Sometimes you wonder what theyâre so afraid of.
Not that the subject has ever been easy. No, as has often been noted in this space, this country has been positively Herculean in its effort to remain ignorant of African American history. From schools trying to ban it to state laws restricting it, to textbooks telling lies about it, that history is something we have long resisted.
But if the subject was never easy, it has seldom been as fraught â as filled with political heat â as it is now. âThe New York Times Magazineâs Pulitzer Prize-winning â1619 Project,â in which reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones had the temerity to reframe Americaâs story through the lens of slavery, seems to have tapped something primal in some of us; something that has moved them to spend two years condemning it; something that has states like Texas, Tennessee and Idaho rushing to pass laws banning schools from teaching critical race theory (which seemingly all conservative
Richard Groves
Winston-Salem Journal
âLet me be clear,â Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said sternly in his rebuttal of Joe Bidenâs speech to the joint session of Congress. âAmerica is not a racist country.â
âNo,â said Biden in his own defense in an interview the next day on CBSâs Face the Nation. âI donât believe the American people are racists.â
In her rebuttal of Scottâs rebuttal of Bidenâs speech, Kamala Harris said she doesnât believe America is a racist country, either.
Does that sound like a partisan argument to you? The senator from South Carolina, the president and the vice president seem to be in agreement that America is not a racist country.
The Root s Clapback Mailbag: Systemic Whiteness
Illustration: Oscar Bustamante
Clapback MailbagEach Friday, we select the best (or worst) emails, tweets, DMs and comments from our readers and respond to them in the The Root s Clapback Mailbag.
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From: Adam
To: Michael Harriot
I read your article “We Found the Textbooks of Senators Who Oppose The 1619 Project and Suddenly Everything Makes Sense”
I have a serious question: If America wasn’t founded on July 4, 1776, why do you think everyone agrees on that date? A white teacher probably taught you that two plus two equals four. So is that racist? Some things that are objectively true and just because a white person said it, it doesn’t mean it is racist.
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South Carolina Senator Tim Scott on overhaul of policing: I think we have a long way to go We are making real progress, but it is slow, South Carolina s Tim Scott said of the bipartisan effort to craft a compromise to overhaul policing in the US. Share Updated: 7:28 AM EDT May 14, 2021 By CNN
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott on overhaul of policing: I think we have a long way to go We are making real progress, but it is slow, South Carolina s Tim Scott said of the bipartisan effort to craft a compromise to overhaul policing in the US.
May 13—When a puck smacked the ice at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, on Monday night to start the last game of the Tampa Bay Lightning's regular season, it heralded a little bit of hockey history. Willie O'Ree, wherever he happened to be, was surely smiling. The Lightning called up Daniel Walcott for his first game in the NHL, and coach Jon Cooper rostered him on the top line with Gemel .