150k+ First Nation kids…

150k+ First Nation kids were removed from their homes, over a span of 100 years, in order to “get rid of the Indian problem in Canada”.

In 1959 a white man from…

In 1959 a white man from Texas disguised himself as a black man and traveled for six weeks on greyhound buses. After publishing his experiences with racism he was forced to move to Mexico for several years due to death threats.

Jenna Fischer’s Visit to College Doesn’t Go as Planned. Now She Wants to See a Change

When actress Jenna Fischer paid a visit to DePauw University in Indiana for a Q&A and a book signing on April 17, 2019, the former star of The Office got more than she bargained for.

In fact, Fischer was so moved by what she saw that she took to Twitter after her visit to explain her feelings and her outrage.

Fischer learned that there had been four separate hate-filled incidents in Greencastle, Indiana, in one week before her visit, including the N-word spelled out with rocks in a local park, and anti-gay and anti-Semitic messages found scrawled in a bathroom.

While Fischer was at DePauw to promote her book, The Actor’s Life: A Survival Guide, a group of demonstrators from the university’s Association of African-American Students interrupted the event, displaying a banner that read “We are not safe.”

Fischer was shocked by what she witnessed, and she shared her thoughts about the visit to DePauw on Twitter. Please read the whole post.

Fischer announced that she will be donating the money she was paid for her visit to DePauw to three organizations that for equal rights for minorities and LGBTQ people: the NAACP, the Anti-Defamation League, and The Trevor Project.

In her tweet, Fischer said, “My hope is for all people to be respected, accepted, and loved for their individuality and uniqueness. And, above all, to be safe.”

Amen to that.

The post Jenna Fischer’s Visit to College Doesn’t Go as Planned. Now She Wants to See a Change appeared first on UberFacts.

9 Common Phrases That Are Actually Racist

It may come as a surprise that a lot of the everyday terms in our lexicon have racist origins.

So maybe the next time you’re about to use one of these words or phrases, you’ll think twice because you’ll recognize they have some serious connotations.

Here’s a little history lesson for all of us:

1. Shuck and Jive

This term is a throwback to the days of slavery and refers to “the fact that black slaves sang and shouted gleefully during corn-shucking season, and this behavior, along with lying and teasing, became a part of the protective and evasive behavior normally adopted towards white people in ‘ traditional’ race relations.”

Obviously, using that term to describe President Obama was not a smart move.

2. Long Time No See

This term was first used to make fun of Native Americans, mocking a traditional greeting.

3. The Peanut Gallery

4. Uppity

5. Sold Down the River

A literal reference to slaves being sold down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.

6. Thug

A thug is a violent criminal, so referring to protesters by that term is way off base and offensive.

7. Grandfather Clause

From the Encyclopedia Britannica: “Grandfather clause, statutory or constitutional device enacted by seven Southern states between 1895 and 1910 to deny suffrage to African Americans. It provided that those who had enjoyed the right to vote prior to 1866 or 1867, or their lineal descendants, would be exempt from educational, property, or tax requirements for voting. Because the former slaves had not been granted the franchise until the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, those clauses worked effectively to exclude black people from the vote but assured the franchise to many impoverished and illiterate whites.”

8. Gypsy or “Gyp”

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

“Gypsy” is a slur referring to the Roma people, who have been outcasts throughout much of history. The word “Gypsy” and the term “gyp” or “to get gypped” means to get conned or ripped off because of the stereotype of Roma as thieves.

9. Welfare Queen

This term was first popularized during Ronald Reagan’s 1976 presidential campaign and was used to portray people on welfare as taking advantage of the system.

Think twice before you use any of these terms again.

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Nosy Friend Asked Mom About her Daughter “Dating a Black Boy,” Mom’s Response is Gold

Like any good mom, Heather Boyer just wants her daughter to be happy. It’s pretty much all any of us can hope for as parents, especially once our kids start growing up. As long as they’re happy, you can feel assured about life. That policy also extends (rightly so) for anyone your child might choose to love.

