May 31, 2015
Cheerios Commercial
 While many viewers found a Cheerios commercial featuring an interracial couple and their daughter to be adorable, the video stirred national controversy when others made it the target of racist backlash. After 500 dislikes and endless comments filled with violent racial language on the YouTube video, General Mills had no choice but to disable comments and eventually, take down the video. How did Cheerios respond? They created a second ad which appeared as a Superbowl commercial; this time with the family expecting a second biracial child.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
While the majority of Americans claim to support interracial marriages, many mixed-race families continue to face disapproval and experience intolerance, which is a vestige of a racist past when interracial marriage was prohibited in the US.
For more on the controversy see, "Cheerios Commercial Gets Racist Backlash".
December 5, 2011
Church Bans Interracial Couples
 The Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church in Kentucky voted 9 to 6 to ban interracial couples from church services in 2011. The story reflected a similar decision that made headlines two years earlier; a Louisiana pastor had refused to officiate a civil marriage of an interracial couple out of fear that the children produced from such a marriage would "suffer."
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
For more about inter-racial marriage laws see, "Interracial Marriage Laws History Timeline"
May 21, 2015
Murder of Sunando Sen
 Indian immigrant Sunando Sen was waiting on a subway platform in New York City when a woman pushed him onto the track as the train arrived. Confessing to the murderous hate crime, Menendez said "I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I’ve been beating them up.” Sen was a Hindu.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
Today, anti-(presumed)Muslim hate crimes are still 5 times more common than before 2001. In 2010, the FBI reported a dramatic 50% increase in hate crimes against Muslims due to a surge in the media of anti-Islam propoganda (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2011).
July 10, 2015
South Carolina House Votes to Remove Confederate Flag
 In the wake of the Charleston Church Massacre, debate concerning the continued flying of the Confederate flag at the SC statehouse erupted.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
For more on why the Confederate flag is a symbol of hate, see ERASE Racism President Elaine Gross's editorial "Confederate Flag has No Place on Long Island"
November 15, 2012
Maine Commisioner Remarks about Native Americans
 Philip Congdon, former Maine cabinet member and chair of the Department of Economic and Community Development, was quoted as blaming the current situation of poverty among Native Americans on "bad parenting", urging them to "get off the reservation."
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
For more on the current state of discrimination against Native Americans see, "This is Modern-day Discrimination Against Native American Looks Like"
June 5, 2017
Racial Dot Map
 A demographic researcher used 2010 Census data to create a map of modern-day America and its racial patterns. Each dot represents one person, and each color corresponds with a race. Explore the map below.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
This visual shows the stark reality of an America that is still intensely segregated by race.
For more on the Racial Dot Map, see "Dot Map"
August 9, 2014
Ferguson Unrest Following Police Non-Indictment
 The news that Darren Wilson would not be indicted in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, set off weeks of civil unrest in Ferguson.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
The consistent targeting and harassment of black individuals in Ferguson by a majority-white police force had been going on for decades. Yet, as the author shows in this article, many people chose to focus on black violence--claims of looting and riots--rather than highlighting systemic violence against blacks as the root cause of the protests.
For more on the Ferguson unrest see," Hysteria Over Ferguson Grand Jury Indictment"
Febuary 13, 2012
Subtle Discrimination Against Jeremy Lin
 Since Jeremy Lin's arrival in the NBA, sports fans have blurred the line between "funny" and prejudice. In fact, even Madison Square Garden permitted the display of Lin's head popping out of a fortune cookie on the jumbotron.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
Asian-Americans, even those whose families have lived in the US for generations, are still widely viewed and treated as "foreign". While often seen as the "model minority" (a racist title that presumes Asians to be the superior race second to whites, based on levels of achieved success), many narratives are employed to stereotype Asian-Americans as "un-masculine" and therefore un-athletic males. Because Lin seems to be the exception to this stereotype, he is sensationalized for his race rather than for his impressive talent and hard work.
Read more at, "Why do discriminatory comments against Asian-Americans never cause a stir ? "
Febuary 5, 2015
Giuliana Rancic remarks about Zendaya Coleman's hair
After 18-year-old actress and singer Zendaya Coleman attended the 2015 Oscars with her hair styled in dreadlocks, "Fashion Police" host, Giuliana Rancic stated that she "feel[s] like she smells of patachouli oil...or maybe weed". In contrast, Rancic referred to Kylie Jenner as "edgy" when she sported a strikingly similar style. Rancic apologized for her remarks only after Zendaya issued a public response to her comments.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
This occurrence exemplifies racial biases perpetuated by American mass media regarding beauty standards linked to whiteness.
August 4, 2015
The Death of Walter Scott
After a traffic stop in North Carolina, 50-year-old African American resident Walter Scott was running from police officer Michael Slager when Slager open fired at the unarmed man's back. Slager was later charged with murder when video evidence of him killing Scott in broad daylight contradicted his account of the incident.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
The abuse of power and control by some authority figures exemplifies the disregard for black lives that is prevalent throughout the criminal justice system.
For more on Walter Scott's death, see "Walter Scott Shotting: Killing was Motivated by 'Overt Racism', mourners at Funeral Told "
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