Anti-Racism
The University of Pacific volleyball team has elected to forfeit its match against BYU after a fan was accused of making racist comments toward a Duke volleyball player in August.
“The volleyball team has decided to not play the November 10 game at BYU,” the school’s senior communications director Mike Klocke said in a statement Monday night. “The team expressed concerns following reports of racist and hostile comments during an August 26 match. Pacific stands with our student-athletes.”
Since the alleged incident, BYU conducted an investigation and found no evidence to “corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs at the event.”
BYU released the following statement:
“The University of the Pacific’s decision to forfeit this week’s women’s volleyball match is unwarranted and deeply disappointing. Following the Aug. 26 allegation, BYU conducted an extensive review and found no evidence to corroborate this allegation. As we have stated previously, BYU will not tolerate any conduct that would make a student-athlete feel unsafe in our athletic environments. It is unfortunate that Pacific would make a decision that perpetuates the very challenge we are working to heal in our polarized society.”
The August incident has led to more damning accusations, including Southern California women’s soccer players stating BYU fans directed racial slurs at them after players kneeled during the national anthem in August 2021.
The latest volleyball cancellation comes weeks after Dawn Staley, South Carolina women’s basketball coach also canceled a series with BYU.
“As a head coach, my job is to do what’s best for my players and staff,” Staley said in a statement released by South Carolina. “The incident at BYU has led me to reevaluate our home-and-home, and I don’t feel that this is the right time for us to engage in this series.”
The Alabama Constitution, approved in 1901 to entrench white supremacy, still has language regarding segregated schools, poll taxes and bans on interracial marriage.
But a seismic change could be in store. Alabama voters on Nov. 8 will decide whether to ratify a new constitution that strips out the Jim Crow-era language. It would also reorganize the unwieldy governing document, which has been amended 978 times and tops over 400,000 words. The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama says the size makes it the longest such document in the world.
Voters in 2020 authorized state officials and lawmakers to cut the racist language that lingers from the era of racial segregation. That work, finally completed, now goes back before voters to ratify the Alabama Constitution of 2022.
Proponents say the changes that will demonstrate Alabama is a different place today — and streamline the sprawling constitution to be more user-friendly.
“This is an effort to show, not only the rest of the country, but the world who we are today,” said state Rep. Merika Coleman, one of the lawmakers who led the bipartisan effort.
However, it does not make the policy changes that some reformers have sought — such as giving counties more home rule and removing tax earmarks, which dedicate taxes to a specific program or purpose.
The Alabama Constitution of 1901 is currently 420,000 words. The new Constitution would shrink slightly to 373,274 words, but that is three times more words than the next-longest state constitution – Texas, according to an analysis from the PARCA.
“Power will still be concentrated in the Legislature and local matters, like whether counties can regulate golf carts on public roads, will continue to clutter the state constitution … And it will still be the world’s longest constitution. Even with the organizational fixes, the document is a confusing mess,” Spencer wrote.
The state committee that worked on the recompilation and the lawmakers who approved it only had a narrow charge to delete racist or repeated language and to reorganize, according to Coleman. However, she is hopeful the ratification will be approved.
Seventy-one percent of Black officers at the police department in Knoxville, Tennessee in the U.S. said they have experienced racial discrimination by the organization, according to a recent report conducted by 21CP Solutions, an organization of policing experts.
“If you are a Black officer, you have to work five times harder, and officers will always second-guess you,” one anonymous officer was quoted as saying in the report.
“When applying for posted positions and training, if more than one Black officer applied for a job that has multiple open slots, only one Black officer would get selected, and the other one would be told to wait until the next posting,” said another officer.
Knoxville Police Department’s new chief, Paul Noel, told NBC News in an interview that 21CP Solutions’ assessment was commissioned by him, noting that takeaways from the report are “pretty clear.”
“These are all things that people in the community and the police department anecdotally knew,” he was quoted as saying. “But this is the first time we had a jumping-off point to actually create change.”