Boyer’s daughter recently changed her profile picture on Facebook to a photo with her new boyfriend, who happens to be black.

Photo Credit: Facebook,Heather Boyer

Almost immediately, Boyer got a text message from someone asking if she knew her daughter was dating “a black boy.”

Boyer took to Facebook to explain her outrage with the situation.

Photo Credit: Facebook,Heather Boyer

Boyer’s post went viral in a huge way and other people shared their own personal stories of interracial love.

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

And this last one is really great.

Photo Credit: Facebook

And others were surprised that people are still so narrow-minded in this day and age.

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Boyer was touched by the huge response.

Photo Credit: Facebook

It’s 2019, people. Get with the times!

The post Nosy Friend Asked Mom About her Daughter “Dating a Black Boy,” Mom’s Response is Gold appeared first on UberFacts.

Mom’s Racism is Laid Bare After Dad Got His Daughter’s Hair Braided

The world can be an ugly, ugly place. You’d think we’d have gotten over this kind of appalling behavior by now, and yet here we are.

Nick Harris is a black man who has a daughter with a white woman. After he recently had their daughter’s hair braided, his “Babymom” was not pleased – at all. In fact, the woman clearly has some pent-up issues that we can sum up with one word: racism. Harris shared the interaction on Facebook for all the world to see.

Photo Credit: Facebook, Nick Harris

Damn. She really went there.

Photo Credit: Facebook, Nick Harris

Babymom then took the argument to another level.

Photo Credit: Facebook, Nick Harris

Then it got worse.

Photo Credit: Facebook, Nick Harris

After Harris shared the encounter on Facebook, people commented with their thoughts. As you can imagine, most were in favor of Harris and his seemingly harmless act of simply getting his daughter’s hair braided.

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Poor kid. Hopefully “Babymom” will come around soon and see the error of her ways.

h/t: Pizza Bottle

We know you can choose a lot of sites to read, but we want you to know that we’re thankful you chose Did You Know.

The post Mom’s Racism is Laid Bare After Dad Got His Daughter’s Hair Braided appeared first on UberFacts.

Up to 25 percent of cowboys…

Up to 25 percent of cowboys in the West during the later 19th century were black. Former slaves or born into a formerly enslaved family, they worked in an industry that despite facing inevitable racism was a generally less discriminatory than other industries at the time. 00

Former Racists Reveal What Made Them Change Their Ways

A lot of the threads on AskReddit are pretty silly, but not this one.

AskReddit users who used to have racist beliefs share what made them reevaluate their lives and change their ways. Hopefully, these responses will rub off some other people.

1. Just meet people

“Met black people, met asians.

Realized they’re just people and it took more energy to hate them irrationally than it did to just… Not. From there it was easy to not be racist against others.”

2. Words of wisdom

“The military.

We all bleed red.”

3. Mum

“I wasn’t racist but my mum was. I had a middle-eastern friend and she realised she’s not a terrorist that race doesn’t make you a terrorist – being a terrorist does.”

4. Australia

“This is gonna sound ridiculous but I grew up white trash in Australia in a very white suburb, where somehow immigrants (that didn’t exist to any great degree) were the problem (not the rampant spousal and child abuse /drug addiction).

I (and many others) grew up being taught that hate. For me the first time I really was confronted with that I was 9 and Changes by Tupac released and it blew my mind.

By the time I got to highschool and had to interact with actual ESL immigrants I was thankfully not a racist.”

5. Always a good idea

“Travelling.

To actually experience the culture of other people is a brutal eye-opener.”

6. Interesting

“I realized that I didn’t dislike black people for being black…I disliked pretty much everyone regardless of color. Just lived in a sh-tty area and everyone was sh-tty.

Left and everything got better.”

7. A new environment

“Leaving home. My mom is Japanese and raised me Japanese, racism and all. I left my house late 17y/o and now that I’ve lived on my own, I grew to be myself, and with that, grew up mentally.”

