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It's Holocaust Remembrance Day.
On Wednesday, a White man pleaded guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court to murder as a hate crime & terrorism charges for killing Timothy Caughman, because he was Black, in the hope that the attack would incite a "race war."
nyti.ms/2S6KhCk
On Wednesday, a White man pleaded guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court to murder as a hate crime & terrorism charges for killing Timothy Caughman, because he was Black, in the hope that the attack would incite a "race war."
nyti.ms/2S6KhCk
Most of the media headlines about the case (including the @nytimes one above) describe Mr. Caughman as a nameless "black man."
In others he is described as a "homeless black man."
In others he is described as a "homeless black man."
Whether the media took that narrative from the man who killed him, who presumed he was homeless, or they assumed it because he was collecting cans, & they never bothered to do further investigation, is not clear; but either way it is lazy journalism.
Hundreds of people turned out for Mr. Caughman's funeral.
Family and friends always showed up for the court appearances of the man who killed him.
He was very active on social media.
It would have taken minimal effort for the media to learn who Mr. Caughman was.
Family and friends always showed up for the court appearances of the man who killed him.
He was very active on social media.
It would have taken minimal effort for the media to learn who Mr. Caughman was.
If this were a White victim of a Black man, you know there would be stories all about who he was and his hopes and dreams and his family.
But to the media he was either a "black man" killed while rifling through trash or a "homeless black man."
But to the media he was either a "black man" killed while rifling through trash or a "homeless black man."
So it's not just lazy journalism, it's racism.
So here's little about who Mr. Caughman was.
He was a college graduate from Brooklyn.
For a few years he ran a local branch of the Neighborhood Youth Corp, a program to give low income young people work experience.
He was a college graduate from Brooklyn.
For a few years he ran a local branch of the Neighborhood Youth Corp, a program to give low income young people work experience.
He was very civic-minded and made sure to vote every year.
He took particular pride in the election of President Obama.
He took particular pride in the election of President Obama.
On this Holocaust Remembrance Day, as we honor the victims of the Holocaust, let us also honor Mr. Caughman and other victims of racist violence that the media too often render invisible.
