Articles about Race in America

Emily Flitter: Where State Farm Sees “a lot of Fraud,” Black Customers see Discrimination, March 18, 2022

This is an eye-opening article about wide-ranging accusations of discrimination at the national insurance company, State Farm. Customers, employees, and top-level executives all brought their fears of discrimination to State Farm officials, but were all told that it clearly wasn’t discrimination. Now facing a class-action lawsuit with substantial claims against them, State Farm is struggling to prove that it isn’t discrimination. Personally, I can’t imagine paying years for insurance and then getting denied when I really needed it. It would be financially devastating to me, as it was to these customers.

You can access this article here: Where State Farm Sees “a lot of Fraud,” Black Customers see Discrimination

Debra Kamin: Remote Appraisals of Homes Could Reduce Racial Bias, March 21, 2022

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have moved to allowing desktop-appraisals for a large portion of home mortgages because of their own study that showed that when homeowners removed all signs of “Blackness,” they could see their home appraise for over 40% more than when their home showed signs of their race (i.e. hair-care products, movie posters, family pictures) and had a white person stand in for them during the appraisal. Recognizing the significance of this problem, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (two of the country’s largest financial lenders) began looking at the process of remote or desktop appraisals. These allow an appraiser to use Google Maps, inspection reports, submitted floor plans, and tax records to appraise the home rather than visiting it. Removing the “human” aspect of the appraisal was the solution to reducing inherent bias. Personally, I was ecstatic when my home came back valued more than I was expecting. I never suspected that the appraisal may not have been an accurate representation of my home’s value. Because of that value, I have been able to acquire money for home upgrades, more property, and more wealth.To think that may have been provided to me because of things beyond my home’s value makes me take a step back and think of the advantages I’ve had that others have not.

You can read this article here: New York Times: Remote Appraisals of Homes Could Reduce Racial Bias

Charles M. Blow: Yes, Lynching is Still a Thing, March 30, 2022

This article was a run-up to the recently passed anti-lynching bill. You can read more about that bill here: NPR: Senate Passes Anti-Lynching Bill. In this article, Mr. Blow explains that events like the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd are modern-day lynchings—they are killings of people who have not been given even a chance to speak for themselves, much less due process by way of a fair trial. Personally, watching the video of Ahmaud Arbery brought me to the same place I went when I saw the killing of Philando Castile—heartbroken and speechless; anger and disappointment in our system came later. Mr. Blow is right—these are modern day lynchings. These killings are the result of people believing they have the right to be the police officer, judge, and jury all in one single instance in time, and everytime that happens we lose an American life and take full notches out of the integrity of our justice system.

You can access this article here: Yes, Lynching is Still a Thing

Alexis Clark: Returning from War, Returning to Racism, July 30, 2020

This article is a part of a series from New York Times called Beyond the World War II We Know, and it showcases the story of one Black WWII soldier who came home to a even more segregated world—the kind of world that they had just fought against. These soldiers were often targeted specifically because they were Black Veterans, and one example that stood out to me was the story of Isaac Woodard who was pulled from a bus in Batesburg-Leesville, SC, and was beaten so badly with a billy club by police that he was left permanently blind. You can learn more about Isaac Woodard through this documentary: The Blinding of Isaac Woodard (2021) This article talks about how Black Veterans of WWII were subjected to not only this type of physical violence but also to economic discrimination where they were denied access to the benefits of their GI Bill, denied access to college education, and refused for jobs that their military experience prepared them for. Some, like Lewis Matthews (a focus of the article) were able to access higher societal positions, but many Black WWII Veterans were not able to do this.

You can read this article here: Returning from War, Returning to Racism