8. Make Everything About Race
Even when black people have no intention of playing the victim, they indirectly keep racism alive simply by making everything about race. For instance, when a group of Upper West Side parents in New York City objected to plans to integrate one of the most segregated school districts in America, The Root fellow Anne Branigin decided to make the parents’ anger all about race. Anyone laboring under the delusion that New York City is a progressive bastion need look no further In this instance, Branigin secretly stood at the entrance to the meeting and kept black parents from attending. Then she egregiously used actual quotes from actual parents who complained about black and Hispanic children attending the schools. In this case, it wasn’t the outraged parents, the school district or the history of segregation.It was Branigin’s fault for twisting an incident that was all about race into something that was all about race.
