Category Archives: Racial Violence

Perfect Storm Coming

Jonathan Shurberg August 26, 2015 No Comments

Before I begin, let’s be clear - my primary feeling is one of shock and horror about this morning’s events, and embarrassment that I live in a country that tolerates this kind of carnage as a matter of course. That said, there is a predictable set of reactions that has been set in motion, and while I don’t agree with… Read more »

Southern Legacy Smackdown

Jonathan Shurberg June 24, 2015 No Comments

On Monday, Diane Rehm had a panel on her show consisting of Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, Daniel Webster from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and Georgetown University Law School professor Paul Butler. One of the callers to the show brought up, not in a particularly hostile manner, the “Southern legacy” argument about the Confederate flag. Butler let… Read more »

Another Flag Falls

Jonathan Shurberg June 24, 2015 No Comments

George Wallace weeps. Alabama! On the order of Gov. Robert Bentley, the Confederate battle flag which stands at the foot of the confederate memorial on the state Capitol grounds was taken down this morning. Two workers came out of the Capitol building about 8:20 a.m. and with no fanfare quickly and quietly took the flag down. They declined to answer questions…. Read more »

Hell Is Freezing Over

Jonathan Shurberg June 22, 2015 No Comments

First South Carolina. “Today, we are here in a moment of unity in our state, without ill will, to say it is time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds,” Haley said during a news conference attended by Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, along with other state leaders. Then Mississippi? Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn said Monday night… Read more »

Glass Houses?

Jonathan Shurberg June 22, 2015 No Comments

Why is this monument to Maryland troops who served in the Confederate military still standing in Rockville? It’s right between the Circuit Court and the old 1891 red brick courthouse, which is still being used. Not very subtle. I think it’s long past time for this monument to go - last time I looked, Montgomery County is minority-majority now. You… Read more »

Just A Crazy Guy

Jonathan Shurberg June 22, 2015 No Comments

Yeah, that crazy white kid with a gun, he’s just a nutball weirdo. Right wing white supremacist racism? No, no, what would make you even suggest such a thing? And remember, racism is dead - the Wall Street Journal said it, so it must be true. Wait, what? The head of a white supremacist group cited by accused Charleston, S.C., gunman… Read more »

The Kid Was Not Crazy

Jonathan Shurberg June 18, 2015 No Comments

Whenever a white, obviously racially motivated kid goes off and kills some black people, the knee jerk reaction by those who benefit most from white supremacy all join the chorus: “he’s crazy. He’s insane. No person in their right mind would do something like this.” I did a quick search on this topic just now and I found the awesomest… Read more »

Not Random

Jonathan Shurberg June 18, 2015 No Comments

On Slate, one of my favorite writers, Jamelle Bouie, persuasively makes the case that the Charleston church shooting is anything but random. Go read. The attack on Emanuel AME sits in a long history of violence against black churches. The most famous attack—or act of terrorism—was the 1963 church bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, where the… Read more »