3 ms·

Hotter Days Widen Racial Gap in U.S. Schools, Data Shows

• zepto 6y ago
  The New York Times is spreading harmful disinformation about race. The piece is not technically lying, but all it is really saying is that the poor are disadvantaged in general, and Black and Brown people are over represented amongst the poor. Here is the key line from the piece: “But that connection was true only for Black and Hispanic students, and for students with lower family income.” I.e. the link is actually about wealth inequality and not race, but you have to read this line carefully to understand that, since the rest of the piece is all about how this affects black and brown people. Other than in this one phrase completely ignores that poor white people are also affected. When it does this, the New York Times creates a separation in the narrative between White people and people of color who are facing the same problems. This is a divisive. racist narrative, and is a reflection of institutional and systemic racism being perpetuated by the New York Times. I am not white. Racism is widespread in America. Black people are disadvantaged by racism in ways that are historical and present and are different from people who are not black. But none of that excuses the New York Times when it divides people by race in pieces like this. Sophisticated racism like this is worse than crude racism, because fewer people see it for what it is. You don’t get to be anti-racist by painting racist pictures. Racism can only be defeated by both being honest about what people have in common and being able to face the historical inequities which persist into the present.