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Michael Harriot Profile picture
@michaelharriot
Oct 12, 2021 • 15 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
I wonder what would happen if this story was told another way?

Like this, for instance:

A thread.
One time, there was this guy named Jon who was a coach for the Oakland Raiders. He was not racist. He worked with an executive named Bruce. Bruce was not racist, either. They were part of the NFL, which is also not racist.
But then Jon left and moved to Tampa and won a super bowl with the players from the previous coach’s team. The previous coach was Black.

When Jon started coaching his own players after the Super Bowl, his team was terrible. So he hired his executive friend who was not racist
But Jon still sucked. So ESPN, who is not racist, hired Jon, who is not racist to broadcast games for the NFL, which was not racist.

Meanwhile Bruce, who was not racist, went to work for the Washington Redskins, which was not racist.
That’s when Jon & Bruce began trading racist email. And I know what you’re thinking. But just because Bruce was writing & receiving racist emails while he was the PRESIDENT & GM of a team with a racist name, doesn’t make him racist!
And just because Jon typed racist things to Bruce while Bruce was working at the not-racist team with the racist name doesn’t make racist! Doing racist things shouldn’t make you a racist! When Jon typed that a black dude had “lips the size of Michelin tires,” it wasn’t racial! Image
Jon didn’t even say he had “rubber lips.” He mentioned the SIZE. But it want racial!

And just because the guy at the team with the racist name didn’t say ANYTHING, it doesn’t mean he’s racist!

And ESPN is DEFINITELY not racist!
How can an organization be racist? Of course, their employees keep getting recorded saying racist stuff but it doesn’t make them racist!

And it doesn’t mean the NFL is racist just because they employed a GM who didn’t say anything when he received racist emails!
They are not racist just because they didn’t do anything when these racist emails emerged!

And just because the NFL is run by owners who kicked a guy out of the league for doing much less, it doesn’t make them racist.

They’re cool with Jay-Z!
guess how NOT RACIST the NFL is?

They let the guy who stayed silent about the racist emails hire the guy who was sending the racist emails to be the head coach of the team with a racist name!

Also they had a team with a racist name. But who’s counting? Image
When all of this emerged, the not-racist NFL didn’t do anything. The not-racist network did nothing. They didn’t get together like they did with Kaepernick. They didn’t suspend anyone. They didn’t change rules. And here’s the thing:

They ALL really believe they’re not RACIST!
They honestly think that racism is unlike anything else that ever existed in the history in the world. If you farm, then you are a “farmer.”

But, for some reason, you can DO RACIST THINGS things and still swear you aren’t racist.
You can have racist people RUN YOUR ORGANIZATION and not be a racist organization. You can even HAVE A RACIST NAME and PUT YOUR RACISM IN WRITING and no one—not “objective” newspapers who won’t even point out the lie YOU SAID DIRECTLY TO THEM…

“Rubber lips…” GTFOH
And most of all, you can allow the racist to be racist and say nothing.

If it were a robbery, you’d be an accomplice. If it were a white woman, they’d be held civilly liable. But it’s just a white man talking to a white man so, doing nothing about it doesn’t mean Jon’s racist.
But I don’t even dislike Jon Gruden. In fact, actually don’t have an anti-Gruden bone in my body

This could’ve an email.

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More from @michaelharriot

Michael Harriot Profile picture
Apr 18
7 years ago, I wrote a small piece about a man who was falsely accused of a crime.

A few days later, I got an anonymous telling me to look up the woman they called “the evilest white woman on earth.”

What happened next is the absolute wildest story you’ll ever hear

A thread
The story begins in 2017, when an editor asked me to fill in for a coworker and do a quick write-up about Lamonte McIntyre, who spent 23 yrs in prison for a double murder he didn’t commit.

I thought it was weird his conviction wasn’t actually overturned

theroot.com/lamonte-mcinty…
I got an anonymous tip telling me that I should look into it more. But I was filling in, remember. At the time, it wasn’t really my beat.

A few months later I just HAPPENED to be covering an unrelated story about cops who sexually assault women

theroot.com/kansas-finally…
Read 22 tweets
Michael Harriot Profile picture
Apr 16
Good question.

A BETTER question is why is Youngkin so determined to give Klan-affiliated white women welfare by stealing money from Black kids?

A thread.
Contrary what people who don't read things say, the Virginia legislature is not "targeting" the Klan-affiliated, pro-Confederate hate group that is responsible for the "lost cause" by taking the tax-exempt status from the KKK's little sister.
Image
Image
See, in 1950, Virginia GAVE the UDOC a plot of land to build their HQ in Robert E Lee Park with 3 stipulations

1. They had to finish building in 5 years
2. If they didn't, the land reverted back to the state
3. If they finished, the state would GIVE them an additional $10K
Read 10 tweets
Michael Harriot Profile picture
Mar 21
One more thing:

In 1924, lawmakers tasked the census bureau was tasked with figuring out the “national origins of the white population of the US.”

If white people were from a certain country, that country was considered “Good.” Nonwhite people were from “bad countries.” Image
To preserve the country’s racial composition, they created a formula. Ppl from good countries could immigrate based on the % of pop. in the formula. Immigration from bad countries was limited.

And no Asians

This was why we call it the Asian Exclusion & National Origins Act Image
In 1952, they changed the formula to allow people from “bad countries” to immigrate at a minimum # 100

Except for Africans. Under the formula, ALL of Africa was considered 1 country

In 1965, civil rights activist convinced LBJ to sign the Immigration & Nationality Act Image
Read 7 tweets
Michael Harriot Profile picture
Mar 20
I'll take this one.

The idea that affirmative action or diversity, equity & inclusion policies equal lower standards is something that a lot of people believe.

Instead of citing what "I believe" like Elon did, let's use facts & a something I like to called "math"

A thread.
First of all, there is a good reason why Elon referred to Duke. It's part of a discussion began by Ben Shapiro and some other white people after a white girl said some things about Duke Medical School's DEI program

By its own admission, the school has a DEI program.
Duke Medical School is 12.5% Black and US News ranks it as the 5th best medical school in America. Nationwide, Black students make up 10% of medical students.

25 years ago, Duke was ranked 6th and was 9% Black. In 2005, the medical school was 15% Black.

So what did DEI change?
Read 19 tweets
Michael Harriot Profile picture
Mar 11
Three years ago, I realized one of my lifelong dreams that reflects the racial progress this country has made throughout its history.

I became a diversity hire.

A thread.
Growing up, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED stand-up. As a kid, I watched episodes of "Evening at the Improv) & once got in trouble for listening to Richard Pryor (Even worse, I dubbed it over my grandma's James Cleveland album).

And I LOVED Late-night TV.
Every night, my mom would even record Johnny Carson's monologue for me (This was BEFORE VCRs. She would literally put a cassette tape recorder by the TV & hit record).

I swung on a college roommate once because he turned off my favorite show – David Letterman
Read 16 tweets
Michael Harriot Profile picture
Mar 11
Three years ago, I realized one of my lifelong dreams that reflects the racial progress this country has made throughout its history.

I became a diversity hire.

A thread.
Growing up, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED stand-up. As a kid, I watched episodes of "Evening at the Improv) & once got in trouble for listening to Richard Pryor (Even worse, I dubbed it over my grandma's James Cleveland album).

And I LOVED Late-night TV.
Every night, my mom would even record Johnny Carson's monologue for me (This was BEFORE VCRs. She would literally put a cassette tape recorder by the TV & hit record).

I swung on a college roommate once because he turned off my favorite show – David Letterman
Read 11 tweets

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