{{vpost.name}}

Colin Kaepernick, Monroe Bergdorf and Jemele Hill have all been unfortunate reminders of the consequences black people face whilst calling out white supremacy. As the public refuses to acknowledge the actual racists who spout insults and slurs about every marginalized group in this country, anti-racists who are brave enough to call a spade a spade, are being publicly shamed and labeled "divisive" figures. In the name of diversity (read: protecting white feelings) they've lost jobs, been forced to apologize and called "racists" themselves. Kaepernick, Bergdorf and Hill symbolize what we know to be true — that there is power and influence in speaking truth, but often that power and influence is met with risking ones livelihood. This post-politically-correct-pop-culture-normal leaves anyone with an ounce of critical thinking dumbfounded. To reflect on the ridiculousness of our latest current events, let's take a trip down memory lane and discuss 10 times white people weren't fired for actually being racist. 1. Donald TrumpPresident Trump should have been disqualified from the presidential election the moment he called Mexicans "rapists," evoking a label that has been consistently used to hypersexualize and vilify men of color. This disgusting moment highlighted that he'd empower and encourage the hate that birthed this nation. 2. Bill MaherOn live television, Maher stated, "Work in the fields? I'm a house nigga." Following obvious outrage, Maher gave a weak apology and still kept his show. Maher is also known for saying repeatedly offensive things about Muslims in America. Maher is an unabashed racist who continues to be racist without any detriment to his career.3. Maria SharapovaWhite mediocrity at its finest. Maria's latest book is reported to include racially offensive commentary about Serena Williams and her body. Sharapova and many others in the tennis community have continuously gotten away with covert and overt racism against Williams.4. Jesse WattersFox News anchor Jesse Watters was not fired for an extremely racist segment in which he interviews guests in New York City's Chinatown, mocking them repeatedly. The segment was a new low, even for Fox. 5. CNN Hosts Alisyn Camerota and Chris Cumo Camerota and Cumo ridiculed a 12-year-old spelling bee champion. After asking Ananya Vinay, who is of Indian origin, to spell Covfefe, Camerota states, "We're not sure the root [of Covefe] is in Sanskrit, which is what you're probably used to using." Camerota was not fired for this racist commentary. 6. Harry J HouckCNN's resident anti-black correspondent, Houck, has made some of the most outlandish comments about black people, Black Lives Matter and policing in America, yet, remains the "Law Enforcement Analyst" at CNN.7. Megyn KellyWhile working for Fox News, Kelly infamously stated, with strong conviction, that Santa and Jesus are both white men, reinforcing Eurocentric and white supremacist ideology around Christianity. Kelly remains one of the highest paid journalists on air, and currently works for NBC.8. Congressman Steve KingKing once tweeted, "We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies." When asked to clarify what he met, King reenforced his commentary, which many believe to be advocating for racial cleansing. King did not apologize for his statements and remains a member of congress.9. Amy RobachWhile speaking about movie roles being given to people of color, Good Morning America host, Amy Robach, said the following: "We all know Hollywood has received recent and quite a bit of criticism for casting white actors in what one might assume should be a role reserved for colored people." Amy remains a GMA anchor.10. Julie DelpyIn a discussion about films at Sundance, actress and director Julie Delpy said the following: “Two years ago, I said something about the Academy being very white male, which is the reality, and I was slashed to pieces by the media. It’s interesting — women can’t talk. I sometimes wish I were African American because people don’t bash them afterward.” Delpy remains respected in film and is the latest recipient of the European Achievement in World Cinema...

With racially charged issues such as police brutality and the recent Charlottesville white supremacist rally constantly in the headlines, it seems we're at a point in history full of teachable moments for students.One South Carolina teacher took quite the controversial route when it came to bringing conversations about race into the classroom.Kerri Roberts gave Oak Pointe Elementary School students a homework assignment with two questions that left many upset: “You are a member of the KKK. Why do you think your treatment of African Americans is justified?" and “You are a freedman. Are you satisfied with your new life? Why or why not?”Local teacher on administrative leave after KKK homework questionLearn more: https://t.co/wiGr9nSNw2#WACHFOX pic.twitter.com/uQHAx7QEpb— WACH FOX (@wachfox) September 16, 2017As a result of this assignment, Roberts has been suspended from her Irmo, South Carolina school, the Daily Beast reports.According to Newsweek, Tremain Cooper, the uncle of a 10-year-old black boy in Roberts' class, claimed that the assignment left his nephew in tears. Cooper broke it down on Facebook, asking everyone to imagine how they would feel if a similar Holocaust-themed assignment was distributed to the students."Imagine a German teacher with the audacity to send a 10-year-old Jewish boy home with a homework assignment that would even remotely suggest justifying Nazi actions toward Jewish people," Cooper posted.The lack of diversity within the school wasn’t lost on Cooper, either.According to Star Class, Oak Pointe is made up of 67 percent white students and only 19 percent black students.  "Oakpoint [sic] is a predominantly white school with mostly white faculty and staff, maybe this will lead to more black inclusion," Cooper also wrote via Facebook. "It's only right."Following Cooper’s complaints, Roberts was placed on administrative leave. "We must teach the standard, but we are taking steps to ensure this particular assignment will never be used again in District Five schools," the school district said in a statement. Oak Pointe's principal and the superintendent for School District Five have both issued apologies to Roberts and his family.Cooper also confirmed that Roberts directly apologized to his family, noting, “This type of thing will never happen...

