Race Matters
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Guess Who’s Black: Accused Racist Miami Police Captain Javier Ortiz Reveals ‘I’m A Black Male’ During City Hall Meeting
Move over Rachel Dolezal. There’s another white person now publicly identifying as being black. This time, however, the person of interest hasn’t stood up for black causes or specialized in black hairstyling techniques. It’s a Miami police captain named Javier Ortiz, an accused racist. During an uproarious meeting at the Miami City Hall in Coconut…
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‘We Are Not Welcome’: In What Should Come as a Surprise to No One, Virginia School Board Refuses to Ban Confederate Flag From Its Dress Code
Virginia’s longstanding love affair with the Confederate flag knows no bounds. And in what should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, a school board in Rocky Mount has ruled that yes, the rebel flag will still be welcomed with open arms in the district’s updated dress code. WRCB has the scoop: The Franklin…
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DC Fire Department Launches Investigation After Picture Surfaces of Recruits Flashing Possible White Power Signs
I’ve never been a gang member or a white supremacist before, but apparently hand gestures come along with the territory. But while I rarely hear of anyone losing their job for being affiliated with the Crips or Bloods, unless you’re the president of the United States, blatant racism is typically grounds for immediate termination. To…
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How to Be a Better White Person in 2020
Occasionally The Root will interrupt our coverage of black news, opinions, politics, and culture to openly address our white readership. In 2020, we’d like to finally have that oft-discussed “conversation about race” we hear you guys mention so often. To be clear, white people need to have a conversation about race. Black people in America…
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Mayor Pete’s Invisible Black Police
Given the choice of superpowers, would you rather have the ability to fly or the power of invisibility? This comic book-based Rorschach test allegedly reveals deep-seated personality traits. Supposedly, people who choose the gift of flight want recognition and praise while those who wish for invisibility are less confident and shun attention. While the question…
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Colin Calling It: Embattled Football Superstar Under Fire for Tweets About Iran, 'America's Terrorist Attacks'
Damned be the black man that has an opposing opinion. It’s been pretty well established that some people are always going to have a problem with a black person telling it like it is; especially when it’s Colin Kaepernick, who had the nerve to express his opinion about the impending war President Donald Trump could…
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In City of Brotherly Love, White People Don Blackface During Parade—in 2020—Allegedly Channeling Philadelphia Flyers Mascot Gritty
2020 just kicked off and some white people are already showing their black asses. Oops, I mean wack asses. Folks still think it’s OK to wear blackface—in the City of Brotherly Love, of all places. Several marchers of Philadelphia’s Mummers Parade—an annual New Year’s Day tradition since 1901—were disqualified for wearing blackface while allegedly trying…
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Residence Inn Accused of Enforcing 'No Party Policy' Against Black Guests in $300,000 Lawsuit
If you’re black and looking for a hotel in Portland, Ore., you might want to stay away from the Residence Inn by Marriott Portland Downtown/Convention Center. Unless, of course, you’re willing to agree to their “no party policy,” which a new $300,000 lawsuit claims is only required for black guests. From the Oregonian: Felicia Gonzales,…
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Judge Orders Alabama City to Pay $850,000 in Legal Fees for School Segregation Plot Gone Wrong
Gardendale, Ala., is an interesting place. I’ll allow The Root Senior Writer Michael Harriot to do the honor of explaining why that is, at least in part, as previously reported here: A judge told a mostly white suburb near one of the blackest cities in the country that—after reviewing all of the facts—she believed the…
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The Caucasian’s Guide to Black Christmas
Editor’s Note: This post originally ran on December 22, 2017 Whether you believe the Christmas tradition is rooted in the pagan holiday Saturnalia, a baby born in swaddling clothing or shamans getting high on magic mushrooms (yes, it is a thing), we can all agree that Christmas has become more than a simple religious remembrance…