Albemarle Students Propose Anti-Racism Policy
Albemarle Students Propose Anti-Racism Policy
Students at a Virginia high school are continuing their efforts to get the school board to approve an anti-racism policy that they crafted.
The Daily Progress of Charlottesville reports students at Albemarle High School have turned in their fifth version of the policy. Officials say this is the first time the school system has turned over initial policy creation to students.
Among the requirements in the five-page draft policy are anti-racism training for staff, quarterly reports from schools and alternative discipline processes. Students also suggested changes be made to the class recommendation process to make it more transparent and to address the role of institutional racism in tracking.
Board members are hoping to adopt an anti-racism policy early next year. They said they want more clarity on some proposals.
Charlottesville belies racism’s deep roots in the North
A southern city has now become synonymous with the ongoing scourge of racism in the United States.
A year ago, white supremacists rallied to “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, protesting the removal of a Confederate statute.
In the days that followed, two of them, Christopher C. Cantwell and James A. Fields Jr., became quite prominent.
The HBO show “Vice News Tonight” profiled Cantwell in an episode and showed him spouting racist and anti-Semitic slurs and violent fantasies. Fields gained notoriety after he plowed a car into a group of unarmed counterprotesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
Today this tragedy defines the nature of modern racism primarily as Southern, embodied in tiki torches, Confederate flags and violent outbursts.
As historians of race in America, we believe that such a one-sided view misses how entrenched, widespread and multi-various racism is and has been across the country.
Jim Crow born in the North
Racism has deep historic roots in the North, making the chaos and violence of Charlottesville part of a national historic phenomenon.
Cantwell was born and raised in Stony Brook, Long Island, and was living in New Hampshire at the time of the march. Fields was born in Boone County, Kentucky, a stone’s throw from Cincinnati, Ohio, and was living in Ohio when he plowed through a crowd.
Jim Crow, the system of laws that advanced segregation and black disenfranchisement, began in the North, not the South, as most Americans believe. Long before the Civil War, northern states like New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey and Pennsylvania had legal codesthat promoted black people’s racial segregation and political disenfranchisement.
If racism is only pictured in spitting and screaming, in torches and vigilante justice and an allegiance to the Confederacy, many Americans can rest easy, believing they share little responsibility in its perpetuation. But the truth is, Americans all over the country do bear responsibility for racial segregation and inequality.
Studying the long history of the Jim Crow North makes clear to us that there was nothing regional about white supremacy and its upholders. There is a larger landscape of segregation and struggle in the “liberal” North that brings into sharp relief the national character of American apartheid.
Charlottesville one year on: Cauldron of racism is still seething
On the first anniversary of the deadly ‘Unite the Right’ rally, Trump continues to fan the flames of American racism.
One year has passed since the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which Nazis, neo-Confederates, Ku Klux Klansmen and others engaged in acts of violence, resulting in a man ramming his car into a crowd of antiracist protesters, killing one woman. The gathering of white supremacists, however shocking, was a reminder of the ubiquity and normalisation of racism in the US. The proliferation of right-wing domestic terrorists, acts of racial violence and the promulgation of government policies intended to harm racial, ethnic and religious minorities are evidence that the US has failed to come to terms with its original sin of slavery and genocide.
The tiki-torch-wielding white nationalists in Charlottesville were unabashed in their extremist hate, as they chanted such curious and offensive slogans as “You Will Not Replace Us”, “Jews Will Not Replace Us”, “Blood and Soil” and “Russia is Our Friend”. President Donald Trump, who refused to condemn the hate groups and their violence, made false equivalencies between the Nazi demonstrators and the antifascist counter-demonstrators. He defended the white supremacists – who happen to be the greatest domestic terror threat in the country – and claimed, “You had some very fine people on both sides”. Since the election of a man who incited racial violence in his campaign rallies, Islamophobic, anti-Latinx and other hate crimes have increased.
Trump, who has pandered to white supremacists, enjoyed their support in the 2016 election and received Nazi salutes upon his victory, and has kept their donations for the 2020 race, has constructed a government for the benefit of white Americans. The red baseball caps inscribed with the Trumpian motto “Make America Great Again” are akin to “this generation’s Ku Klux Klan hood”, as rapper Pusha-T has suggested. “When was America so great anyways? Name that time period?” he said.
After Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president, the US experienced a white racial backlash against the browning of the nation, a revanchist yearning for the pre-1960s glory days when white men reigned supreme and black people knew their place and had no rights – paving the way for Trump. And the barnstorming reality-show swindler has weaponised his inflammatory rhetoric and offensive tweets, using his executive power over the government to codify white supremacist sentiments into law.
In a nation of “white fragility”, white people who are thin-skinned and insulated from discomfort on racial issues shudder when confronted with their racism. The US has always been a nation in which racism and white-skin privilege are normalised. However, in recent years white racists have been empowered, made to feel comfortable with open displays of racial hostility and toxic behaviour. Meanwhile, a segment of the white US is aggrieved, believing they are “victims of genocide” through immigration, sanctuary cities, civil rights and programs of diversity and inclusion.
Trump dehumanised Latin American and black immigrants by characterising them as criminals, people from “sh***ole countries” who are sending “not their best people”. The separation of migrant children from their parents at the border and placement in internment camps is a prime example of the Trump administration’s foray into fascism and genocide. Some of these children may never be reunited with their families and will forever be traumatised, which apparently was the point of the measure.
Using the courts as a tool to promote a whites-only nation, Trump has sought nearly exclusively white conservative men for the judiciary. The nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court has led more than 100 organisations to write a letter to senators opposing his confirmation due to his hostility towards civil and human rights. Civil rights groups also rejected the US Department of Justice religious liberty taskforce, which critics condemn as white Christian nationalism and a civil liberties violation, with Islamophobia and anti-LGBTQ discrimination disguised as protections for people of faith.
Are Social Media Normalizing Campus Racism?
University officials must do more—their priority should be the well-being of students of color, not the institution’s reputation.
hen Noah Huerta, a freshman at Arizona State University, logged on to his Twitter account in November 2017, instead of his typical feed of celebrity news, memes, or music, he was surprised to see one of his classmates tweeting the “N word” and stating she had “jungle fever.” Huerta was angry. He considered the classmate a friend, and the incident caused him to distance himself from her. This kind of digital offense is not rare; in fact, it’s quickly becoming commonplace on college and university campuses across the country.
The digital age has introduced a new venue for racial harassment among college students through social-media platforms. This generation is immersed in social networks. More than 80 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds use some form of social media, according to the Pew Research Center. Many social-media platforms offer users the possibility of uploading racially charged photos, videos, and statements with few restrictions. In this new environment, hateful messages spread rapidly. Twenty years ago, university officials would likely have managed these matters with relative privacy, involving few beyond the immediate campus community; now an act of campus racial bias can make national headlines within hours.
This new digital environment presents college administrators with competing incentives. They understand that their university may lose applicants, esteem, and revenue if it is publicly identified as unresponsive to racism. Still, administrators might be wary of potential backlash if they dole out punishment to those who seem to behave badly on social media, only to find out the story is more complicated than the post initially reveals. It has been more than a decade since officials at Duke University punished the lacrosse team after what appeared to be a “smoking gun” e-mail seemed to confirm a young black woman’s allegations of having been raped by several white members of the team. When charges were dropped, Duke officials were excoriated. The Duke Lacrosse backlash launched the career of Richard Spencer, who led the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August.
The question is whether university officials can do more than balance the concerns of institutional reputation. It is far more important to the black students on campus to know their well-being, and not the institution’s reputation, is motivating the official response.
Racial fliers distributed in Charlottesville
Residents in the Locust Avenue area in Charlottesville say disturbing fliers were distributed in their neighborhood over the past several days.
Fliers left in driveways on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning bore the phrase “It’s okay to be white.” The fliers were folded in ziplock baggies and weighted with a small stone.
Locust Avenue resident Andy Orban said he’s disturbed by the tactic and the message it sends.
