Press Room

September 9, 2018

Botham Shem Jean, a risk assessment associate at PrincewaterhouseCoopers, was shot and killed in his home by off-duty Officer Amber Guyger. While much is still unknown, many are outraged by the way the media and police have been handling the case so far.

A Fox 4 News affiliate is under fire after publishing an article with the headline, “Developing: Search warrant: Marijuana found in Botham Jean’s apartment after deadly shooting”.

This continues the media’s practice of criminalizing black victims of police shootings, even in death. News outlets have often shared mugshots of Black shooting victims rather than more relatable and humanizing images such as graduation or family photos. These stereotypical images work to pigeon-hole black victims as dangerous, susceptible to violence, and undeserving of sympathy.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for Jean’s family said,

“They went in with the intent to look for some sort of criminal justification for the victim,” Merritt said. “It’s a pattern that we’ve seen before … we have a cop who clearly did something wrong. And instead of investigating the homicide — instead of going into her apartment and seeing what they can find, instead of collecting evidence relevant for the homicide investigation — they went out specifically looking for ways to tarnish the image of this young man.”

By criminalizing black victims, the media is reinforcing negative stereotypes of the black community.   

Myths and stereotypes founded on racist ideologies can not only be deadly for black men, women, and children, but they also ensure that sympathy and justice remain elusive for black victims killed by law enforcement.

The criminalization falsely justifies violence towards black bodies. It not only increases fear and distrust among racial groups, but it also impacts how the judicial system treats white offenders accused of committing violent crimes on black men, women, and children.

For more see, " A Fox Station in Dallas is Being Accused of Helping Police Smear a Black Man Who Was Killed By a Cop Inside His Home". 

January 1, 2017

Muslim Ban

President Donald Trump signs an executive order that halts the admission of Syrian refugees and limits refugees from six other "terror prone" nations—Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. The executive order also gives preference to refugees from Christian countries.


HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?

This order reinforces the false notion that Islam and terrorism are synonymous and that refugees from certain countries pose a threat to the safety of American citizens. In addition to ignoring so-called "home-grown" terrorism committed by American citizens, the mandate also disregards the fact that refugees from the aforementioned seven countries only accounted for seven percent of all terror attacks in the United States since September 2001.

For more on the Muslim Ban see, " Trump's Muslim Ban is No Surprise " .

July 19, 2015

Police Shooting of Samuel DuBose

Outside of his policing jurisdiction, Officer Ray Tensing pulled over 43-year-old- black man Samuel DuBose for not having a license plate on the front of his vehicle. Within minutes of talking to DuBose, Tensing reached for his pistol and shot DuBose. Tensing and his partner later claimed that DuBose was driving away and dragging him with the car, but video footage from his own body camera directly contradicted his excuse. 

HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?: 

This an example of the dehumanization of black life in this country that began with slavery and is still enforced through state violence. 

For more see, " The Shooting of Samuel DuBose ". 

Febuary 15, 2015

Shooting of 3 University of North Carolina Muslim Students

Three Muslim students who attended the University of North Carolina were shot by their neighbor. Although local authorities claim that the killings were a result of a "parking dispute", many consider this to be a hate crime.

HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:

The father of one of the victims reported that his daughter had told him several times that they had a neighbor who was "hateful". The fact that this crime would be reduced to a neighborly feud rather than a racially motivated hate crime shows the propensity of the media to not recognize structural racism.

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August 6, 2012

Wisconsin Sikh Temple Shooting

40-year-old US Army veteran Michael Page murdered six people and injured 4 people in a Sikh 

Temple. Page, a white supremacist, was covered in tattoos linking him to neo-nazi organizations and was openly involved in the "white power music scene."

HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:

Though violence against Sikhs in Wisconsin was unheard of before the shooting, many in this community said they had sensed a rise in antipathy since the attacks on Sept. 11 and suspected it was because people mistake them for Muslims.

For more on the Sikh Temple shooting see, " Shooting Reported at Temple in WInconsin " 

March 27, 2015

Duke University's Kappa Sigma Party

The national organization of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at Duke University suspended the Duke chapter following an Asian-themed party that mocked East Asians by inviting people to wear stereotypical Asian-styled costumes, such as conical hats and geisha outfits.

HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:

Making a mockery of cultural forms of expression reduces highly diverse groups of people to degrading stereotypes.

For more see, " Outrage at Duke Over Fraternity's Asian-Themed 'Racist Rager' "  

April 26, 2014

Donald Sterling Remarks

An audio tape of former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, made headlines when it revealed Sterling repeatedly making extremely racist comments in an attempt to deter his girlfriend from socializing with African-Americans. Sterling's words were not the only evidence of his racist proclivities. Federal prosecutors accused his rental company of refusing to lease Beverly Hills apartments to African-Americans and a group of tenants accused him of "numerous discriminatory statements and housing practices."

HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:

Even in an industry that many have called "dominated by African American athletes", a racial hierarchy persists. 98% of NBA team owners are white, while a majority of the players are black.

For more on the diversity within professional sports see, " Diversity in the NBA, NFL, and the MLB" .

 August 6, 2012

Rick Santorum Remarks

During a campaign stop in Iowa in 2012, presidential candidate Rick Santorum made a decision to single out black welfare recipients by stating insulting and inaccurate stereotypes. He told a mostly white audience that he does not want to "make black people's lives better by giving them someone else's money". He went on to say that very poor people have bad working habits and no knowledge of how to make an income "unless it's illegal".

HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?

This is an example of how centuries of overt discrimination against blacks in employment, housing and education has been erased from public consciousness so that people are erroneously made to believe that blacks are disproportionately in poverty because there is something wrong with their character.

For more see, " NAACP Rips Rick Santorum for Comment about African-Americans, Welfare " .