their libraries.

The efforts are almost entirely driven by white parents and supported by Republican lawmakers.

In some of the most dramatic examples, legislation proposed in GOP-controlled Florida would ban public schools from making people feel "discomfort" when being taught about racial discrimination in U.S. history, and in Virginia, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin established a tip line for parents to report instances when educators teach "divisive" subjects.

In total, 17.7 million public school students - more than a third of all students in the country - have had their learning restricted by such local and state policies, according to a new study from the University of California, Los Angeles.

"Let's start with a basic fact: You cannot understand American history without knowing African American history," Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement.

The AFT, along with the National Education Association and dozens of additional education and civil rights advocacy organizations, are backing the legislation.

"Some people are making this a wedge issue - even bullying teachers and trying to stop us from teaching students accurate history," Weingarten said. "This bill will make sure every student learns about the history and contributions of African Americans throughout the years. And every educator should have the training and tools they need to engage and teach African American history."

Bowman's legislation, which is co-sponsored in the Senate by New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker, also comes amid a sudden and alarming increase in bomb threats being made against historically Black colleges and universities. On Jan. 31, six HBCUs received bomb threats, followed on Feb. 1 - the first day of National Black History Month - when an additional 12 HBCUs received bomb threats.

"The story of Black people in America is inextricably linked to the story of America," Booker said in a statement. "This story must be reckoned with so that we can honestly reflect upon our nation's past moral wrongs and the long and ongoing quest for justice that has been undertaken by Black Americans."

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Congressional Democrats Target Bans on Teaching About Racism in Schools

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Congressional Democrats didn't mince words when they sent a message this week to their GOP colleagues, Republican state leaders and conservative school board members mounting efforts to sanitize U.S. history by stripping teachings and banning books on divisive topics like race, racism and gender.

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I first started learning about the Ethic cleansing happening to the Rohingya people in Myanmar last semester through my world religions class. At the time I was shocked that this was not more talked about in my school and community at home. In case you're unfamiliar like I was, the Rohingya are a muslim ethnic minority who starting around 2017 were targeted by hate crimes, treated as less than human, and forced to flee Myanmar by the military and Buddhist extremist groups and are still sheltering in refugee camps. It was shocking to me that people who follow a religion centered around peace and non-violence like Buddhism can commit such horrendous crimes and violence against a group of people because of a different ethnicity and religion. Now Rohingya are suing facebook because of how the military and hate groups were able to use their platform to spread hate speech and lies about Rohingya thus making to situation worse, and not doing anything to stop it.

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LONDON - Rohingya refugees sued Facebook parent Meta Platforms for more than $150 billion over what they say was the company's failure to stop hateful posts that incited violence against the Muslim ethnic group by Myanmar's military rulers and their supporters.

Lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit Monday in California saying Facebook's arrival in Myanmar helped spread hate speech, misinformation and incitement to violence that "amounted to a substantial cause, and eventual perpetuation of, the Rohingya genocide."

Lawyers in the United Kingdom have issued notice of their intention to file a similar legal action. Facebook, which was recently renamed Meta, did not immediately, reply to a request for comment.

It's the latest in a series of accusations that the social media giant fueled misinformation and political violence, outlined in redacted internal documents obtained by a consortium of news organizations, including The Associated Press.

The combined legal claims from Rohingya refugees are being filed on behalf of anyone worldwide who survived the violence or had a relative who died from it.

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group forced to flee persecution and violence in Myanmar starting in 2017, with an estimated 1 million living in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh. Some 10,000 have ended up in the United States.

In 2018, United Nations human rights experts investigating attacks against the Rohingya said Facebook had played a role in spreading hate speech.

More than 10,000 Rohingya have been killed and more than 150,000 were subject to physical violence, according to the law firms organizing the cases.

The lawsuits say Facebook's algorithms amplified hate speech against the Rohingya people and that it didn't spend enough money to hire moderators and fact checkers who spoke the local languages or understood the political situation.

They also say Facebook failed to shut accounts and pages or take down posts inciting violence or using hate speech directed at the ethnic group.

Facebook arrived in Myanmar in 2011, arranging for millions of residents to access the internet for the first time, according to the lawsuit filed in California Superior Court for San Mateo County. But the lawsuit says the company did little to warn people about the dangers of online misinformation and fake accounts - tactics employed by the military in its campaign against the Rohingya.

The lawsuit says Facebook knew that rewarding users for posting dangerous content and allowing fake accounts created by autocrats to flourish would radicalize users.

"The resulting Facebook-fueled anti-Rohingya sentiment motivated and enabled the military government of Myanmar to engage in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya," the lawsuit says.

