OMG GUYS, this week. We don’t even know where to begin. Wait, yes we do, let’s get to it.
Rachel Dolezal Roundup
Dolezal, a NAACP leader for the Spokane, WA area, has been lying about her race.
The NAACP released a statement supporting the idea that a person of any race can be a civil rights leader, neglecting to discuss the issues with her posing as a black woman.
Dolezal says she does considers herself as black, The Root asks why Dolezal couldn’t be white and still discuss “the struggle.”
Sociological Images discusses racial constructs and the history of defining blackness.
Need humor to deal with your anger? Check out the #AskRachel hashtag on Twitter.
Some have come out in defense of Rachel Dolezal saying it’s possible to be”transracial” and comparing it to identifying as transgender. Here’s why that is way off base.
Janet Mock has chimed into the discussion.
Stop using "trans racial" in regards to Dolezal. There is no such thing unless we're discussing trans racial adoptions, adoptees & families.
— Janet Mock (@janetmock) June 14, 2015
Stop comparing Dolezal's performance of black womanhood to my & my trans sisters' lives. It only further erases/delegitimizes our existence.
— Janet Mock (@janetmock) June 14, 2015
I'll always champion intersectionality, but in this case trans folks' lives should NOT be part of the Dolezal conversation. It's dangerous.
— Janet Mock (@janetmock) June 14, 2015
There are dangerous implications when we compare experiences. The only ones hurt will be those who embody blackness & transness & womanhood.
— Janet Mock (@janetmock) June 14, 2015
TWOC are attacked daily b/c of this pervasive myth that we are pretending to be someone we are not, and therefore should be extinguished.
— Janet Mock (@janetmock) June 14, 2015
Oh Cher, no.
WHY did Rachel Dolezal’s Parents OUT Their Daughter? It Was
Cruel.I Don’t Know WHY She Chose Her PATH,But Who Doesn’t Want 2 have Blk COOL
💖— Cher (@cher) June 14, 2015
Other News
Jessica Williams and Jon Stewart discuss the McKinney pool party.
In a surprise to no one who actually pays attention to these kinds of things, this wasn’t the first time McKinney pool cop was accused of being racist and using excessive force. He was sued by a black man back in 2008 for those very same reasons.
Twitter also took the 911-caller Mike Toon to task with the #SeanToon911 tag.
We still have reports about police misconduct, this time with follow up reports from both the Ezell Ford and Tamir Rice shootings.
NYPD Chief William Bratton said something really stupid about recruiting cops of color.
Kalief Browder, a young man who spent three years at Rikers Island without ever being convicted, committed suicide this past week.
We’ve run our own list of those who have been killed by police, but as a reminder, we’ve hit over 500 people killed this year.
Maybe these numbers wouldn’t be so high, if police response wasn’t so over the top when black bodies were involved, see also: tear gassing crowds at Hot 97’s Summer Jam.
In a shock to no one, a study found that “women of color are disproportionately impacted by bias and prejudice in the workplace” in STEM fields.
Our favorite hero, Mo’ne Davis and her teammates are embarking on an interesting tour. One that will mix black history and baseball alike.
Muslim girls in Minneapolis are making sports a more inclusive place.
A skateboard crew in the Bronx wants to empower women of color and they have the most badass crew name ever.
Actress Teyonah Parris and Director Ava DuVernay both took to social media this week to discuss strangers touching their hair.
Here’s a look at race, gender and comics.
Speaking of comics, Chiwetel Ejiofor is joining Doctor Strange as a villain, you know, because why cast people of color as leads in Marvel movies, am I right?
Plus sized model Tess Holliday/Munster who got in trouble for saying black men love her, tried to take it back by pulling the “I have black friends” card. This writer was especially disappointed since I have admired her for so long. #yourfaveisproblematic
Gina Rodriguez and Uzo Aduba sat down to talk to each other for Variety‘s Actors on Actors. They touched upon diversity, authenticity and dual identities.
In magazine news, Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson are on the cover of THR’s Dramatic Actress Roundtable talking race and aging in Hollywood.
Gina Rodriguez covers Glam Belleza and Laverne Cox is on the cover of EW’s LGBT issue (the first in 15 years).
Laverne Cox is also getting a wax figure at Madame Tussauds!
Fetty Wap, who you might know from his earworm of a summer song “Trap Queen,” a song even Ed Sheeran and Fall Out Boy love, recently won an award from the cable channel, Music Choice and it’s endearing how choked up he gets.
We end this week with Earth Wind and Fire performing with Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper at Bonaroo, making me feel infinitely cooler for blasting “Let’s Groove” at my desk last week. (Karishma is the cool one here.)
One reply on “PoC News In America”
I’m so fucking over Marvel and their shit. They add a white woman for an Asian male part, the only resident POC can be the villain and this is supposed to satisfy us? Choke on your billions, dudes.