Tom Eckerle is on Leelanau County's Road Commission in Michigan. A colleague asked him why he wasn't wearing a mask. Using a racial slur, he blamed the pandemic on Detroit -- a 78% Black city: “Well, this whole thing is because of them n-----s in Detroit."washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08…
No one should be surprised. I'm not. Michigan is home to several sundown towns. Racism exists in Michigan. Yes, its home to "progressive" college towns like Ann Arbor. Guess what, racism exists there, too. Trust me, I covered many of these communities.
I'm also a native Detroiter whose parents lived through the '67 uprisings and who feel very little has changed about the city's relationship with certain neighboring and far flung suburbs. The racism isn't subtle, folks.
Unfortunate common misconception: Racism is only an issue in the South. Ask any Black person what it's like to live in the Midwest.
Uncomfortable truth: We cannot escape racism in America because it is deeply embedded within the fabric of this nation.
Doubling down: “I’m not a racist. Black Lives Matter is racist. If I believed in Black Lives Matter, I would be racist. ... Black Lives Matter has no heart. And that is as offensive to me as the N-word,” he added, then used the full racial slur. apnews.com/e115b3987f16e9…
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