The findings come after years of allegations, covered by the Knoxville News Sentinel, of longstanding racist behavior in the department, serving a town of over 180,000 people in eastern Tennessee.
Black representation in U.S. police forces has long been hampered by discrimination in hiring and promotion, some law enforcement officers told Reuters as early as 2020.
U.S. police forces remain generally whiter than the community that surrounds them, despite decades of attempts to reform, according to U.S. Federal data released in 2020.
The Washington Post has written on several studies detailing the link between police diversity and community relations. Lydia DePillis noted that a 2004 analysis of data from St. Petersburg, Florida and Indianapolis, Indiana concluded “black officers are more likely to conduct coercive actions” than their white colleagues when resolving conflicts. DePillis also references a 2006 analysis of Cincinnati Police Department records; in her words, the study found “white officers were more likely to arrest suspects than black officers overall—but it also found that black officers were significantly more likely to make an arrest when the suspect was black.”
Comedian Trevor Noah, in a fresh episode of his satirical television program The Daily Show took a swipe at people offended by Rishi Sunak, a non-white person’s appointment as the United Kingdom’s new prime minister. In a clip posted by the show’s Twitter handle, Noah points out, “of course…not everyone is happy with Sunak taking the top post…but it’s not because they don’t like his policies.”
He gives a sneak peek into a radio programme where a caller takes offence at Britain’s latest political development. The caller – identified as Jerry Lowestoft – asks the host whether it’d be fine if he were the prime minister of Pakistan or Saudi Arabia. “These things matter…England with 85% white people wants to see a PM who reflects them,” he says.
In a hilarious swipe, Noah responds, “Yeah, he has a good point. Can you imagine if white English people wanted to rule countries where no one looked like them?it is difficult to imagine what that world would be like.” Pointing out the man’s hypocrisy, the comedian further says, “…racists always defend colonisation, brushing it as mere business until they feel like they’re being colonised.” He also defended Sunak saying, “You’re not being colonised, the new PM is British…he is not going to walk to his podium on the first day and say, ‘I’m selling the whole country to India…it’s revenge time…that was the whole plan…Happy Diwali…’.”
Recently, Noah’s another similar clip from 2019 during the UK’s political crisis surrounding Brexit resurfaced on social media after former premier Truss quit last week. In the video, Noah was seen joking that “things are so bad in the UK that other countries or India should just colonise Britain”, making a reference to the former colonial empire’s infamous strategy of letting itself in other countries’ political affairs before colonising it.
A community meeting meant to address concerns over racism in a Michigan school district appeared to become proof of the problem after a racist man suggested to a Latino father that he shouldn’t have immigrated to the United States.
Adrian Iraola, who came to the U.S. from Mexico and whose now-grown children went through the schools in Saline, recalled his son’s experience of racism in the district.
“I went to his bedroom to say good night, and he was crying because of the abuse that he was enduring in this school system,” Iraola said at the school board meeting Monday in the largely-white district south of Ann Arbor.
Iraola was interrupted by a white parent, Tom Burtell, who said, “So why didn’t you stay in Mexico?”
Burtell’s statement drew audible shock and gasps from people in the audience, many of whom turned to face him, as shown on a video from MLive.com that had garnered almost 800,000 views by Wednesday morning.
One meeting attendee shouted at Burtell, “You need to leave.” Another said, “That’s disgusting,” in response to Burtell’s comments.
“That’s indicative of what these kids are experiencing,” still another said.
Someone in the audience appeared to criticize those chastising Burtell, saying the meeting was a “platform for discussion,” to which Burtell responded, “That’s right.”
“Then explain yourself,” an audience member said to Burtell. “You interrupted [Iraola]. Take the mic.”
Iraola, still with mic in hand, then said, “He asked me a question, ‘Why didn’t I stay in Mexico?’ Because this is the greatest country in the world.”
Burtell, who said he has six children who have gone to the schools, shouted, “But you’re complaining about being here.”
