Race Matters
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‘Silence Is Common’: White Man Who Put Racist Restaurant Owner on Blast Says White People Need to Speak Up About Racism
For weeks, Don Merckle wondered what he might have done to make the owner of Main Street Public House confide in him about his racism. Was it his tattoos? His trucker hat? His beard? As Merckle, a musician based in Columbia, S.C., tells it, he was in a bar talking to co-owner Jimmy Latulipe about…
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25 Questions for the Random White People Who Try to Touch My Baby in Public
1. Why do you think it’s cool to try to touch my baby? 2. Do you realize that my baby is 2? 3. And that she literally just learned the concepts of “yes” and “no” a year ago? 4. Which means that even if she says “yes” when you ask her if you can touch…
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Waitress in Mexico Writes N-Word on Texas Woman’s Bill
Some Houston residents were just trying to have a good time at a resort in Mexico but instead were faced with the n-word. The crew went to the Be Telum resort to relax and kick back, but instead, the opposite happened, which led them to return early from the vacation, WTRK-TV reports. Tiffani Janelle, a…
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When Will White People Learn That Racist Social Media Posts Will Haunt Them Forever?
Racism in America isn’t new. It is the very foundation that this country was built upon. Open displays of racism aren’t new, either. They have been around just as long as this country has. The bolder and more brazen racists who walk among us have never been afraid to let you know where they stand—and…
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Can We Live While Black?
It’s no secret that there’s a fear of a black planet. This fear is so pervasive, so insidious, that black people are being reprimanded for merely living. Recently, #WhileBlack has taken off. Social media is bringing attention to various overtly racist instances when existing in white spaces is perceived to be a threat. “I don’t…
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Them vs. Us: How Black Cops View Policing in America
Editor’s note: This week, The Root will examine the many facets of law enforcement and its effects on the black community with our weeklong series Unprotected, Underserved: The Policing of Black America. “You live in [redacted], don’t you?” he said. “What?” I responded, prompting him to repeat the name of the subdivision where I lived. I…
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All Black People Are Victims of Police Brutality
Editor’s note: This week, The Root will examine the many facets of law enforcement and its effects on the black community with our weeklong series Unprotected, Underserved: The Policing of Black America. He was 23 years old. He needed their protection. He needed their service. So he called the police. They shot him. He is paralyzed.…
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Unprotected, Underserved: The (False) Criminalization of Black America
Editor’s note: This week, The Root will examine the many facets of law enforcement and its effects on the black community with our weeklong series Unprotected, Underserved: The Policing of Black America. Any attempt at understanding the effects of policing in black America must begin from a rational, objective perspective. We must first free ourselves…