Residents in the Locust Avenue area in Charlottesville say disturbing fliers were distributed in their neighborhood over the past several days. Fliers left in driveways on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning bore the phrase “It’s okay to be white.” The fliers were folded in ziplock baggies and weighted with a small stone. Locust Avenue resident Andy Orban said he’s disturbed by the tactic and the message it sends. Residents in the Locust Avenue area in Charlottesville say disturbing fliers were distributed in their neighborhood over the past several days. Fliers left in driveways on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning bore the phrase “It’s okay to be white.” The fliers were folded in ziplock baggies and weighted with a small stone. Locust Avenue resident Andy Orban said he’s disturbed by the tactic and the message it sends. Residents in the Locust Avenue area in Charlottesville say disturbing fliers were distributed in their neighborhood over the past several days. Fliers left in driveways on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning bore the phrase “It’s okay to be white.” The fliers were folded in ziplock baggies and weighted with a small stone. Locust Avenue resident Andy Orban said he’s disturbed by the tactic and the message it sends.
How should the media cover America’s racist extremists?
In August, hundreds of white men with torches marched across the University of Virginia campus. They chanted “Jews will not replace us!” and “Blood and soil!” and fought with counter-protesters in the streets.
The footage and photographs from the far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, left people around the world shaken. These were white nationalists and neo-Nazis marching proudly in public, faces bare, in support of an openly fascist ideology.
For months before the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, news outlets had been profiling the emboldened racist extremists who had celebrated the election of Donald Trump. The coverage had often sparked backlash, with readers across the political spectrum arguing that fringe racists were being given too much of a platform, and that media coverage was blowing their influence out of proportion.
Charlottesville made clear that far-right groups were a serious, violent threat. But it did not put an end to the debates over media coverage of these groups – and the fierce criticism when news organizations produced coverage that readers saw as too “normalizing”.
Virginia Among Most Hateful In US, Analysis Shows
Since violence broke out in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017, resulting in the death of an anti-racism protester, a number of hate groups have disappeared from Virginia. But new groups have appeared.
White supremacists and nationalist groups thrived in President Trump’s first year in office, according to a new report that showed a 4 percent increase in the number of hate groups nationwide. An analysis of the Southern Poverty Law Center’ report showed Virginia, which has often been in the spotlight for its Confederate history, is the sixth hateful state in the country, with 37 active hate groups.
In its 2018 Intelligence Project report, the civil rights advocacy group the Southern Poverty Law Center said the number of active hate groups in the United States has risen from 784 in 2014 to 954 in 2017 as “alt-right” white supremacy groups broke through a firewall that for decades kept overt racists underground.
Since violence broke out in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017, resulting in the death of an anti-racism protester, a number of hate groups have disappeared from Virginia. But new groups have appeared. White supremacists and nationalist groups thrived in President Trump’s first year in office, according to a new report that showed a 4 percent increase in the number of hate groups nationwide. An analysis of the Southern Poverty Law Center’ report showed Virginia, which has often been in the spotlight for its Confederate history, is the sixth hateful state in the country, with 37 active hate groups. In its 2018 Intelligence Project report, the civil rights advocacy group the Southern Poverty Law Center said the number of active hate groups in the United States has risen from 784 in 2014 to 954 in 2017 as “alt-right” white supremacy groups broke through a firewall that for decades kept overt racists underground. “alt-right” white supremacy groups broke through a firewall that for decades kept overt racists underground.
Keene white nationalist’s lawsuit alleges persecution for political beliefs
Claiming they filed false police reports to persecute him for his political beliefs, a white nationalist who has been living in Keene is seeking more than $900,000 in damages from two people who accused him of using pepper spray at an August 2017 demonstration.
Christopher Cantwell, who was in Charlottesville, Va., for the Aug. 12 “Unite the Right” rally that turned deadly when a car plowed into counter-protesters, was initially charged with three felonies in connection with fighting the night before the event.
That night, several hundred people marched onto the University of Virginia campus, wielding torches and chanting white-nationalist slogans. Fighting broke out between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators.
