7 things you might hear from a 19th century slaveholder with a modern take on racism.

Shop
 Explore 

Racism today is different than it was in centuries past.

Society may have evolved beyond the rule of mob terror against people of color, but it's impossible to argue racism is behind us.

Photo by Luke Vargas/Flickr.

Today's racism is just a little harder to identify at times. The language is coded with HR-friendly euphemisms. And the struggles of many are dismissed as individual — not systemic — failures because of the exceptional achievements of a few. (Thanks, Obama.)

But have you ever wondered how today's brand of subliminal racism might sound in, say, the 1800s?

Poet Anthony McPherson did. In a performance (watch it below), he explores what the tension between "Black Lives Matter" and the seemingly well-meaning but totally off-the-mark counter cry of "All Lives Matter" might have sounded like in the 19th century United States.

It's old school bigotry with a modern twist. Here are seven examples:

1. On ownership

All GIFs from Button Poetry/YouTube.

2. On friendship

3. On inheritance

4. On freedom and accountability

5. On unity

6. On the "real" enemy

7. On the fight for a better world

Black Lives Matter matters because even centuries after the racially abhorrent founding of the U.S., skin color still plays a role in how people are treated.

Photo by Fibonacci Blue/Flickr.

If you're still grappling with it, check out this explainer from the subreddit Explain Like I'm Five. The analogy they draw is so powerful, it actually changed other users' minds on the issue. Here's the key takeaway:

"It's a way of dismissing the statement by falsely suggesting that it means 'only black lives matter,' when that is obviously not the case. And so saying 'all lives matter' as a direct response to 'black lives matter' is essentially saying that we should just go back to ignoring the problem." — GeekAesthete on Reddit

Now you know why Black Lives Matter is important. It's about the role of the past in shaping the present. Hopefully more of us will use that awareness to speak up for a better future.

Watch McPherson's mic-dropping (sans the mic-drop) performance:

Parenting

Teenage girl shamed for her ‘distracting’ outfit fights back in a very funny way

“[Because] she has a figure she was told she had to change.”

Photo from Facebook page.

A clever message written on her T-shirt.

A Lawton, Oklahoma, student who goes by the Facebook user name Rose Lynn had the last laugh after being sent home from school for wearing an outfit deemed "distracting." Rose Lynn believes her outfit attracted the attention of school officials because of her figure.

She proved it by posting a photo on Facebook of her modest outfit, which consisted of black leggings, a t-shirt, long cardigan, and boots. In her post, she wrote that she was sent home "because I'm developed farther than the average girl my age," and because she's a "CURVY woman." Rose Lynn also thinks the appropriate response shouldn't have been to tell her to cover up, but to teach boys to "to respect the boundaries of young ladies."

Keep ReadingShow less

women

7 things you might hear from a 19th century slaveholder with a modern take on racism.

Racism today is different than it was in centuries past.

But have you ever wondered how today's brand of subliminal racism might sound in, say, the 1800s?

1. On ownership

2. On friendship

3. On inheritance

4. On freedom and accountability

5. On unity

6. On the "real" enemy

7. On the fight for a better world

Black Lives Matter matters because even centuries after the racially abhorrent founding of the U.S., skin color still plays a role in how people are treated.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

Trameka Brown-Berry was looking over her 4th-grade son Jerome's homework when her jaw hit the floor.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

The assignment was real. In the year 2018. Unbelievable.

The shockingly offensive assignment deserved to be thrown in the trash. But young Jerome dutifully filled it out anyway.

People got a huge kick out his response.

Teacher Bret Turner thought he'd kick off the morning with his first-grade students using a little riddle.

People on Twitter got a huge kick out of the somewhat dark, existential moment. But there might just be an important lesson buried in this story somewhere about how to process "the end."

It takes time for anyone to fully grasp the gravity and foreverness of death. But we ought to learn to appreciate the whimsical, partial understanding that young children have.

The dead giveaway is when they call me "honey" or "sweetie" or "darling."

Upworthy Podcast: Dead Giveaways Someone is American

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

“[Because] she has a figure she was told she had to change.”

This incredible medical tattoo technology is giving renewed hope to burn victims.

Meet Samira Omar.

Plus, some other terms that made 2023 a historic year.