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Dante and David apply for the same job but only one gets an interview. Here's the rest of their day.

If you've ever wanted a side-by-side illustration of how racism seeps into everyday situations like job hunting, driving, and even going to the doctor, this video from Brave New Films breaks it down flawlessly.

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The Atlantic Philanthropies
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Racism isn't just about racial slurs. It's much much bigger.

Many of us are aware of only one type of racism: blatant racism, like using slurs. In reality, racism's a lot bigger — and deeper — than that.

If you don't have time to watch the video above, here are just three surprising ways that racism takes shape in everyday life:


1. Jobs

What's in a name? Well, for people of color with more "ethnic names" (and let's be real, what does that even mean?), it can mean the difference between getting an interview or not. And let's remember that there are plenty of white people with unique names, like Bristol Palin and Pilot Inspektor. The problem isn't having a name that's unique or hard to pronounce. The issue is that certain types of names are labeled as "ghetto" or "unprofessional" only when they're associated with people of color. Changing one's name isn't the solution — changing how we view people of color and their worth is.

2. Home ownership

Although we've come a long way since the Jim Crow laws of the 1800s that prohibited black people from owning homes, black people and other people of color still encounter housing discrimination. The Fair Housing Project's documentary "A Matter of Place" not only details the history of housing discrimination in the U.S., but it also includes a few undercover experiments that reveal just how pervasive the practice is.

3. Health care

One of the most shocking ways that racism infiltrates the lives of people of color happens within the health care industry. Not only do black folk and people of color struggle to maintain healthy lifestyles as a result of issues like childhood obesity, food deserts, and lack of health care coverage, studies have shown that doctors are less likely to offer advanced treatment to black patients.

But jobs, home ownership, and health care are just the tip of the systematic racism iceberg.

  • Higher car prices: Black consumers pay about $700 more for a car than white consumers.
  • Higher incarceration rates: Black folks are six times as likely to be sent to prison.
  • More police stops: Black drivers are twice as likely to be pulled over.
  • And more...

All these seemingly small things are different ways people of color face discrimination that add up to really big problems and challenges.

Even with what I know and have experienced as a black woman, thinking about this stuff often overwhelms me and makes me super depressed. Systemic racism just feels so big. And in comparison, I feel incredibly helpless and small.

But here's the cool thing: Our voices are actually part of the solution. Educating ourselves and each other is an important first step. I mean, you can't fix a problem if you don't know the problem exists, right? So while we still have a long way to go, thanks for taking the time to educate yourself so we can work toward equality for everyone.

Wanna dig deeper and find more ways to help? Check out this great article from Everyday Feminism: "10 Simple Ways White People Can Step Up to Fight Everyday Racism."

A pitbull stares at the window, looking for the mailman.


Dogs are naturally driven by a sense of purpose and a need for belonging, which are all part of their instinctual pack behavior. When a dog has a job to do, it taps into its needs for structure, purpose, and the feeling of contributing to its pack, which in a domestic setting translates to its human family.

But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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A nasty note gets a strong response.

We've all seen it while cruising for spots in a busy parking lot: A person parks their whip in a disabled spot, then they walk out of their car and look totally fine. It's enough to make you want to vomit out of anger, especially because you've been driving around for what feels like a million years trying to find a parking spot.

You're obviously not going to confront them about it because that's all sorts of uncomfortable, so you think of a better, way less ballsy approach: leaving a passive aggressive note on their car's windshield.

Satisfied, you walk back to your car feeling proud of yourself for telling that liar off and even more satisfied as you walk the additional 100 steps to get to the store from your lame parking spot all the way at the back of the lot. But did you ever stop and wonder if you told off the wrong person?

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Innovation

A student accidentally created a rechargeable battery that could last 400 years

"This thing has been cycling 10,000 cycles and it’s still going." ⚡️⚡️

There's an old saying that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.

There's no better example of that than a 2016 discovery at the University of California, Irvine, by doctoral student Mya Le Thai. After playing around in the lab, she made a discovery that could lead to a rechargeable battery that could last up to 400 years. That means longer-lasting laptops and smartphones and fewer lithium ion batteries piling up in landfills.

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Health

8 nontraditional empathy cards that are unlike any you've ever seen. They're perfect!

Because sincerity and real talk are important during times of medical crisis.

True compassion.

When someone you know gets seriously ill, it's not always easy to come up with the right words to say or to find the right card to give.

Emily McDowell — a former ad agency creative director and the woman behind the Los Angeles-based greeting card and textile company Emily McDowell Studio — knew all too well what it was like to be on the receiving end of uncomfortable sentiments.

At the age of 24, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma. She went into remission after nine months of chemo and has remained cancer-free since, but she received her fair share of misplaced, but well-meaning, wishes before that.

On her webpage introducing the awesome cards you're about to see, she shared,

"The most difficult part of my illness wasn't losing my hair, or being erroneously called 'sir' by Starbucks baristas, or sickness from chemo. It was the loneliness and isolation I felt when many of my close friends and family members disappeared because they didn't know what to say or said the absolute wrong thing without realizing it."

Her experience inspired Empathy Cards — not quite "get well soon" and not quite "sympathy," they were created so "the recipients of these cards [can] feel seen, understood, and loved."

Scroll down to read these sincere, from-the-heart, and incredibly realistic sentiments.

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Health

This woman's powerful 'before and after' photos crush myths about body positivity

"Body positivity is about saying that you are more than a body and your self-worth is not reliant on your beauty."



Michelle Elman, a body positivity coach, helps people who are struggling to find confidence in their own skin.

After persevering through numerous medical conditions and surgeries in her own life, Elman realized a few years ago that body positivity wasn't just about size or weight. Things like scars, birthmarks, and anything else that makes us feel different of self-conscious have to be a part of the conversation, and she tries to make the movement accessible to everyone.

Sharing her own journey has been one of her most effective teaching tools.

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via wakaflockafloccar / TikTok

It's amazing to consider just how quickly the world has changed over the past 11 months. If you were to have told someone in February 2020 that the entire country would be on some form of lockdown, nearly everyone would be wearing a mask, and half a million people were going to die due to a virus, no one would have believed you.

Yet, here we are.

PPE masks were the last thing on Leah Holland of Georgetown, Kentucky's mind on March 4, 2020, when she got a tattoo inspired by the words of a close friend.

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