How Russian Interference Highlights a Gap in our Educational System

Step back for a moment to 2015 and 2016 and the run up to the historic Trump-Clinton Election. Maybe you saw or clicked on a Facebook ad depicting two black men handcuffed in Colorado for “driving while black.” That ad targeted people who Facebook determined were interested in Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Black history. Or maybe you clicked on another ad posted minutes later by the same firm to the same target audience that read, “police brutality has been the most recurring issue over the last several years.” Or maybe you clicked on a different ad posted by the same firm for a Facebook page titled, “Back the Badge,” which was the firm's most successful page. “Back the Badge,” cost $1,785 to advertise, It targeted 20- to 65-year-olds interested in law enforcement who had already liked pages such as “The Thin Blue,” “Police Wives Unite” and the “Officer Down Memorial Page,” and received 1.3 million Facebook impressions and 73,000 clicks…

Truth TellingIan McLAughlinFebruary 20, 2019Russia, 2016 Election, Race, RacismComment

Taking a Knee: The NFL & Racism

Despite not playing in the NFL for over a year, Colin Kaepernick is dominating NFL discussions. The former Pro Bowler and Super Bowl quarterback who decided to silently, and peacefully, protest police brutality by sitting for, and then taking a knee during, the national anthem. When asked about the motivations for his protest Kaepernick was very clear, saying: "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color…

Truth Telling, NFLIan McLAughlinSeptember 19, 2018NFL, Kaepernick, Taking a Knee, RacismComment

Knowing and Teaching the Difference Between Bigotry and Racism

Oumou Kanoute was eating her lunch and minding her own business. The next thing she knew Smith College police were present. An employee had called the police because Kanoute looked “out of place.” This is the latest in a string of white people calling the police on Black people for simply living their lives. Without fail, social media assured us no white person in these instances are racist. This should be obvious due to the lack of bigotry so many white people outwardly display. They do not act with overt hate and therefore cannot be racist. But racism does not require bigotry. No, all racism requires is an acceptance of society as it currently exists.