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Without Release of Video, Police Shooting of White Driver Gets Less Publicity

David Leonard
David Leonard

The shooting death of Zachary Hammond by police in Seneca, S.C., has not received as much attention as some recent officer-involved shooting deaths of African-Americans. His family’s attorney contends that the reason most people have never heard of Mr. Hammond is because he was white. » More …

Don’t believe her defenders. Amy Schumer’s jokes are racist.

David Leonard
David Leonard

Joking or not, the comedienne used her stage to play and profit off race while people of color bear the brunt of racial violence, say David Leonard, associate professor and chair of critical culture, gender, and race studies at WSU, and coauthor Stacey Patton of American University. » More …

How Instagram Made Basketball Fans See Black Dads

Players are providing lasting examples of loving relationships with their children that debunk decades of racist narratives about their absence.

David Leonard
David Leonard

The NBA, a league filled with young, wealthy black men, seems like the perfect place to celebrate black fatherhood. Instead, for decades NBA dads have been cultural punching bags, celebrity straw men for arguments about the pathology of black families. But this season, which concluded this week with the Golden State Warriors’ historic championship, a new story has emerged. Warriors star Steph Curry’s daughter, Riley, is winning the Internet. Derrick Rose’s son is a fan favorite. Chris Paul’s 6-year-old is appearing alongside his dad in TV commercials, and has more than 220,000 followers on Instagram. » More …

A History of Hate Rock From Johnny Rebel to Dylann Roof

C. Richard King
C. Richard King

What makes a young man a racist killer? Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old charged for the murder of nine people at a historic black church in Charleston last week, was “normal,” his cousin told a reporter, “until he started listening to that white power music stuff.” It’s not clear exactly what Roof was listening to or how it influenced him. But it wouldn’t be surprising if music were one of the channels through which his racism crystallized; hate rock is one of the most powerful tools white-power groups have to spread their ideology to young people. » More …

Commentary: Police don’t need to hug black people. They just need to stop killing them.

David Leonard
David Leonard

Special to the Washington Post, by David J. Leonard, associate professor and chair of the Department of Critical Culture, Gender and Race Studies at WSU, and Stacey Patton, senior enterprise reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Education and adjunct professor of American history at American University

Every day, white America is eating up the feel-good stories of cops helping black kids. » More …