Showing posts with label racism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label racism. Show all posts

Sunday, July 26, 2026

Weekly Roundup: The Odyssey, Christian Nationalism, and the Invention of “Western Civilization” (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Brad Onishi and Dan Miller explore the American right’s furious reaction to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and what the controversy reveals about race, representation, gender, sexuality, and the politics of “Western civilization.” From outrage over Black actors and queer representation in contemporary adaptations to the right’s insistence that certain stories, traditions, and cultural identities belong exclusively to white people, the conversation examines why the boundaries of “the West” are constantly being defended—and who gets pushed outside them.

The discussion then turns to the rise of civilizational populism and its growing influence on the American right. Brad and Dan unpack how appeals to “Western Christian civilization” are being used to unite Christian nationalists, technocrats, billionaires, and authoritarian political actors around a shared vision of cultural hierarchy and social order. They connect the backlash over The Odyssey to Marco Rubio’s foreign policy, the politics of Venezuela, the disputed results of a national civics competition, and the broader question of who gets to represent the future of America.
Interview: 


Fox News insists racism doesn't exist, unless a Black actor plays a white character

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BDLixucnZ-g?is=JhUoz0XEjiKR20U9

 

Friday, July 24, 2026

Rep. Jasmine Crockett: "History Doesn't Change Because It Makes You Uncomfortable

History cannot be erased simply because it makes people uncomfortable. 

 In this hearing, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett pushes back against Republican attacks on the Smithsonian and efforts to sanitize America's past. From the displacement of Indigenous communities and the legacy of slavery to the struggle for civil rights, Crockett argues that telling the full truth about American history is essential—not divisive. 

During the exchange, she challenges claims that museums and educators are "sowing division," questions witnesses about the role of public institutions in preserving history, and warns that efforts to rewrite the past threaten the country's ability to learn from it. 

She also points to the continued threat of violent white supremacy and rejects claims that acknowledging history is itself an act of discrimination. This conversation is about more than museums or textbooks. It's about whether America is willing to confront its history honestly—or allow politics to decide which parts of the truth survive.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKGc-0UWcfU

 

Sunday, July 19, 2026

Christian Momfluencer Wants White Babies (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podcast #644)

— Christian influencer brags that she had six kids to “help the white race.” (0:41)
— Lindsey Graham was an opponent of church/state separation. (16:28)
— Pastor files discrimination lawsuit after losing library job over pronouns. (21:51)
— A pro-Trump activist is raising money to install a giant Christian cross on the moon. (33:45)
— Indiana’s Lt. Gov. says Muslims shouldn’t be allowed to have “public calls to prayer.” (45:35)
— Evangelical GOP candidate Rod Joseph: “You cannot be born gay. That’s impossible.” (53:27)
— Tennessee gubernatorial candidate Monty Fritts is trying to out-Christian Marsha Blackburn. (1:03:59)
Interview: 

Without Jessica:

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Johnson campaign calls for apology as some call campaign materials "racist"

An exchange during the Republican gubernatorial debate Thursday is turning into a bigger conversation about political donations and race...

 https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2026-07-10/johnson-campaign-calls-for-apology-as-some-call-campaign-materials-racist


 

New Mexico AG Calls for School Reform in Gallup-McKinley County — ProPublica

Indigenous and Hispanic students are suspended more often and for longer periods than their white classmates who commit similar infractions at Gallup-McKinley County Schools — a pattern of “substantial racial disparities,” an investigation by the New Mexico attorney general’s office found. 

Indigenous students lose eight to 10 times more classroom days to suspensions than white students, while Hispanic students lose three to four times as many, according to the 47-page report released by the state’s Department of Justice last week…

 https://www.propublica.org/article/new-mexico-ag-report-gallup-mckinley-schools 


Monday, July 13, 2026

Family pleads for answers in death of young Black man in Mississippi

The main question, according to Crump, is that the group of three friends who traveled with Wells to the island said Wells told them he wanted to stay on the island with a young woman when they left on the afternoon of 4 July. But the young woman has said that Wells got on the boat with ⁠the boys. 

Crump also said that videos circulating online allegedly show Wells in a heated argument with ​his friends. The videos could not immediately be verified ​by Reuters. 

Also raising suspicions, according to Crump, ​is that Wells’s phone was found not with his body, but in the possession of one of the young ​men who had accompanied him ‌to Horn Island. Wells’s mother ​tracked it down using Life360, a family-location safety platform, ​and she said it appears that several social media messages had been deleted from the phone...

