Tag: American History

10 Million Americans Switched Their Race or Ethnicity for the Census

The inconsistencies complicate the Census Bureau’s longtime attempts to improve accuracy of such data

Almost 10 million Americans changed how they identify their race or ethnicity when asked by the Census Bureau over the course of a decade, according to a new study, adding further uncertainty to data officials already consider to be unreliable.

Using anonymized data for 162 million Americans who responded to census surveys in 2000 and 2010, researchers at the University of Minnesota and the Census Bureau concluded that self-identified race and ethnicity are fluid concepts for millions of Americans.

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Malala Yousafzai and the White Saviour Complex

“Malala’s message is true, it is profound, it is something the world needs to take note of; education is a right of every child, but Malala has been used as a tool by the West.”

This Huffpost article examines Malala’s rise to international recognition as part of a history of the institutionalized, racist narrative that has been used by journalists and politicians to quell the guilt of the white man and justify the West interfering in other countries. Part of this narrative is the demonization of the non-white Muslim man, who is portrayed as a savage without the capacity for reasonable negotiation,  leaving the West with no choice but to resort to violence, war, drone strikes, etc.

Click here to read the long form of the article.

This article resonated with me because, while I admire Malala’s spirit and message, it always bothered me that she was getting immense amount of Western attention when there are hundreds of thousands just like her who are overlooked. Why was this one girl singled out? What about the others that have undergone similar abuse, not only by those we mark as enemies and extremists, but by our own soldiers? Why does we choose to focus only on the brutality of the Taliban, but not on our own nations’ contributions to the conditions by entering into war and destabilizing the regions and making them vulnerable to groups like the Taliban?

Shining a Light, A Concert for Progress in Race in America

Artists of different races and ethnic backgrounds will come together to perform once-in-a-lifetime duets and collaborations. The 2-hour special program will broadcast from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Friday, November 20 at 8pm ET/PT across A+E Networks and 150 iHeart radio stations. The concert will raise funds for organizations and individuals (through a sponsoring organization) that are working for racial justice and reconciliation.

Lineup

Zac Brown Band, Eric Church, Andra Day, Jamie Foxx, Rhiannon Giddens, Tori Kelly, John Legend, Miguel, P!nk, Jill Scott, Big Sean, Ed Sheeran, Sia, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Pharrell Williams & more

Click here for more info!

VIDEO: QI – Where are 1% Of Americans?

QI (Quite Interesting) is a British comedy panel game show hosted by Stephen Fry, which brings together four comedians a week to share anecdotes and trivia.

In this clip, Fry asks the panelists “Where are 1% Of Americans?”, which kicks off a conversation about mass incarceration, bringing to light unsettling details and statistics on racial disparity in the criminal justice system and the three-strikes law.

“No society in history has imprisoned more of its citizens”

While it’s illegal to import good made by forced labor or prisoners, American prisons produce “100% military helmets, bulletproof vests… and other items of uniform … 93% of domestically produced paints… 36% of  home appliances”.  It could be said that America “reinvented the slave trade”; these prisoners are paid way below minimum wage, allowing the country to compete with factories in third world countries.

“5% of the world’s population is American, 25% of people in jail worldwide are American.”

Though QI is a comedy show and this particular conversation ends in a laugh, it doesn’t detract from the gravity of the pervasive existence of racial discrimination and the business side of the American criminal justice system.

Affirmative Action: Is It Still Necessary?

In a 2003 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to uphold affirmative action and said it expected that in 25 years, “the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary.” Here’s a conversation between Boyce Watkins, assistant professor at Syracuse University, and Linda Chavez, chair of Center for Equal Opportunity, about the 2013 SCOTUS case revisiting University of Texas, that (at the time) could ban affirmative action in higher education once and for all.

11 Types Of Racists

If there’s one thing to know about racism, it’s that racism (and race) is incredibly complex. Many people think racism means one group of people hates another group of people. However, racism manifests in all kinds of subtle and insidious ways. It operates on both a micro and macro level. For this reason, it’s so hard to talk about racism, or even recognize it when it’s going on.

So sorry, just because you’re not burning crosses on some black person’s lawn doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not part of the problem. It’s important that we recognize the different ways racism exists in the world, because being aware is the first step in fixing the problem. The fact of the matter is, there’s no one specific kind of racism or racist. There are many types of racists, and they come in all forms, from the blatant to to the inconspicuous. Below is a list of just a few of the different kinds….

Click here to read more.