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Rohingya sue Facebook for $150B, alleging role in violence

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LONDON - Rohingya refugees sued Facebook parent Meta Platforms for more than $150 billion over what they say was the company's failure to stop hateful posts that incited violence against the Muslim ethnic group by Myanmar's military rulers and their supporters.

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The Interlocking Impact Of Colonialism And Racism On Filipinx

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The Interlocking Impact Of Colonialism And Racism On Filipinx

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This article addresses Colonialism and Racism on Filipinx’ Health. To dismantle structural forms of racism and colonialism that exert a heavy toll on FilAm health, we recommend interdisciplinary action and transdisciplinary discussions that include community voices. We suggest active changes in data collection infrastructure and processes as a public commitment of investment to address FilAm health disparities. These actions are not sufficient, but they are necessary steps in the broader process of appropriately reframing the narrative of FilAm health

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If the address matches an existing account you will receive an email with instructions to reset your password.

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Thurston does an incredible job of connecting and communicating the problem of racism in our world today. He gives wonderful examples and clear personal insight on the everyday struggles for those of color. Short and sweet video that leaves you with a lot to think about.

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How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time

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Baratunde Thurston explores the phenomenon of white Americans calling the police on Black Americans who have committed the crimes of ... eating, walking or generally “living while Black.” In this profound, thought-provoking and often hilarious talk, he reveals the power of language to change stories of trauma into stories of healing -- while challenging us all to level up.

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This movie had stuck out to me since it was based on a true story. It is a modern story based on systematic racism, stereotypes, and violence, and how the main character is navigating how to find her voice in order to fight for what is right.

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The Carpetbagger

Amandla Stenberg as a newly galvanized Starr Carter in "The Hate U Give." Credit... Erika Doss/20th Century Fox

How do you make a movie about teenagers when the more authentic it sounds, the less likely it is that young people will be able to see it?

That was the dilemma facing George Tillman Jr., who directed "The Hate U Give." Based on the best-selling young-adult novel by Angie Thomas, the film follows Starr Carter ( Amandla Stenberg), a black student at a largely white prep school, who is galvanized into activism after she witnesses the police shooting of her childhood friend Khalil.

"The Hate U Give" takes its title and central philosophy from a concept espoused by Tupac Shakur: To the rapper, who had "THUG LIFE" tattooed in capital letters on his torso, that phrase was an acronym for a vicious cycle of societal violence. "THUG LIFE," he explained, actually stands for "The Hate U Give Little Infants Effs Everybody."

[ Read our movie review of "The Hate U Give."]

Of course, Shakur used a stronger word than "eff" - one that Thomas was able to print several times in her book but that Tillman could use only sparingly onscreen, lest he incur an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America for strong language. (The Times has a similar restriction on the expletive, which your Carpetbagger has been known to utter from time to time.) If "The Hate U Give" featured more than one use of that word, the movie would be in jeopardy of losing the PG-13 rating that Tillman and his distributor, 20th Century Fox, had hoped to earn, and teenagers who treasured the book might be barred from seeing the adaptation.

Stenberg and her director, George Tillman Jr., on the "Hate U Give" set. Credit... Erika Doss/20th Century Fox

"Young kids today are very smart," Tillman said. "They watch adult films, they get things very quickly, and they're very sophisticated." But that posed its own problem: If Tillman tried to sanitize the language, his target audience would know. And given that two crucial scenes in "The Hate U Give" require Shakur's "THUG LIFE" concept to be explained in full, there were no easy write-arounds.

"I felt like if I didn't say what Tupac was trying to say, it would not feel authentic," the director said. A different, less penalized expletive wouldn't work either: "The audience that was familiar with Tupac and his philosophy would think, 'Oh, they're just trying to make it mainstream,'" Tillman said.

[ Amandla Stenberg, George Tillman Jr. and Angie Thomas recall the microaggressions they experienced in school.]

Another filmmaker, Bo Burnham, faced a similar dilemma this year with his movie "Eighth Grade." The M.P.A.A. slapped the junior-high dramedy with an R rating for strong language, though its curse words would hardly scandalize teenagers. Burnham refused to cut his film for a wider audience: "I just wanted to portray the way kids' lives are," he told Variety in July. "I would love kids to be living in a PG-13 world. They just aren't."

For Tillman, whose previous films like "Soul Food" and "Men of Honor" have been mostly rated R, reaching a general audience was paramount. "If we're following this young girl's point of view, I just felt like it really made it more universal to walk that line and make it for anyone under 13," he said. "As a filmmaker, you really want to be organic, but you also want people to see the film as much as possible."

To make it work, then, Tillman strategized. In one early scene, Starr's father (Russell Hornsby) was supposed to use the expletive; Tillman changed it to "eff," reasoning that a father might want to soften his language around his daughter. Tillman wanted to save his single usage of the full-blown word for a different first-act scene, in which Starr listens to Shakur as Khalil explains the rapper's message. "If Khalil was saying 'eff' or bouncing around that word," Tillman said, "it just wouldn't have been authentic."