Back in May, our sister site, Shadow & Act, reported that director Antoine Fuqua will helm a biopic of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton. Over years, the Black Panther Party has gained a somewhat negative image, with its detractors highlighting its revolutionary nature and some of its more violent aspects. But like Fuqua, the University of California Berkeley wants to change all of that, and is making a conscientious effort to honoring the legacy of BPP. News One reports that the university will be receiving a federal funding grant of $98,000 for the "Black Panther Party Research, Interpretation & Memory Project."Per the funding announcement, the project will last from August 30, 2017 to September 30, 2019, and will include “a comprehensive collection of local BPP history through acquisition of additional materials from diverse sources including video oral history, photographs, news coverage and other media; disseminating publications that incorporate primary sources from BPP organizational records.”The project will be led by Dr. Ula Taylor, the chair of the Department of African American Studies at UC Berkeley. Dr. Taylor plans to involve several notable BPP members in the project, such as J. Tarika Lewis.Lewis was the first woman to join the BPP in Oakland. The project also plans to "compile an annotated bibliography of information (oral histories, literature, art, exhibits or other media/format) as a resource for understanding the complex history of the Black Panther Party" and "will collect additional oral histories, and additionally, interviews will be conducted with people who were not yet born in 1966 but are eager to reflect on how the events affected their lives, their families and their future."Overall, the project hopes to "bridge generational, cultural and regional gaps in dialogue on race relations, economic inclusion and opportunity and other critical imperatives that divide diverse populations."We're here for...

We recently reported the acquittal of former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley for the 2011 murder of Anthony Lamar Smith.Since the verdict has come down, St. Louis has been in a constant state of unrest. Citizens have protested (peacefully, for the most part) and police in riot gear chanting, "Whose streets? Our streets!" have arrested protesters and journalists.Tired of white officers being cleared of wrongdoing after killing black men, activists have vowed to hold true to the iconic mantra “No justice, no peace!” by disrupting businesses in their quest for justice.The Associated Press reports that protesters have been very successful in hitting the city in the wallet, with thousands of protesters shutting down several restaurants, bars and big corporate offices.But, that’s not all!Protests even caused U2 to cancel a concert for 50,000 fans. Singer Ed Sheeran, the St. Louis Symphony and a Shakespearean group called off their respective shows and performances, as well.Over 140 people have been arrested so far.During the first three nights of protests, tensions between protesters and police were particularly high, Reuters reports.It was very reminiscent of Ferguson, in fact.“How do you sleep at night?” one resident, Lisa Vega, asked a black police officer.The officer responded that he slept well with his bills paid. Other black officers told Reuters that they felt trapped between the concerns of the black community and their oaths as police officers.“I was called everything. You name it," black officer Heather Taylor said, "Things like that, they hurt me.”"Folks got to pay attention, right?" said Democratic Representative Bruce Franks on the importance of making the community uncomfortable when protesting. "Do we just say, 'Oh, it's another case where an officer's found not guilty and leave it at that?' No, we get out here and disrupt and make our presence felt." Franks confirmed that the protests will carry on, with no further details as to the place or date.Police reported that, other than the lost money from canceled events, almost two dozen businesses suffered damage due to the protests.  Chris Rubin de la Borbolla, owner of a clothing, jewelry and accessories store, said broken windows and merchandise damage could cost him roughly $4,000.Blueberry Hill restaurant and concert venue owner, Joe Edwards, expressed his frustration."45 years ago, this street was in great decline, and by embracing diversity we overcame it," said Edwards. "Whoever threw rocks doesn't care. They just want anarchy." Edwards did mention that his heart was warmed when artists painted murals on the plywood put over broken windows, and when residents came to the establishments “to shop and show...

