racism

Our children are not safe

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Why don’t Black children get the same benefit of the doubt that white children receive? Why are Black children adultified while white children are infantilized? Why are people so quick to take action when the offender is a Black child, but less likely to move to action when the harm is being caused by a white child?

These are just some of the questions I am looking for answers to in my latest piece for theGrio, Black children are not safe in a world ruled by white supremacy.

In this piece, I discuss the examples of Bobbi Wilson, the 9-year-old girl who had the police called on her by a neighbor who knew her because she was spraying a homemade concoction on trees to stop the infestation of an insect that is harmful to the trees.

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Stephen A Smith, Jerry Jones, and defending racism

A screenshot of Monique Judge's byline on an article at theGrio about Stephen A Smith defending Jerry Jones
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“I’m pretty pissed off,” Smith said. “I’m pissed off but not for reasons people think. I am very, very fond of Jerry Jones, and I’m not hiding that from anybody. Is his record perfect? No, but I’m pissed off because he doesn’t deserve what just happened. He doesn’t deserve it. One report, our report, said he was 14 years old. Another report said he was 15 years old. At minimum that’s 65 years ago.”

Stephen A. Smith defending Jerry Jones is egregious, and here’s why

The Washington Post published an article about Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones last week. The article included a photo taken in September 1957 when six Black teens attempted to integrate the racially-segregated North Little Rock High School. They were met by an angry white mob at the front door of the school.

Jerry Jones, who was 14 at the time, is pictured in the photo standing in the crowd. When the photo came out, he rightfully received public backlash

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith put on his Jason Whitlock costume and rushed to the defense of Jones, who he says is the victim of an attempt at “cancel culture” for something he did when he was a kid.

If only Stephen A understood that it’s a lot more nuanced than that.

My latest for theGrio.

Why are Black characters in fantasy stories such a controversial thing for white people?

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It really bothers (some) white people that Black people get cast in their favorite make-believe stories. Maybe we are infringing on their ability to make believe that we don’t exist. Whatever the case may be, it’s seriously time to get over it, like Whoopi said. 

When you can imagine dragons but not imagine Black people in fantasy stories, your racism is showing

Conversations about racism should not be getting stuck on ‘not all white people’

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Anyway, the other subset of people were white people who generally agreed with what I said about Bodega Bro, but they were given pause because in my headline I said “Bodega Bro is the epitome of everything white people do wrong on a daily basis.” They all got stuck on the “white people” part, and they all wanted to lecture me about how I shouldn’t lump everyone together in one category. 

Selective offense and ‘not all white people’: We shouldn’t have to keep coddling y’all 

Dear white people: Please don’t be like Bodega Bro

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Obviously, white privilege and entitlement have made Green completely unaware that there is a such thing as food deserts, and the Bronx is clearly one of them. People in that neighborhood rely on bodegas, as eccentric as they may be because there are no other options. 

Bodega Bro is the epitome of everything white people do wrong on a daily basis

Michael Harriot always nails it

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If what Whitlock believes is true, then my eyes have been opened. If fact-based criticism is offensive enough to make cops abrogate their professional duties and the very foundation of why they exist, then I finally understand why America is like this. According to Whitlock, it is crazy to expect police officers to live up to their pledge to protect and serve and be held responsible by the people who pay them. Next, you’ll be telling me that Black people want this country to live up to its pledge that “all men are created equal” and treat them equally, too!

What Jason Whitlock can teach us about white people, cops and America 

America doesn’t care about Black women

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“About a third of our population is African American; African Americans have a higher incidence of maternal mortality. So, if you correct our population for race, we’re not as much of an outlier as it’d otherwise appear. Now, I say that not to minimize the issue but to focus the issue as to where it would be. For whatever reason, people of color have a higher incidence of maternal mortality.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy proves America doesn’t care about Black women

Chris Long’s thoughts on Colin Kaepernick’s protests

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“But I’ll make it pretty clear,” Long said. “I support my peers in exercising their right to protest. This is a wonderful country, and I think everyone agrees on that, but there are things in our country that can improve.”

Chris Long of the New England Patriots Shares His Thoughts on Colin Kaepernick