Michael Harriot Profile picture
Writer, board-certified wypipologist, last real Negus alive. BlackAF History/Drapetomaniax podcast/theGrio…At the SAME DAMN TIME. Never reneged; Never will.
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Nov 5 30 tweets 9 min read
People who say this election could be the "end of democracy" are so extra...

Or maybe they know the TRUE history of the election-denying white supremacist who led a violent insurrection, overturned a presidential election and ended democracy in America.

A thread First, you should know that the US Constitution created a form of govt called a "federal republic" where elected officials represent the citizens (as opposed to a DIRECT DEMOCRACY, where people vote on every decision)

But a representative democracy is just A KIND OF DEMOCRACY Image
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Oct 30 15 tweets 3 min read
My uncle’s friend Hawk was a feared gangsta. He was ruthless but he was also a chess wizard. According to the streets, Hawk only lost 1 once, years ago, when he was in prison.

So imagine my surprise when my uncle told Hawk: “l bet $100 my nephew will kick your ass

A thread Now I was like 12 or 13, so even though I was a chess prodigy, I was scared AF

What if I put Hawk in check and he slit my throat ? What if he sicced his goons on me to keep his streak alive? I hadn’t even reached goon-fighting age!

Then my uncle made a deal:
Oct 17 29 tweets 8 min read
One of my former economics students recently reminded me about a concept I used to call "belief economics."

I haven't taught the course it in a long time, but ever since she reminded me, it perfectly explains why everyone is so focused on Black male Trump voters

A thread: My "Race as an Economic Construct" class applied economic principles as a framework for understanding the concept of race.

I know you've heard that race is an SOCIAL CONTRUCT - it is. But MOST social constructs are ALSO economic constructs.

Even money.
Oct 2 13 tweets 2 min read
While other organizations (hopefully, maybe) will be fact-checking, JD Vance & Tim Walz, as usual, I’ll be translating the dog whistles, white lies and overall Caucasity

The live vice presidential debate “BlackCheck” JD Vance begins by blaming the “Kamala Harris Administration” for Iran’s nuclear progress.

When was that?Image
Sep 25 28 tweets 9 min read
From now until the general election, my weekly “Downballot” series will explore lesser-known races on the 2024 ballot

This first 1 might be the greatest story in politics. It has everything:

A Klandaughter, a civil rights hero, white history, Black history & a map

A thread: First, we must understand that this race takes place in one of the Blackest, poorest, most disenfranchised congressional districts in the country —Alabama’s 2nd district

It is a perfect example of the MOST COMMON voter suppression strategy:

Racial gerrymandering
Sep 20 22 tweets 7 min read
Sorry to keep you waiting

A thread “The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” -

Some guy who wrote the Declaration of Independence

Donald Trump:Image
Sep 18 7 tweets 2 min read
To me, this story has nothing to do with a missing cat or immigration or even JD Vance. It’s about something else.

A thread: It’s not about how easy it was for people to believe a —someone has to say it —batshit crazy lady who, INSTEAD OF LOOK EVERYWHERE for her missing pet, with zero evidence, immediately jumped to:

“Well, the Haitians must’ve eaten it.”
Sep 11 20 tweets 5 min read
I’m sure someone is probably fact-checking the debate… maybe… perhaps. But who’s gonna call out the dog whistles and white nonsense?

Lets Blackcheck the debate

A (live) thread: By “They” he means Haitians

Why does Trump mention “Springfield Ohio?” What does it have to do anything?

He’s repeating a racist theory conspiracy about Haitian immigrants eating cats

He’s running for president. Image
Sep 2 37 tweets 9 min read
I'll take this one.

A Black Barbershop is actually a church>
It is also a political headquarters
It is a secret hideout and gathering spot.

The Black barbershop is 1 of the most important, most revolutionary institutions in Black history.

A (relatively short) thread. First of all, Black barbershops have been in America as long as America existed. While we like to think that race-based chattel slavery only benefitted slaveowners, many white businessmen built fortunes from the slave trade, even though they didn't own slaves.
Aug 22 20 tweets 6 min read
I should clarify some things about this:

A thread. Let me start off by saying that I won't cop out by saying that what I wrote has been "misconstrued" or "misinterpreted."

