Tag: Racism

Milbank: Trump is a Bigot and a Racist

Buck Banks

Let’s not mince words: Donald Trump is a bigot and a racist. Some will think this an outrageous label to apply to the frontrunner for a major party’s presidential nomination. Ordinarily, I would agree that name-calling is part of what’s wrong with our politics. … But there is a greater imperative not to be silent in the face of demagoguery. Trump in this campaign has gone after African Americans, immigrants, Latinos, Asians, women, Muslims and now the disabled… It might be possible to explain away any one of Trump’s outrages as a mistake or a misunderstanding. But at some point you’re not merely saying things that could be construed as bigoted: You are a bigot.

— Dana Millbank in the Washington Post

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Why Aren’t BMW and Adidas Condemning the Rebel Flag?

Trish
Now flying over the South Carolina state capitol
Now flying over the South Carolina state capitol

Both BMW and Adidas have plants in South Carolina but neither company has shown any interest in asking state legislators to stop flying the Confederate flag* over government buildings.

When these companies decided to take advantage of the cheaper, mostly non-unionized labor there, they made a decision to identify with the state. So why aren’t they speaking up? After all, it’s their state now.

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Video: ‘Open Carry’ Is Apparently Only Legal When White People Do It

Jon Ponder
Officer forces African-American legally carrying an assault rifle to lie on the ground
Officer forces African-American legally carrying an assault rifle to lie on the ground

Two men — one white, one black — in jurisdictions where it’s legal to walk around with assault weapons, go out in public with rifles. A policeman questions the white guy and sends him on his way. With the black guy, it’s a different story.

Watch:

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Study: Google Searches for ‘N-Word’ Correlate to Black Mortality

Buck Banks

journal.pone.0122963.g001In what can only be described as an act of exquisite irony, given the riots in Baltimore, the University of Maryland yesterday released a study that finds a correlation between the number of Google searches for the “N-word” and its variants, and the rate of mortality among African Americans in a given geographic area.

According to David Chae, author of the study and assistant professor of epidemiology at University of Maryland:

“Racial disparities in health and disease represent a significant public health concern. Research suggests that racism is a major culprit that contributes to the gap in mortality between Blacks and Whites,” said Chae. “Our study points to the utility of an Internet-search based measure to monitor racism at the area-level and assess its impact on mortality.”

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Kirk: White Folks Drive Faster Through Black Neighborhoods

Buck Banks

I want to make sure we have elected people constantly looking at helping the African-American community. With this state and all of its resources, we could sponsor a whole new class of potential innovators like George Washington Carver and eventually have a class of African-American billionaires. That would really adjust income differentials and make the diversity and outcome of the state much better so that the black community is not the one we drive faster through.

— Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), telling the Peoria Journal Star that his constituents try to avoid African-American neighborhoods.

Obama Encourages Athletes to Be Activists

Buck Banks

I think LeBron did the right thing… We forget the role that Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe and Bill Russell played in raising consciousness. We went through a long stretch there where [with] well-paid athletes the notion was: just be quiet and get your endorsements and don’t make waves… LeBron is an example of a young man who has, in his own way and in a respectful way, tried to say, ‘I’m part of this society, too.’ I’d like to see more athletes do that. Not just around this issue, but around a range of issues.

— President Obama didn’t hesitate in an interview with People to endorse LeBron James’s decision to wear an ‘I Can’t Breathe’ T-shirt.

Steele: A Black Man’s Life Not Worth a Ham Sandwich

Buck Banks

They tell us, at least, a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich. Well clearly a black man’s life is not worth a ham sandwich when you put these stories together. And that is the frustration.

— Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, criticizing two grand jury decisions to not indict white police officers in the deaths of black men in New York and Ferguson, Mo., The Hill reports.