In the United States, as in many other countries, the undocumented exist in two simultaneous worlds. In one, they are a part of the social fabric of their communities, neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family. In the other, they are perpetual outsiders, marginalized “illegals” who are demonized as criminals, burdens on the economy, and threats to …
Between July 2020 and January 15, 2021, Donald J. Trump’s administration executed 13 people: one woman and twelve men. That was more federal executions – in just six months — than in the last fifty-six years. More executions than the “last ten presidents combined.” This string of uninterrupted killings has not been seen since the …
In the words of the well-known white South African academic, Samantha Vice; “South Africa is a strange and morally tangled place to live in” (323). While it can be agreed that for a nation like South Africa, there is a liberating sense of restorative power that has been cultivated since the ending of apartheid. What …
South Africa’s Contemporary Relationship to Racism Read More »
“Where are you ACTUALLY from?” “I am not racist, I have black friends.” “I don’t see color, I don’t care if you are blue or purple.” “How do you speak English so well?” Above are just some of the many examples of racial microaggressions people of color (POC) face regularly. The POC student is praised …
“No fats, no femmes, no Blacks, no Asians.” “Keep it White or Latin.” “No rice, no curry and no blacks.” Phrases like these have become a usual phenomenon in gay dating apps so much so that many gay men see these as a casual ‘preferences’ and would outright deny the racist connotation attached to them. …
Sexual Racism: The Rainbow is Whiter than It Appears Read More »
The summer of ‘20 sweltered. The uninhibited southern heat served as the stage for what has become one of the most notable series of protests in our lifetime. Like heat rises, the tension between injustice and Black livelihood rose to a point where it could no longer be simmered down— it was a time for …
To Stand for Something: Interviews with Two Activists in the Black Lives Matter Movement Read More »
In the last decade, the Western film industry has justly received a lot of criticism for its severe lack of racial diversity, both on-screen and behind the camera. Initiatives like diversity quotas in awards governing bodies and popular movements like #OscarsSoWhite have not only resonated in North America and Europe but have become popularised in …
“Please, I can’t breathe,” said 46-year-old George Floyd before becoming unconscious. Floyd died of asphyxiation during an arrest in Minneapolis in May. His family ordered two independent autopsy reports. They did not trust the report from the authorities, which stated that he did not die from asphyxiation but a combination of pre-existing health conditions and …
Black Lives and Experiences – From USA to Norway Read More »
This is a time of alleged mainstream revolution. There is a somber taste in the air from the insurmountable fatality from the pandemic; a firm reminder of our mortality is at the forefront, more than any of us under twenty-five can recall. Systems are failing and the people are fed up, it is quite easy …
Performative Activism and Identity in the Digital Age | Drew Davis Read More »
When studying abroad in Rwanda, learning about reconciliation and transformative justice following the Genocide Against the Tutsis, I found the memorials we visited most moving. They are honest, graphic, and jarring acts of remembrance and reckoning with history. No matter how painful the truth, the memorials and country itself maintains a commitment to honesty, responsibility, …
We Cannot Live in Two Separate Americas Forever. There is History to be Reckoned with Read More »
What’s missing from most modern discussions of racial injustice is the overarching ideology that has amplified, legitimized, and advanced every facet of systemic racism we see today. A number of key phrases have been foundation to the international conversations surrounding this topic—systemic racism, the cycle of poverty, mass incarceration, racial profiling, police brutality, the military-industrial …