The meeting Monday evening was held in response to racist Snapchat posts made by Saline High School students that were directed at black school football players, NBC Detroit affiliate WDIV reported. The posts included racial slurs and messages that said “WHITE POWER” and “THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN.”
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr believes that fans found guilty of racist abuse should be banned for life from attending games.
The 22-year-old Brazilian was a victim of abuse in September when Atletico Madrid fans were filmed directing racist chants at him outside their Wanda Metropolitano Stadium ahead of their game against Real.
“If you hurt other people, you must pay,” Vinicius told Brazilian TV Globo on Sunday.
“It’s hard to say that (racism in soccer) will end with so many people still doing it. But I like to believe that there are more good people than bad.
“All the racist people must pay in some way. If they like to watch soccer, so those Atletico Madrid fans should never be allowed to step foot in a stadium again.
“That will make them suffer the consequences and reflect about their actions.”
Atletico and LaLiga condemned the abuse directed at Vinicius in the build-up to the Madrid derby, which Real won 2-1.
Local media also reported that monkey noises and chants of “Vinicius, die” were heard throughout the game.
Atletico said they are collaborating with authorities to identify the abusers who would be banned by the club.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Madrid is also investigating the case.
Pele, Neymar and other leading Brazilian figures defended Vinicius that same week after a pundit on a Spanish soccer show said the Brazilian was not respecting his opponents with his celebrations, comparing his behaviour to a monkey.
Vinicius published an emotional two-minute video statement in response to what he called a “xenophobic and racist” insult, saying he “won’t stop dancing” and that “the happiness of a black Brazilian being successful in Europe bothers” many people.
Real Madrid released a statement supporting their player and declaring they will take legal action against the pundit.
Teachers are being given anti-racism training in Wales as pupils have spoken of their experiences of racist bullying and feeling isolated in schools.
Wales is the first UK nation to make the history of Britain’s colonial past mandatory in school lessons.
Figures show that 35 teachers identify as black and 75 as Asian, and 25,915 as white in Wales’ schools.
Education Minister Jeremy Miles said more needed to be done to attract an ethnically diverse range of teachers.
Pupils who spoke to BBC Wales described their experiences of racist bullying, with one saying he wanted “everyone to feel safe”, while a teacher spoke of feeling alone, and hoped the anti-racism training would help.
Schoolmate Gwen believes the community in Wales can feel “quite a white place”, adding: “By being a person who isn’t white within the community, you can feel quite alone, or you can feel different.
Welsh government figures show that for the 2021-22 academic year of the 26,600 teachers in Wales, 25,915 of them said they were white.
Around 1% of teachers in Wales say they are black, Asian, or from other or mixed minority ethnic backgrounds, according to the 2021-22 school workforce census.
In terms of pupils, for the 2021-22 academic year, 350,842 said they were white British, while 51,128 were from other ethnic backgrounds.
New resources are now available to teachers called ‘diversity and anti-racist professional learning’ which were created by academic Chantelle Haughton, a former pupil of Betty Campbell.
The Cardiff Metropolitan University lecturer described it as “groundbreaking” but added: “It’s really troubling that we’re still having this conversation in 2022”.
The training was launched at Llanwern High School in Newport, which has its own diversity club and was the first winner of the Betty Campbell MBE award.
Learning about black, Asian and minority ethnic histories and experiences is now a mandatory part of the new curriculum for Wales, which is billed as the biggest reform to Welsh education in decades.
Where available, recent data still points to disproportionately high death rates faced by Black people, at the hands of law enforcement, in different countries.
While more people have been made aware of systemic racism and concrete steps have been taken in some countries, the Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights called on States to demonstrate the greater political will to accelerate action.
“There have been some initiatives in different countries to address racism, but for the most part they are piecemeal. They fall short of the comprehensive evidence-based approaches needed to dismantle the entrenched structural, institutional and societal racism that has existed for centuries, and continues to inflict deep harm today,” said Nada Al-Nashif, who will present the report to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.