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/11/mississippi-nolan-wells-death


 

Monday, July 6, 2026

Hundreds of masked white nationalists march in Washington on Fourth of July (Guardian)

The group appeared to be led by Thomas Rousseau, founder of the neo-fascist, white supremacist organization Patriot Front. Members of the group wore white masks and gathered in front of DC’s Union Station. They later marched towards Capitol Hill, WTOP reported...

 

Sunday, May 3, 2026

Weekly Roundup: The Death of Voting Rights: SCOTUS, Alito, and the Colorblind Myth (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

In this week's solo roundup, Dan Miller deconstructs a series of aggressive maneuvers by the 47th administration designed to codify Christian nationalism into federal policy. The centerpiece is the newly released report from the Anti-Christian Bias Task Force, an entity Dan argues serves less as a shield for religious freedom and more as a sword against civil rights. By framing standard anti-discrimination protections as inherent attacks on the faith, the administration is effectively creating a legal "red meat" pipeline for its base. 

This ideological shift is mirrored in the judicial branch, where the Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Calle effectively "guts" the remains of the Voting Rights Act. Dan traces the lineage of Justice Alito's "colorblind" rhetoric back to the Roberts Court, highlighting how the judicial insistence on ignoring race is being weaponized to dismantle Black political representation and broader DEI initiatives.

The episode further explores the chilling effect of "MAGA-style" free speech, highlighting the selective weaponization of federal agencies against cultural and political critics. From the FCC's retaliatory pressure on ABC following a Jimmy Kimmel monologue to the surreal indictment of James Comey over a seashell photo, Miller illustrates a pattern of using law enforcement as a tool for personal grievance. 

On the border, the administration continues its push for a "White America" through restrictive new visa affirmations and a cynical rebranding of ICE to "NICE"—a move Dan describes as a superficial mask for an agency defined by family separations and systemic harm. 

However, the episode closes on a note of strategic optimism: as the 2026 midterm elections loom, the GOP's fixation on cultural grievances over economic affordability suggests a political vulnerability that could shift the national tide.
Interview: 


Indiana's Lt. Gov. picks fight with "demonic" band kids (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #633)

— Indiana Lt. Gov. faces backlash after calling high school band kids “demonic.” (0:39)
— Megachurch pastor’s Senate tease sparks ethics complaint from Kansas Republicans. (16:08)
— A Satanist just won a religious exemption for bathroom access in school. (45:39)
— Trump replaces Navy Secretary with man who claimed witches took over a California city. (55:43)
— After baseless attacks on the SPLC, Pastor Joel Webbon says America needs “more racism.” (1:07:52)
— Religious “switching” is an existential crisis for the Catholic Church. (1:22:17)
Interview: 

Monday, April 13, 2026

Heather McGhee and Adam Serwer on the Power of Protest (Al Franken podcast on YouTube)

Guest Host Heather McGhee, author of the groundbreaking book “The Sum of Us” and expert in economic and social policy, is joined by The Atlantic's Adam Serwer! They discuss a number of issues facing the country, including the continued unrest in Minnesota and the No Kings protests happening nationwide. From the steps of the Supreme Court to the streets of Minneapolis, McGhee and Serwer explore how the struggle for Black freedom has historically paved the way for immigrant rights and why that "inheritance" is currently under its most aggressive attack in generations.

Heather and Adam also examine the recent SCOTUS arguments on birthright citizenship and how this could create a whole new class of undocumented immigrants in this country, particularly Chinese immigrants.

They also examine Adam's recent writing following the death of Rev. Jesse Jackson about what Rev. Jackson’s message meant to the movement. They dissect his 1980's vision of cross-racial, cross-class solidarity and explain why his "Patchwork Quilt" philosophy is more relevant today than ever.

LEARN more about Heather McGhee: https://heathermcghee.com

READ Adam Serwer's writing in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/adam-serwer/
Interview: 

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

College Republicans director made racist and sexist remarks on live streams

Schwemmer said he would accept a world in which slavery was legal if abortion was criminalised, describes himself as "very much an anti universal suffrage guy" and accepts a supporter's description of him as "our Mormon Nick Fuentes" – referring to the white nationalist influencer whose platform he streamed on for years. 

 "But frankly, I just call myself a conservative."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/30/kai-schwemmer-college-republicans-livestream 


 








Click Older Posts above to see more.