Nearly a month after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a newly released study shows the steady increase in the number of reported hate crimes in the nation's largest cities.The study, authored by Professor Brian Levin, indicates that the hate crime data to date comes in wake of a divisive election year. And much of data from 2016 coincides with the increased activity and exposure of white supremacist groups The violence and unrest in the Virginia city was just one of many incidents marked by the rise of President Donald Trump. There were multiple instances of brutal backlash at Trump's rallies prior to the election. Blavity reported in August that Maumee, Ohio resident James Alex Fields, Jr. was apprehended after ramming a Dodge Challenger into the back of a car that hit members of a crowd of Charlottesville counter-protesters and bystanders at the Unite the Right rally. The 20-year-old white supremacist was with other various white nationalist groups and Confederate sympathizers protesting the removal of the Confederate General Robert E. Lee statue. Fields killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injured 19 others that day in August. According to the study, data collected from 31 large cities and counties, including the 10 largest cities in the U.S. were tabulated showing that there were 2,101 hate crimes in those cities and counties. That means that there is a nearly 5 percent rise from the 2,003 hate crimes in the same places the year before.“If these moderate overall increases of 5 percent hold nationally for 2016, this will be the first time since 2004 that the nation has experienced consecutive annual increases in hate crime,” Levin said.Cities like Chicago rose 20 percent in 2016, New York City had a 24 percent increase, Los Angeles had a 15 percent, and Philadelphia had a 50 percent increase. The city with the largest increase in hate crimes was Washington, D.C., which saw a 62 percent rise. Many of these cities have large black populations. However, the study is unique because many claim that there is no accurate way to track hate crimes. According to VOX, the FBI reports are not a reliable way to keep record. “What is so unusual about 2016 ― with the exception of the Midwest ― and particularly among the largest jurisdictions with the best data, was a clear and dramatic spike for the election period that was unlike anything I can recall in my professional career,” Levin...

When Capital Preparatory teacher Erica Buddington's rendition of "Bodak Yellow" went viral and made her internet famous, her students fell in love with her even more. Buddington told parents that she intended to meet with one of the school's co-founders in wake of her monumental success.  "They kept their word and two weeks later, as the sun rose, I told the children that we were headed to California," she posted on Instagram.To their surprise, the popular teacher, her students, and their parents arrived in Los Angeles to be guests on comedian Steve Harvey's daytime talk show and met Diddy on the Sept. 18 edition of the show. The hit producer and business mogul opened the Capital Preparatory charter school in Harlem last year with the help of co-founder and educator Steve Perry to close the education gap."A day later, one of their school founders, Sean "Diddy" Combs, arrived on set," Buddington said. "We spent the day in a green room, playing board games, becoming closer and hanging with our humble school founder. My scholars are so full. This is all that matters to me."This was a feeling I've never felt before. I've always been there to support children. But I've never had children express their gratitude. Our kids really need our help. Hearing from them connected with me on another level. They're about to change the world!!! #HarlemCapitalPrepA post shared by Diddy (@diddy) on Sep 18, 2017 at 3:52pm PDTNot only did Diddy meet with the students, he doubles down on his commitment to helping educate children and give them the greatest chance for success. When I look at the faces of my kids at #HarlemCapitalPrep I see myself! My dream is to provide our inner city youth a equal playing field and build the future leaders of our community. Through the grace of God and the support of the Harlem community my dream came true!!A post shared by Diddy (@diddy) on Sep 18, 2017 at 5:50pm PDTDiddy also donated an additional $20,000 on top of the millions he invested into opening the school. On Instagram, Combs reiterated that he will never let his students down and he will always be there to support his teachers in their pursuit of providing quality...

The slew of racist “promposals” have unfortunately been quite rampant. Now it looks like homecoming dance season can bring more of the bigotry.A white student of Burnsville High School in Minnesota asked a black student to the homecoming dance with the sign, “You may be picking cotton, but I’m picking you. Homecoming?” The poster was decorated with cotton balls, per Star Tribune.The resulting picture was posted on Snapchat with the caption, “She actually said yes,” with the dramatic shock face emoji. The picture eventually went viral and spread to Instagram and Facebook, with many expressing outrage at the offensive photo.Apparently, it was a joke between friends and they were taken aback by the negative reaction they received.Burnsville Principal Dave Helke didn’t find a bit of it funny, however, calling the photo “deeply offensive.” "I want to make it clear that the posting does not align with the values of Burnsville High School and Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191," Helke wrote in a statement. "We value all students, expect all students to take responsibility for exhibiting that with their peers, and work in many ways to build up each other as a community of caring individuals. "The white student has since removed the post and apologized for the “racist remark” via his social media accounts."I made the poster as a joke between my close friend and I and many took it the wrong way and were offended," he tweeted. "I'm sincerely sorry, no intentions were ever to offended [sic] her or anyone of color it was made as a joke."It hasn’t yet been confirmed whether or not he will be receiving disciplinary action for the post, but district spokeswoman Ruth Dunn confirmed the incident didn’t happen on school grounds. "The principal sees this as a teachable moment," said...