Read More …
Claiming they filed false police reports to persecute him for his political beliefs, a white nationalist who has been living in Keene is seeking more than $900,000 in damages from two people who accused him of using pepper spray at an August 2017 demonstration. Christopher Cantwell, who was in Charlottesville, Va., for the Aug. 12 “Unite the Right” rally that turned deadly when a car plowed into counter-protesters, was initially charged with three felonies in connection with fighting the night before the event. That night, several hundred people marched onto the University of Virginia campus, wielding torches and chanting white-nationalist slogans. Fighting broke out between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators. Claiming they filed false police reports to persecute him for his political beliefs, a white nationalist who has been living in Keene is seeking more than $900,000 in damages from two people who accused him of using pepper spray at an August 2017 demonstration. Christopher Cantwell, who was in Charlottesville, Va., for the Aug. 12 “Unite the Right” rally that turned deadly when a car plowed into counter-protesters, was initially charged with three felonies in connection with fighting the night before the event. That night, several hundred people marched onto the University of Virginia campus, wielding torches and chanting white-nationalist slogans. Fighting broke out between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators.
Charlottesville rally drew participants from 35 states
A study has found that a white nationalist rally that turned deadly in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this year drew participants from at least 35 states.
The New York-based Anti-Defamation League published its study Sunday.
The league said it was able to identify about 200 of the participants who descended on Charlottesville in August. The rally drew a massive counter-protest. Heather Heyer, a counter-protester, was killed when she was hit by a car.
The analysis found that most participants came from the eastern U.S., but some came from as far as Alaska and Washington state.
The study also found that only 7 percent of the 200 identified participants were women, and that the Charlottesville rally drew five times as many people as any other white nationalist rally in the last decade.
A study has found that a white nationalist rally that turned deadly in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this year drew participants from at least 35 states.The New York-based Anti-Defamation League published its study Sunday.The league said it was able to identify about 200 of the participants who descended on Charlottesville in August. The rally drew a massive counter-protest. Heather Heyer, a counter-protester, was killed when she was hit by a car.The analysis found that most participants came from the eastern U.S., but some came from as far as Alaska and Washington state.The study also found that only 7 percent of the 200 identified participants were women, and that the Charlottesville rally drew five times as many people as any other white nationalist rally in the last decade.A study has found that a white nationalist rally that turned deadly in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this year drew participants from at least 35 states.The league said it was able to identify about 200 of the participants who descended on Charlottesville in August. The rally drew a massive counter-protest. Heather Heyer, a counter-protester, was killed when she was hit by a car.
White nationalists march again in Charlottesville
White supremacists lit tiki torches and gathered on Saturday night near the statue of American Civil War general Robert E Lee in Emancipation Park, Charlottesville, a focal point in recent demonstrations that turned violent.
The park was one of the scenes of the so-called Unite the Right protests on August 11 and 12 during which a white supremacist killed anti-fascist counterprotester Heather Heyer.
|
Is Donald Trump giving a voice to white supremacists?
|
On Saturday, local anti-fascist counter protesters confronted around 40 supporters of the alt-right, a loosely knit coalition of white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazis.
Richard Spencer, a leading figure alt-right figure and head of the Virginia-based National Policy Institute think tank, was among those who attended.
Videos and photos posted to social media show alt-right demonstrators holding short speeches in front of the statue, as anti-fascist counterprotesters challenge the white supremacists.
White supremacists lit tiki torches and gathered on Saturday night near the statue of American Civil War general Robert E Lee in Emancipation Park, Charlottesville, a focal point in recent demonstrations that turned violent.The park was one of the scenes of the so-called Unite the Right protests on August 11 and 12 during which a white supremacist killed anti-fascist counterprotester Heather Heyer.On Saturday, local anti-fascist counterprotesters confronted around 40 supporters of the alt-right, a loosely knit coalition of white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazis. Richard Spencer, a leading figure alt-right figure and head of the Virginia-based National Policy Institute think tank, was among those who attended.Videos and photos posted to social media show alt-right demonstrators holding short speeches in front of the statue, as anti-fascist counterprotesters challenge the white supremacists.White supremacists lit tiki torches and gathered on Saturday night near the statue of American Civil War general Robert E Lee in Emancipation Park, Charlottesville, a focal point in recent demonstrations that turned violent.