1619
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The Trump Administration Just Announced White Studies Commission
On Thursday, the president of people who like to take their dogs to Home Depot announced the “Stephen Miller totally wrote this bullshit” declaration called the “1776 Commission” to promote “patriotic education,” which is basically white studies. Oh, and in declaring white studies a thing, he also took shots that the The 1619 Project and…
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Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton Is Not a Racist. He Just Plays One in Real Life
Here at The Root, we are very particular about how we label people. We know that labels can be damaging and unshakeable so we are careful not to brand a person a thing unless we are sure that they are in fact said thing. So, it’s with that in mind that I say Republican Arkansas…
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Ending White Supremacy Requires White People To Realize That Black Liberation Isn't A 'Zero Sum Game'
white supremacy [ hwahyt suh-prem-uh-see, wahyt ] noun: the belief, theory, or doctrine that white people are inherently superior to people from all other racial and ethnic groups, especially Black people, and are therefore rightfully the dominant group in any society. text America loves whiteness. And that “love” is at the expense of everyone else…
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#NotAllHistorians: Some White People Are Upset That the New York Times' 1619 Project Isn’t Centered in Whiteness
“For 400 years, we have been told that black people are a problem. We are indoctrinated into this lie from the moment we take our first breath. No people have been more legislated against and studied than black Americans. That is because our very existence in our country gives lie to the exceptionality mythology of…
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How American Slavery Helped Create Modern-Day Policing
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in what we now know as Virginia. Their voyage was, no doubt, filled with unspeakable horror and death, and their presence would forever change the United States—especially when examining the way this country approaches policing. When enslaved Africans arrived in America,…
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Breaking: Something Bad Is Happening in Virginia [Updated]
To commemorate the quadricentennial anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in America, we imagined what it would be like to cover that late August day when the first slave ship landed on the shores of the place now known as Hampton, Va. 8/20/1619 2:27 P.M. Earlier: A few hours ago, The Root received several…
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Trump’s Presence at Virginia Event Marking Jamestown Anniversary Brings Boycott, Protest
An event to mark the 400th anniversary of the legislative start of Jamestown, Va.,—the English colonial settlement that saw the first captive Africans arrive on these shores—was boycotted by much of the state’s black caucus, as well as other Democrats, and openly protested by another, due to the presence of one Donald J. Trump. According…