The report notes that poor outcomes continue for people of African descent in many countries, notably in accessing health and adequate food, education, social protection, and justice – while poverty, enforced disappearance and violence continues.
It highlights “continuing…allegations of discriminatory treatment, unlawful deportations, excessive use of force, and deaths of African migrants and migrants of African descent by law enforcement officials”
“Families of Black people continued to report the immense challenges, barriers and protracted processes they faced in their pursuit of truth and justice for the deaths of their relatives”, the report says.
It details seven cases of police-related deaths of people of African descent, namely George Floyd and Breonna Taylor (US); Adama Traoré (France); Luana Barbosa dos Reis Santos and João Pedro Matos Pinto (Brazil); Kevin Clarke (UK) and Janner [Hanner] García Palomino (Colombia).
While noting some progress towards accountability in a few of these emblematic cases, “unfortunately, not a single case has yet been brought to a full conclusion, with those families still seeking truth, justice and guarantees of non-repetition, and the prosecution and sanction of all those responsible,” the report says.
Al Jazeera reveals how the Labour party created a hierarchy of racism that discriminated against Black, Asian and Muslim members.
Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) reveals how a British political party that claims to embrace progressive values created a hierarchy of racism that discriminated against its Black, Asian and Muslim members. Interviews, internal documents and social media messages shared by the most senior staff in The United Kingdom’s Labour betrayed a racist culture where abuse was aimed at their own colleagues, councillors and political leaders.
The Labour Files, an I-Unit investigation based on 500 gigabytes of documents, emails, video and audio files from the Party dating from 1998 to 2021, exposes how the party’s campaign to present a tough image of anti-Semitism, while ignoring other forms of discrimination, drove many staff to resign.
The Party is a political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists, and trade unionists. The Party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. In all general elections since 1922, Labour has been either the governing party or the Official Opposition. There have been six Labour prime ministers and thirteen Labour ministries. The party holds the annual Party Conference, at which party policy is formulated.
The Party currently forms the Official Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, having won the second-largest number of seats in the 2019 general election. The leader of the party and leader of the opposition is Keir Starmer. Labour is the largest party in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), being the only party in the current Welsh government.
The party is the third-largest in the Scottish Parliament, behind the Scottish National Party and the Scottish Conservatives. Labour is a member of the Party of European Socialists and Progressive Alliance, and holds observer status in the Socialist International. The party includes semi-autonomous London, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish branches, however it supports the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in Northern Ireland, while still organising there. As of July 2022, Labour has around 415,000 registered members. one of the largest memberships of any party in Europe.
A city-commissioned study in Austin, Texas, found that urban design from almost a century ago cost Black residents in just five areas more than $290 million. The report comes at a time when American communities are more interested than ever in finding ways to address the legacy of housing discrimination.
The Austin City Council issued an apology for its past “segregation and systematic housing discrimination” last year and requested scholars from the University of Texas at Austin and Huston-Tillotson University, a historically Black university in the city, to examine the effects of such practices. The city’s 1928 master plan, for example, which established a “Negro District” and required Black residents to relocate east to access city facilities, effectively legalized residential racial segregation.
The first findings, which were reported by the Austin Monitor last month, were validated by a municipal official. Although it’s still not obvious how it would be set up or funded, local supporters want to use the data to put pressure on the city to create a center that provides social and economic services for Austin’s Black citizens and businesses.
According to Kellee Coleman, Austin’s interim chief equity officer, the report is “a tool for the community to be able to hold the government responsible for what it produced,” including “pervasive gaps” across health and economic measurements.
The study Austin requested is a part of a larger movement among American cities to address racial disparities in wealth and homeownership, which are a result of long-standing housing discrimination practices like redlining, where the federal government deemed majority-Black neighborhoods “hazardous” and refused to insure mortgages in and around them.
In American cities, residential racial segregation and its effects are still a problem. According to the Brookings Institution, community amenities and quality are unable to account for the difference in property values between majority-Black and non-Black communities in the average U.S. metro region.
