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Category: race

26 May, 201713 April, 2017

West Oakland, gentrification, and environmental racism

A mural celebrating West Oakland.
Posted in environmental issues, race by s.e. smith

West Oakland is a hot new spot for techies looking for a cheap neighbourhood, but it’s also a hotbed of environmental racism.

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14 February, 201726 December, 2016

The secret history of Chinese-American Civil War soldiers

A Civil War reenactment, with smoke surrounding a cannon.
Posted in race by s.e. smith

For my latest installment of Chinese-American history, I take a look at the Chinese soldiers who fought in the Civil War — on both sides.

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22 December, 20161 November, 2016

The curious history of the Chinese-American cemetery

An early 1900s photo showing Chinese graves in Los Angeles.
Posted in race by s.e. smith

The lengthy and sometimes dark history of the Chinese in California includes the everpresent question of what we do with our dead.

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17 December, 201631 October, 2016

‘That’s weird!’: Bad guys and cultural practices

A box of banknotes used as offerings for ancestors in China.
Posted in pop culture, race by s.e. smith

The use of ‘weird’ cultural practices for antagonists in pop culture perpetuates stereotypes about the strange and alien nature of non-Western cultures.

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14 September, 201628 June, 2016

Laying Some History On You: The Chinese laundry

A Chinese laundry service.
Posted in race by s.e. smith

The story behind the plethora of Chinese laundries in the United States is a dark one, and a reminder that social phenomena often have sinister origins.

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12 August, 201622 May, 2016

You seriously want to complain about equity permits?

A person smoking marijuana.
Posted in politics, race by s.e. smith

The City of Oakland is attempting to balance out some of the effects of the drug war by requiring equity permits for marijuana-related businesses, but not everyone is on board.

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4 August, 20164 August, 2016

Let’s talk about Native lives and police violence

A Native American person wearing full ceremonial regalia.
Posted in race by s.e. smith

Discussions about police violence and race must include the Native community along with other aspects of intersectionality.

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7 July, 201623 April, 2016

Fighting dual racisms: People of colour in the environmental movement

A young Black person smiling at the camera.
Posted in environmental issues, race by s.e. smith

Racism plays out in many complicated ways for people of colour in the environmental movement — in addition to the structural inequalities that degrade the environment in their communities, the movement itself continues to struggle with racialised problems.

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10 June, 201624 March, 2016

Talking intersections with race, disability, and police violence

Protesters at a march demanding justice for victims of police brutality.
Posted in disability, race by s.e. smith

The nation knows that the Black and Native American communities are at increased risk for police violence, but few are talking about the fact that roughly half of fatal police encounters also incorporate disability. It’s time for that to change.

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21 May, 201615 March, 2016

Child actors of colour deserve better

A Chinese girl in a bright red jacket grinning broadly.
Posted in pop culture, race by s.e. smith

I didn’t watch the 2016 Oscars, for a number of reasons, not least of which is that I feel increasingly disconnected from what the mainstream Hollywood establishment wants to celebrate and what I enjoy viewing. The event has been criticised heavily from a number of angles, but I’m especially fed up with seeing limited diversity […]

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