racism
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A Peek Into The Secret Club Of Assumed Racism
My thoughts flash back about five months ago to South Avenue in Wilkinsburg: It’s around 5:30 p.m. and I’m driving to my dad’s house for dinner with my wife and two daughters, 14 and 11. Something bizarre awaits us. We’re pulling out from a stop sign when – seemingly out of nowhere – two girls,…
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Michael Sam, And The Black (And Gay) Politics Of Being "Twice As Good"
The analogy many gay rights activists and allies have made between their fight for equal rights and the Black American’s fight for civil rights is flawed, but I understand why it’s made. It’s a natural comparison, but it breaks down when considering that (most) Blacks can’t blend in. In America, Blackness is conspicuous, and this conspicuousness allows for…
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On Being A Little Tired Of Being The "Safe Black Friend You Talk To About Race"
I was a junior in high school when a teacher came over to a group of us at lunch looking for one of our classmates. With four grades of students capped at no more than 100 each, we were a small school of folks who knew each other by name. In the liberal granola-crusted feel-goodism…
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White Guy Acts A Fool, Black Guy Gets Maced For Being In The Vicinity
Thank the lord for camera-phones, photogs, and civic-minded individuals who give a shit. Especially considering everything going on in Missouri right now, its kind of cool to hear non-Black people have the back (unsuccessfully) of a young, Black guy. Because it’s been that kind of week, such is the story of 25-year-old Raymond Wilford who…
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President Obama Speaks On Ferguson…And Words Come Out Of His Mouth
I’m a huge President Obama fan. Which, these days, often makes me an Obama defender. Part of this defense is a personality-based relation. He’s a textbook introvert. I am as well. I know how it feels to have your pensive and deliberate nature interpreted as being robotic, arrogant, and aloof. I also know how it…
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That Time We Were Reminded That "Black American" Is An Oxymoron
I know we did something on Mike Brown already earlier this week, but with the way this situation in Ferguson has ballooned, I just can’t think/write about anything else. Even if I did, it wouldn’t feel appropriate. I’m also too stunned/shocked to write something coherent. And I’m assuming many of you feel the same way.…
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Trying And Failing To Make Sense Of The Murder Of Mike Brown
I was at dinner with friends the night the Zimmerman verdict was announced, making plans for the rest of the evening. It was between bites that Twitter informed me about the jury’s decision, and my appetite and resolve that justice would be served evaporated in the same breath. We didn’t go out that night. Mike…
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The Kind of #Columbusing I Don't Mind
There’s been a lot of discussion about “columbusing” or effectively the art of people (read: white people) claiming to discover shit that has already been common knowledge to others. Like braids. And jazz. And well, the world. You know, like how America got “founded” when there were people already here. It’s that imperialist bullshiggedy. But…