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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Febuary 15, 2015
New York Schools Illegally Disciminate Against Immigrant Children
 The New York Civil Liberties Union released findings from a review of approximately 20% of New York State school districts, which revealed that the majority of those districts were unlawfully barring the enrollment of immigrant students. While neighborhood residency is the only requirement to gain access to a public school, districts were found illegally requesting documentation of citizenship.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
Throughout the history of the US, public services, such as public schools, government subsidizes, and government backed mortgages, have been denied to people of color. This latest example is just one way that people of color continue to be treated as undeserving of access to public goods.
For more information read, "New York Compels 20 School Districts to Lower Barriers to Immigrants "
November 22, 2014
The Death of Tamir Rice
In Cleveland, Ohio, 12-year-old, African-American, Tamir Rice was playing with a toy BB gun at a local park when police fired at him twice just two seconds after arriving at the scene. Neither officer administered first aid and Tamir passed away from the gunshot wounds the next day. Many people in the media blamed Tamir's "threatening" toy as the reason for his shooting.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
Historically people of color have been denied the same rights as whites and have been forced to live in high poverty neighborhoods with little opportunity for economic success. The fact that some people have turned to gangs to survive has lead to a myth of blacks as being dangerous or prone to violence. The police clearly acted out on this dangerous myth.
For more see, " Tamir Rice Shooting " .
November 20, 2014
The Death of Akai Gurley
In a housing project stairwell, a rookie cop shot and killed unarmed Brooklyn native Akai Gurley, who presented no threat to anyone. For four minutes, the NYC police officer argued with his partner over whether to tell their superiors about the murder because of his fear of "being fired."
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
The police who killed Gurley was performing a routine search of public housing buildings known as a vertical patrol--a practice that assumes that low-income minority-dominated buildings are likely to host criminal acitvity. Given such expectations, officers assumed Gurley to be a criminal requiring excessive force, and before even ascertaining of what he might be guilty, they killed him.
For more on the case see, " The life and Death of Akai Gurley "
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"
August 9, 2014
The Death of Michael Brown
 Unarmed, 18-year-old, African-American Michael Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson, who fired a total of 12 bullets. Brown's body was left he street for hours. In his testimony, Wilson, who is the same height as Brown, said he felt like "a 5-year-old" in comparison to "Hulk Hogan" Brown. He also described the teenager as a "demon" and "capable of running through bullets." Wilson was not indicted.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
The cultural representations that helped paint Michael Brown as a monster are an expression of the history of dehumanizing blacks in the US.
For more on the death of Michael Brown, see, " Why Was Michael Brown Shot ? "
June 12, 2014
Housing Discriminations Against African Americans in Mineola
On June 12, 2014 ERASE Racism's fair housing lawsuit in Mineola settled for $165,000. The case stemmed from an investigation that revealed troubling and significant discrepancies between the welcoming responses received by white testers and the discriminatory actions endured by African American testers who inquired about one-bedroom apartments for rent.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
Across Long Island, as well as at the national scale, housing discrimination remains a barrier to racial equality. While it is illegal to discriminate based on race, landlords, owners and real estate agencies still use discrete tactics to keep people of color out of white communities.
For more on ERASE Racism's fair housing lawsuit see, " Fair Housing Mineola Lawsuit Settles".
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" .
April 18, 2014
University of Mississippi's Noose Incident
Three white members of a fraternity at the University of Mississippi were accused of placing a noose and Confederate flag around the neck of a statue of James Meredith, the first black student to enroll in “Ole Miss” in 1962. These students have since been expelled from the fraternity, and one student eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of threatening force to intimidate African-American students and employees at the university.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
"We are under a system of systemic institutionalized racism in this state, on this campus, in this town. And...we have a culture that valorizes these racist depictions of the old Confederate South — once again in the state, in this town, on this campus. So I don’t think it should be a surprise that racist acts occur." -Brian Cooper Owens, Professor, African American Studies
For more on this incident see, " UMD Students Fed Up With Diversity Issues Following Found Noose "
November 2, 2013
Shooting of Renisha McBride
 Renisha McBride crashed her car at a street in Detroit, and then walked to a neighborhood in Dearborn Heights where she knocked on the door of a house. The homeowner, Theodore Wafer, opened the door and immediately shot McBride with a shotgun.
HOW DOES THIS CONNECT TO STRUCTURAL RACISM?:
While McBrade knocked on the door to ask for help, Wafer said he assumed his house was being broken into. This is an example of how the overrepresentation of African Americans as criminals in the media can lead to extreme racial violence against African Americans.
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