I wrote this. It's MY FAULT if anyone took a different meaning from what I wrote than I intended. There ARE some things I got wrong or didn't clarify
Aug 17 17 tweets 4 min read
I didn’t say “EVERY white person”

But I should have.

A thread He’s technically right - every white person didn’t get the GI Bill.

But that’s not how an economy works. And every white person benefitted from it.
Aug 11 33 tweets 8 min read
What the Raygun memes have to do with Black history:

A thread I’m sure you’ve seen Black Twitter’s reaction to Dr. Rachael Gunn’s performance for Australia in the Olympic breakin’ competition.

Here’s my favorite

instagram.com/reel/C-eJFaEtl…
Aug 9 12 tweets 3 min read
Fun fact: if you combine the crowd for the Jan 6 rally AND Trump’s inauguration, he STILL wouldn’t make the top 5 biggest Mall crowds.

A (short) thread 1. While everyone knows the “I Have a Dream” speech, the March on Washington was not MLK’s idea, nor was he in charge of it. In fact, he was 12 when A Phillip Randolph came up with the idea for it.

MLK represented 1 of 6 groups in the coalition of organizers

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Aug 1 29 tweets 6 min read
A thread I was homeschooled until I was 12, so when I started going to school, I was one of the worst students.

For instance, I got a lot of zeroes for not turning in assignments. To be fair, I was TERRIBLE at math. And sometimes, I'd just get up and leave class without saying anything.
Jul 15 23 tweets 8 min read
Although there have been discussions & articles about Project 2025, VERY FEW focus specifically on Trump's plans for Black Americans

That's why I read all 922 pages of #Project2025 as well as #Agenda47

Here are the top 10 things I found:

A thread:

thegrio.com/2024/07/15/i-r… First of all, when Trump said he had nothing to do with Project 2025, he wasn't lying.

Technically, it was written by 200+ pro-Trump policy "experts," many of whom served in the Trump administration. Trump's official plan is called "Agenda47."

Think of it this way:
Jul 11 20 tweets 7 min read
Whenever there's a national tragedy, a natural disaster or something that affects a lot of white people, right-wing zealots always cite one particular bible

2 Chronicles 7:14

To them, it is a warning from God. But throughout history, it's become a weapon of hate.

A thread Image If you are an evangelical Christian, a Republican or attend a church where the drummer doesn't use a sweatrag, you've DEFINITELY heard this 2 Chronicles 7:14

They literally believe its a biblical directive for us to Make America Great Again

christianindex.org/stories/2-chro…
Jul 2 25 tweets 7 min read
If you're wondering how the "race-baiters" are going to make the SCOTUS ruling about racism, well...

Here's what the Trump decision has to do with the history of white supremacy, racial terrorism and even the death of George Floyd.

A thread. It began with the passage of the 13th Amendment. If you don't go to school in Fla, you probably know about the birth of the KKK, White Leagues & other domestic terror cells responsible for racial violence during Reconstruction.

Well, it kinda didn't really happen that way.
Jun 17 22 tweets 8 min read
Theyhe SC Dept. of Education canceled AP African American Studies, @thegrio spoke with teachers, school administrators & superintendents to find out why SC essentially canceled the ONLY accredited HS course in Black History.

THey all had the same answer.

A thread. FIRST we must acknowledge that SC is central to ANY study of Black Americans.

Scholars estimate that 40% of America's race-based human trafficking cargo disembarked in the "slave capital of the new world." Image
Jun 5 21 tweets 5 min read
There are a few problems with Byron Donald’s idiotic statement, notion of Black “conservatives,” and even how WE THINK of Jim Crow

A thread Byron Donald’s statement isn’t that uncommon. Every Black person has heard a version of this, whether it is “integration was the worst thing that happened to us,” or what Donalds said.

Those people are dumb
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Jun 2 24 tweets 6 min read
The conversation about Caitlin Clark reminds me of one of my favorite stories about of basketball’s forgotten GOATs and a strange NBA stat

A thread. Regardless of how you feel about WNBA player’s treatment of Caitlin Clark, it is INARGUABLE that she is expected to be a generational talent.

Whenever someone is expected to dominate their sport, teams & player often use a common strategy:

“What if we beat them up?”
Jun 1 10 tweets 3 min read
Hypocrites

A thread. Hypocrite @BasedMikeLee Image