Still, that scene with Khalil was meant to be mirrored later in the film, when a newly self-actualized Starr is the one who must explain Shakur's intent to others. Since Starr had spent the bulk of "The Hate U Give" finding her voice, how would it look for her to lose it at this pivotal moment?

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'The Hate U Give' | Anatomy of a Scene

George Tillman Jr. narrates a sequence from his film where Maverick, played by Russell Hornsby, teaches his children how to behave around the police.

"My name is George Tillman Jr., and I am the director of "The Hate U Give." We always called this scene "the talk." The scene was actually in the middle of the book, but we decided very early on to move it at the top of the film. What I love about this scene is, outside, you see a normal neighborhood, with a lot of playing. It feels like a Saturday afternoon. But I cinematically wanted to move slowly towards this house, to really show that, while everyone is having a good time playing, there's important business being done with the Carter family. The first guy we see is Mav Carter. You see a guy who got braids, and he got a tattoo, so your assumption is that this guy is a gang member and he's up to no good. But as the scene sort of progressed, I love turning the scene on its head and seeing that he's not who you think he is." "Now, one day, you're all going to be with me, and you best bet we gonna get pulled over." He's a guy who's a father, a husband, and he's talking about something that's a very serious issue, that he's telling them to put their hands on the table. "You're going to see me with my hands like this." What I love about this scene is that this feels like a normal conversation like somebody would have about the birds and the bees with their children. But this is a scene that's very normal in a lot of African-American families across the country, which is, how you keep your kids safe. How do you get them to understand how to act around police officers? It's all about a father protecting his family. "It can get real dangerous, so don't argue with them. But keep - " The rehearsal for the scene was very important. It started off by rehearsing a scene with Lamar Johnson, who plays Seven, and Amandla Stenberg, who plays Starr. They rehearsed the scene, but they are not actually in the scene, but I only rehearsed it with them so they could have it as a backstory for them, moving forward, for the rest of the film. "Now, just because we got to deal with this mess, don't you ever forget that being black is an honor, because you come from greatness." But the young kids who played the scene in the film, I didn't rehearse with them. I wanted them to be on camera for the first time experiencing that. So what we do - we're seeing three different kinds of dynamics in this scene, is understanding the subtext of what an African-American family go through in the inner city. We're seeing a father figure who is very present in the household. And we're seeing a relationship that shows a loving relationship between a husband and wife. Even though they have disagreements, we still see a love. "You understand?"

George Tillman Jr. narrates a sequence from his film where Maverick, played by Russell Hornsby, teaches his children how to behave around the police. Credit Credit... 20th Century Fox

Tillman shot the climactic scene a number of different ways, but when it came time to submit his cut to the M.P.A.A. for a rating, he used a take with Stenberg saying "eff" instead of the expletive, and only Khalil's earlier use of the full word remained. "Historically, you only get one," Tillman reasoned.

As predicted, the M.P.A.A. granted "The Hate U Give" a PG-13 rating, but what Tillman didn't foresee is how miserable that would make him.

After rewatching his movie, "I felt like it was compromised," he said. "Why didn't I just go with my instinct from the beginning and not worry about it? I didn't give them the second F-word because I didn't think I would get it, and I never got it before. But something in my heart was telling me it wasn't authentic to what we were trying to say."

And so, with the release date fast approaching, Tillman persuaded Fox to do something nearly unprecedented: resubmit "The Hate U Give" to the M.P.A.A. with an unbowdlerized version of Starr's big moment. Tillman would write the ratings board a letter pleading for the added expletive, which he argued was essential to the film and his lead character's journey.

Surprisingly, the M.P.A.A. granted his request: "The Hate U Give" would be the rare PG-13 film to contain two instances of the board's most penalized curse word.

"Sometimes the M.P.A.A. gets a tough rap about ratings, but here's a chance where it really worked to our benefit," Tillman said. "They knew that the language was not just used as language, it was used to educate and inform."

Ultimately, Starr learns over the course of the movie to put a premium on keeping it real, and the language in "The Hate U Give" had to follow suit. In other words, if the film wanted to walk the walk when it came to teenage verisimilitude, it also had to talk the talk.

"I felt like it wouldn't be truth without it," Tillman said.

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With One Strong Word, 'The Hate U Give' Couldn't Hold Its Tongue (Published 2018)

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The Carpetbagger How do you make a movie about teenagers when the more authentic it sounds, the less likely it is that young people will be able to see it? That was the dilemma facing George Tillman Jr., who directed "The Hate U Give."