Multiracial Whiteness
This newsletter includes three essays, a follow-up to my recent post on Medium, and headlines across 10 topics.
All subscribers can read my postscript on “Why I No Longer Refer to White People.” In the postscript, I share my thoughts on the comments I read, the photo, what I’d change about the text, and more.
I also have for everyone a short essay, “The Opportunity to Oppress Shouldn’t Overly Impress.” The essay speaks to white power allowing Black and Brown faces to lead and participate in oppression, which could be an aspect of multiracial whiteness.
After watching Judas and the Black Messiah, I wrote a piece for paying subscribers, “Can Fred Hampton’s Call for Solidarity Work Today?”
And for paying subscribers, I also have a piece that explains “Why Multiracial Whiteness Is a Thing.”
Keep reading for curated news related to race and racism from impeachment to international affairs.
📰 News and Headlines
😒THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL
Trump’s impeachment is another example of how whiteness works, even multiracial whiteness. Previously, I wrote that whiteness made a mess of the impeachment hearings, that impeachment makes the white party whiter, that a colorblind impeachment of Trump was pathetic because white supremacy is Trump’s high crime, and that Rep. Cori Bush said what needed to be said.
I’m glad this impeachment and the trial aren’t colorblind, even if they aren’t successful.
Overall, I agree with Elie Mystal, “I Don’t Just Want Trump Impeached. I Want Him Jailed.”And Jamelle Bouie could not be more right when he says, ‘‘Stop the Steal’ Didn’t Start With Trump.”
❗️ANTI-ASIAN RACISM AND HATE CRIMES
I am committed to getting outside the white-black binary of race and racism. And I’ve been reading more and more about anti-Asian racism and hate crimes. It’s wrong, and it’s disturbing, and it’s all connected to white racism and serves white racism.
On February 11, Faith Liu started a thread on Twitter with a brief history of anti-Asian violence and xenophobia.
I found two posts with a section on how to help: “My Mother Was a Victim of the Rise in Anti-Asian Crime—Here’s What You Can Do to Help,” and “On Anti-Asian Hate Crimes: Who Is Our Real Enemy?”
😷COVID-19
Mother Jones has two articles on COVID-19 that caught my eye “COVID-19 Has Killed 1 in 475 Native Americans” and “Let’s Stop Naming COVID Variants After Countries.”
According to Mother Jones, “Covid is killing Native Americans at a faster rate than any other community in the United States, shocking new figures reveal.”
It’s insane that the United States is doing this colorblind. Two professors wrote an opinion piece for the Guardian, “A colorblind vaccine approach isn’t good enough. The US needs racial equity” with terms like “vaccine gerrymandering.”
🏈⚽️SPORTS
In the United States, we just had the Super Bowl, which reminds me of my essay, “The NFL is the Worst of Us.”
See also: ‘End racism,’ the NFL implored. So what about the Chiefs’ name?
And then I read this piece in Blavity, “Black Former NFL Players Say Discriminatory Practices Are Used In Concussion Settlement Programs."
Black players say they have cognitive impairment from football, and the NFL adjusts their test results based on race to determine eligibility for the league’s concussion settlement program.
On February 11, footballer Lauren James of Manchester United wrote about the racist abuse she receives.
🥞BIZ
Pearl Mill Company is a new brand for pancakes and pancake syrup after the racist stereotype “Aunt Jemima” was dropped by PepsiCo.
Check out Crystal Fleming’s tweet on Aunt Jemima.
🚦REPARATIONS
According to The Root, Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) has reintroduced legislation to form a commission to study reparations in advance of an upcoming hearing on reparations.
My thoughts: Are Democrats playing games with reparations? What excuse will they give for not getting it done?
=ACLU & SYSTEMIC EQUALITY
On February 9, the ACLU announced a campaign for systemic equality. The campaign covers a number of areas: voting rights, student loan debt forgiveness, fair housing, access to financial services, internet access, reparations, reentry for returning citizens, and ending algorithmic bias. I didn’t see anything related to health care.
The campaign looks like it’s geared toward Black people, Latinos, and Indigenous people of color. Why does the country refuse remedies specifically for Black people?
🎓EDUCATION
Utah School Walks Back Letting Parents Opt Their Kids Out of Black History Month Following Backlash
Opting out of Black History Month is violent. It reminds me of the massive resistance to the Brown v BOE ruling.
University of Alabama Removes Name of Noted Segregationist George C. Wallace From Building
This one is interesting because Wallace apologized and claimed he changed his views before he died. He was reelected with Black support. John Lewis said Wallace confessed to him like he was his priest. Some hold up Wallace as an example of change. Still, having your name on a building is a privilege. Forgive, but don’t forget.
GOP-Led States Still Mad About The 1619 Project, Considering Legislation to Dictate How Slavery Is Taught
This, too, is a classic move to pass laws and ban something that challenges white narratives.
🗳VOTING RIGHTS
Expanding democracy in every way is one effective way to end white dominance. The Brennan Center has a list of 2021 Voting Laws, and it looks like a tug-of-war between restricting and expanding access to the ballot.
Many restrictive bills are based on Trump’s lies, which is another enduring consequence of his presidency and another reason he should be held accountable.
🇳🇿🇨🇦INTERNATIONAL
New Zealand: While people hold up New Zealand as an example of good governance, recently, Rawiri Waititi, a Maori leader, was thrown out of parliament because he wasn’t wearing a particular necktie. Waititi said he was wearing a tie, a tie to his people, and a tie to the plight.
Canada: A new report finds racism in health care has a disproportionate impact in British Columbia on Inuit and Métis people. Settler-colonialism is bad all over.
And recently, Canada listed the Proud Boys as a terrorist group, which freezes money, among other restrictions. The list also includes Atomwaffen Division. Canada is like the Democratic Party, and the US is the GOP. On this, Canada is one step better than the US while also not doing enough to address white racism.
📢Quote:
“[T]he twenty-first-century United States—is far worse than a naïve or misinformed mythification of the civil rights dream: it is the signaling of a sophisticated, flexible, and ‘diverse’ (multiculturalist) white supremacy as the heartbeat of the US national form.”
- Dylan Rodríguez, Multiculturalist White Supremacy and the Substructure of the Body
📍Where to Find Me and Why
Medium: for occasional, short blog posts
Substack: for longer substance by email, free and paid, browse and click through
Email: from your inbox, hit reply to message me
⏭The Next Newsletter
I try to send a newsletter weekly. The next one will be on February 19.