8. Gay

“This is in the same vein, but not actually racism. I was raised in a Baptist church. My family simply didn’t discuss gay people because there was no reason to. As I grew up, I became pretty homophobic due to the church. Not as bad as the absolute psychopaths you see. But, bad enough.

Then, I worked at this place when I was like 20 and made a friend named Marlon. He was an older guy, in his 60’s, but cool as hell. We used to talk and hang out for hours. He gave me a DVD box set of ‘Carl Sagan’s Cosmos’ was just an all around good guy.

Then one day, he stopped me and was like. ‘Were you at a gay club this weekend?’ I told him I wasn’t and he was like ‘Oh, I saw your twin there then.’ I kind of laughed it off and went on. Then, a few minutes later the realization hit me and I went back to him and was like ‘You were at a gay club, are you gay?’ he confirmed that he in fact he was.

At this point I had a decision to make, this guy who I thoroughly respected and really liked. What do I do about him? Do I hold onto my prejudice, or do I admit I was wrong? The decision was easy to make once I thought about it, took less than two seconds. Suffice to say now I go to gay pride festivals, I keep a dog tag I got from one on my key ring and I’m a huge supporter of LGBT rights.

I know he wasn’t trying to change anything about me. But he did, in a profound way. Not only did he make me think different about gay people, but he also made me think about all my prejudices and that helped me become who I am today.”

9. One on one

“One on one time with white people.

I had bad experiences with white peers when I was a kid. I was always left out and felt ostracized. As an adult, I still feel that way sometimes. It helps to have one on one time with acquaintances and friends who are white. You get a better sense of their inner monologue. By finding common ground, you make better assumptions about them even in their absence.”

10. Growing up

“A part of my family is racist. There are pictures of child me with David Duke when he was running for some office. I’m not sure what he was running for.

I’d say just growing up and experiencing life.

Southeast Texas can be rough in areas and I’ve had good and bad things happen from all races. My uncle and granddad told me they’d beat me if I dated a black girl. Stupid things like that. Everyone is just trying to make a life for themselves and I see no reason to hate a race.”

11. Don’t generalize

“I was raised to not be racist. I didn’t even recognize being white as a child, I told people I was peach colored. I had best friends who were black, Spanish, Middle Eastern.

Then I went into a group home. My friend was jumped for being white, I was made fun of, got yelled at walking down the street, called snow bunny, was told I could never understand hard times. And for a long time it made me bitter and judgemental.

Now that I’m out of those situations I don’t generalize anymore and I’m back to my old self.”

12. A new lifestyle

“Ooh i can finally answer one of these in a serious way. So i was raised in the bible belt by a super far right dad.

My mom and sister were pretty normal, but growing up I hated Obama and i was on the email list for a couple groups that were extremely pro second amendment and far right. This seemed normal to me and all through out high school I acted like a jack a– to people in my school who weren’t white or supported a liberal agenda.

Eventually i went off to college.. took a year off.. and moved back in with my dad while I saved up money to hike the Pacific Crest Trail on the West Coast. During that year that I took off I interacted with so many minorities and liberals and people who I would have hated in high school. But after living a ‘hippy’ lifestyle for 2 months while hikking the PCT and even living at a “Eco-Feminist-Hostel” in Hawai’i for 2 months I became a lot more chill.

Now I’m no longer racist and I’m a lot less likely to judge someone for their beliefs no matter what they are.”

13. No brainwashing

“I was raised by racist parents and grandparents but I just grew up and formed my own ideas.

Public school helped, most of my friends were Mexican as we lived in a mostly Mexican town growing up. It wasn’t a big realization or anything. After I turned 9 I stopped believing in God, stopped being racist. By 12 I was interested in politics and left leaning while my parents are die hard republicans. I just formed my own ideas and didn’t let them brainwash me.”

14. Some wise words

“My hometown still has an active and organized arm of the KKK, and there were cross burnings and race riots around 2003, so this was where I grew up, and I’m happy the N-word doesn’t appear as the first unconscious thought I have when I see a black person.

