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).
May 23, 2015
Lindenhurst Family Receives Hateful Letter
An anonymous letter sent to an African-American family living in Lindenhurst urged the family to move out of the community because of their race. The letter, which stated that they should "find a town where there are more people like you", was turned over to a Suffolk County Police Hate Crime Unit to conduct further investigation.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
Long Island is one of the most racially segregated regions in the country. The population of Lindenhurst is 98.1% white. According to ERASE Racism's research, this hyper-segregation is due to housing discrimination and other structural impediments to fair housing choice. The research found that contrary to the commonly accepted myth that blacks only want to live in communities with neighbors who share their own race or ethnicity, 70% of African Americans on Long Island said they would prefer living in a community that is 50% African American, 50% white. Only 1% said that they would prefer a completely homogenous African-American community.
For more read, " You Don't Belong Here, Family Receives Hateful Message Asking Them to Move Out of Community"
March 25, 2015
Voter ID Laws Strengthened
As of March 25, 2015, 34 states have passed laws that require voters to show some form of identification at the polls. Some say such a law is needed to increase public confidence in the election process but, in reality, fraud of this kind is rare. The new law unnecessarily restricts the right to vote and imposes unreasonable costs on voters.
HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?
These new voting laws illustrate how the "Black Codes" that were establised during Reconstruction to deter African Americans from voting still influences how the political system operates today.
For more see, " How States Moved Toward Stricter Voter ID Laws " .
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".
March 18, 2015
Brutality of Martese Johnson
During a night out with fellow students, African American UVA student Martese Johnson was accused of having a fake ID by Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control officers. The event, recorded by a bystander, captured the officers' excessive force as they forced his face into the cement--an injury that later required 10 stitches. Only later did officers realize that his ID was in fact legitimate.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
Johnson, a member of the Honor Committee, had this to say following the incident: "It does not matter if we had a previous misdemeanor charge, or if we smoked marijuana, or if we had a bad academic career. I did none of those things and still fell victim to the same treatment that young black men before me experienced, whose situations were justified by their 'bad' behavior."
For more see, " When Police Misconduct Transcends Class " .
March 13, 2015
University of Maryland's Kappa Sigma Email
An email allegedly sent by a white fraterntiy student to six individuals was filled with racial slurs against women of Middle Eastern, African, and Asian descent. The email also included a discussion of sexual intercourse, concluding with explicit advise to ignore "consent". Kappa Sigma's national office has since suspended the sender from the fraternity, although the University of Maryland did not suspend him from the school.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
While this is just one email sent to a few students, it provides important insight into dangerous racial biases against women of color.
For more on the email, see " UMD Frat Brother Allegedly Sent Racist Email, Signed Off With ‘F*** Consent ’"
March 7, 2015
University of Oklahoma's Sigma Alpha Epsilon Chant
 During a night out with fellow students, African American UVA student Martese Johnson was accused of having a fake ID by Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control officers. The event, recorded by a bystander, captured the officers' excessive force as they forced his face into the cement--an injury that later required 10 stitches. Only later did officers realize that his ID was in fact legitimate.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
Johnson, a member of the Honor Committee, had this to say following the incident: "It does not matter if we had a previous misdemeanor charge, or if we smoked marijuana, or if we had a bad academic career. I did none of those things and still fell victim to the same treatment that young black men before me experienced, whose situations were justified by their 'bad' behavior."
For more see, " SAE Fraternity Suspended for Racist and Anti-Semitic Slurs ".
March 4, 2015
Department of Justice Ferguson Investigation
The U.S. Department of Justice found that the Ferguson, Missouri Police Department engaged in practices and conduct that clearly violated the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution, including police patterns of conducting stops without reasonable suspicion and arrests without probable cause. The investigation also revealed local court patterns in which unjustified and inappropriately high fines were imposed on Ferguson's most vulnerable residents as a source of revenue. The identified injustices were disproportionally aimed at African American residents.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
Many people falsely claim that blacks are disproportionately in prison because they commit more crimes. This example shows how blacks are disproportionately in prison because they are disproportionately targeted by police offers for minor offenses.
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' "
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.
|
|
