Reuters has apologized for its poor choice of photo to illustrate a story about a monkey brain study that was deemed offensive and racist in China. On Thursday, Reuters published a story titled “Monkey-brain study with a link to China’s military roils top European university.” The report was about a …
Read More »Majority of Euro 2020 racist abuse came from UK accounts and 99% were not anonymous, says Twitter
Twitter’s data stands in contrast to that from the UK Football Policing Unit which said that of 207 social media posts deemed to be criminal, 34 came from accounts in Britain and 123 in other countries. Twitter has said that “the UK was – by far – the largest country …
Read More »FA condemns racist abuse of England players after Euro 2020 final
English FA, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and national team slam online racism targeting Black players. England’s Football Association and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have condemned the online racist abuse of players following the team’s penalty shoot-out loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final. On Sunday the sides drew …
Read More »Buckingham Palace ‘banned’ ethnic minorities from office jobs
UK royal officials banned ethnic minorities from clerical roles until at least the 1960s, a report by The Guardian reveals. Buckingham Palace banned “coloured immigrants or foreigners” from undertaking office roles for the United Kingdom’s royal family until at least the late 1960s, according to documents obtained by The Guardian …
Read More »Opinion: Trump is running an openly racist campaign
All dictators and would-be dictators need enemies — the more villainous the better — to justify their seizure of power. President Trump, an aspiring authoritarian, based his 2016 campaign on fomenting fear of Mexicans and Muslims. In 2018 his midterm campaign was based on (unsuccessful) scaremongering about caravans of refugees …
Read More »Gap in US Black and white unemployment rates is widest in five years
The gap between the U.S. unemployment rates for Blacks and whites widened further in June, to its largest in five years, underscoring the uneven nature of the nascent recovery from the historic job losses triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Jobless rates for both groups fell in June, but the rate …
Read More »Opinion: Could a boycott kill Facebook?
Boycotts can be extremely effective – as Facebook is finding out. In the late 18th century, the abolitionist movement encouraged British people to stay away from goods produced by slaves. It worked. Around 300,000 stopped buying sugar – increasing the pressure to abolish slavery. The Stop Hate for Profit campaign …
Read More »Trump approvingly tweets video showing ‘racist’ chant
US President Donald Trump on Sunday tweeted approvingly of a video showing one of his supporters chanting “white power,” a racist slogan associated with white supremacists. The video appeared to have been taken at The Villages, a Florida retirement community and showed dueling demonstrations between Trump supporters and opponents. “Thank …
Read More »Black autonomy and lessons from the Black Power struggle
The Black Power movements of the 1960s and 1970s can show the way for the Black Lives Matter movement. The murders of Ahmaud Arbury, Tony Mcdade, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd have triggered a rebellion in the United States, while solidarity protests have emerged across the world. The moment has …
Read More »Twitter labels Trump’s tweet as ‘manipulated media’
Twitter Inc added a ‘manipulated media’ label on a video posted on U.S. President Donald Trump’s Twitter feed on Thursday that showed a doctored news clip with a misspelled banner flashing “Terrified toddler runs from a racist baby.” The original video, which went viral on social media in 2019, showed …
Read More »Christopher Columbus statue to be removed from California statehouse
A statue of Christopher Columbus will be removed from California‘s state capitol, amid a growing campaign to take down monuments of the Italian explorer. The statue, which also features Queen Isabella of Castile, who sponsored Columbus’ voyage in 1492, currently stands in the rotunda of the Capitol in Sacramento and …
Read More »Finland renames ‘Negro Island’ amid global anti-racism protests
Despite lacking a history of colonialism or slavery, Finland has nonetheless decided to do its bit in the anti-racism drive gripping the Western world, by changing the “racist” name of a small island. The landmass in the Pyhaselka Lake in eastern Finland bore the name Neekerisaari – which translates as …
Read More »Opinion | The US protests and the echoes of imperial violence
As the world was gripped by the shocking scenes of police brutality against the Black community in the United States and the aggressive posture adopted by President Donald Trump against the protestors, an important development was missed by many observers. On May 29, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) …
Read More »Churchill statue boarded up for protection ahead of BLM protests in London
A statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill opposite parliament and the Cenotaph war memorial in central London were boarded up for protection before three days of demonstrations planned in the capital. The World War II leader’s statue on Parliament Square was sprayed with graffiti declaring Churchill a racist …
Read More »Symbol of Belgian colonialism, a statue of King Leopold II removed after anti-racism protests (Video)
The statue of King Leopold II which has long been criticized by activists because of the former king’s brutal rule in Belgium’s former African colonies was removed in Antwerp on Tuesday just days after being daubed with paint by anti-racism protesters.
Read More »George Floyd hailed as ‘cornerstone of a movement’ at funeral; family calls for justice
George Floyd, a black man whose death under the knee of a white police officer roused worldwide protests against racial injustice, was memorialized at his funeral on Tuesday as “an ordinary brother” transformed by fate into the “cornerstone of a movement.” During a four-hour service broadcast live on every major …
Read More »African Parliament Condemns George Floyd’s Death
The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) says it is shocked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, United States. Acting President of PAP, Bouras Djamel, in a statement on Monday, said the organization’s thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones, African Americans …
Read More »New York City enters a new crisis
After 78 days of coronavirus stay-at-home orders and a death toll larger than all but six countries, New York City begins to reopen Monday. Now, New York and cities across the country must reckon with a combination of coronavirus, vast unemployment and systemic racism — a toxic trifecta that most …
Read More »#BlackLivesMatter: Thousands gather in central London to call for justice
Thousands of protesters have amassed in London’s Hyde Park in an anti-racism demonstration calling for justice over the death of George Floyd. Chants of “black lives matter”, “no justice, no peace” and “we will not be silent” rang out as protesters waited for the demonstration to begin. Star Wars actor …
Read More »UK minister: Soccer racism is ‘depressing’
The British government is ready to intervene if soccer authorities fail to stamp out “vile” racist behavior at matches, a spokesman for the UK Prime Minister said Monday. Sports authorities needed to crack down harder on the issue, Downing Street said, a day after Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger indicated he …
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