It feels weird saying ‘black person’, or ‘Hispanic’ nowadays, thanks to the US military.

I came out of the service around 2011, and it took a couple of years before I ‘got’ that racism is still a big thing out here. I just forgot that skin color mattered while in there.

Still seems so d-mned stupid that you’re going to divide yourselves because of how our ancestors evolved protection against sunlight.

Don’t we have mutual enemies to fight? People that need our help? Children to raise and protect?

Are we this devoid of better things to do?”

15. Again, meet people

“I met a holocaust survivor.

He was a child at the camp in Sobibor. It was a life changing experience. Without it, I’d probably have ended up being part of the alt-right. Instead, I got a real wake up call and have taken to being a major supporter or human rights.”

The post Former Racists Reveal What Made Them Change Their Ways appeared first on UberFacts.

When Getting Your Daughter’s Hair Braided Exposes an Evil Racist…and It’s Her Mom

You would think people in 2017 wouldn’t behave this way, but here we are again. Nick Harris is a black man who has a daughter with a white woman. After he recently had their daughter’s hair braided, his “Babymom” was not pleased – at all. In fact, the woman clearly has some pent-up issues that we can sum up with one word: racism. Harris shared the interaction on Facebook for all the world to see.

Photo Credit: Facebook, Nick Harris

Damn. She really went there.

Photo Credit: Facebook, Nick Harris

Babymom then took the argument to another level.

Photo Credit: Facebook, Nick Harris

Then it got worse.

Photo Credit: Facebook, Nick Harris

After Harris shared the encounter on Facebook, people commented with their thoughts. As you can imagine, most were in favor of Harris and his seemingly harmless act of simply getting his daughter’s hair braided.

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Photo Credit: Facebook

Poor kid. Hopefully “Babymom” will come around soon and see the error of her ways.

The post When Getting Your Daughter’s Hair Braided Exposes an Evil Racist…and It’s Her Mom appeared first on UberFacts.

White Woman Calls Police on a Black Yale Student for Napping in Dorm’s Common Room

Sadly, we’ve seen quite a few of this kind of story in the news lately. Minorities being questioned and even sometimes arrested for doing absolutely nothing. It all stems from ignorance, and, as in other cases, this incident started when a white person called the police about a black person they thought was suspicious. This time it was a black woman napping in a dormitory common room at Yale University.

The black student is Lolade Siyonbola, a graduate student in African Studies. As many college students do, Siyonbola fell asleep in her dorm’s common area recently. A fellow Yale student (who is white) called the police and reported an “unauthorized person” in the dormitory. Siyonbola was questioned for 15 minutes by the police officers and had to prove to them that she was indeed a student at Yale. Siyonbola said, “I deserve to be here. I paid tuition like everybody else. I am not going to justify my existence here. It’s not even a conversation.”

The dean of Yale’s graduate school of arts and sciences sent an email out to students and issued an apology about the incident.

Photo Credit: Twitter,NolfJan

And people on Twitter offered their support to Siyonbola.

Photo Credit: Twitter,_Vachel7O9R

One Twitter user shared a thread about her experiences at another elite academic institution, Harvard.

Photo Credit: Twitter,jananamirah

Photo Credit: Twitter,jananamirah

Photo Credit: Twitter,jananamirah

Photo Credit: Twitter,jananamirah

Photo Credit: Twitter,jananamirah

Photo Credit: Twitter,jananamirah

Another person weighed in on the problem with white citizens “policing” public areas.

Photo Credit: Twitter,texasinafrica

Photo Credit: Twitter,texasinafrica

Photo Credit: Twitter,texasinafrica

Photo Credit: Twitter,texasinafrica

Photo Credit: Twitter,texasinafrica

And another Twitter user weighed in with their similar experience.

Photo Credit: Twitter,PessByNature

We all need to learn from these unfortunate incidents so they aren’t repeated in the future. So pay attention, people.

h/t: Yes Plz

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