From Jesse Owens to the 2026 World Cup. From George Stinney to Cyrus Carmack-Belton. From Jim Crow to Pete Hegseth. History isn’t repeating itself—it never stopped.
“Stop making everything about race” is always said by people working overtime to make race disappear from the evidence. Ban the athletes. Bury the veterans. Acquit the killer. Scrub the archive. Then act shocked when someone notices the pattern. Juneteenth is not a patriotic cupcake with red icing. It is a receipt. Freedom delayed was never an accident, beloved. It was policy. And policy has descendants.
When I read about all of those killings, the inequities, it truly makes me sick. How can we as humans treat others this way because of the color of their skin? It’s truly sickening to think this is the USA!
Thank you for this history and analysis. The struggle for basic human decency never ends; justice is another story entirely. I watched Iran's first World Cup match with interest, as a rabid fan of the game and to see how this unfairly treated team would respond. Their collective spirit was commendable.
The colonizers brought racism with them and it never left. To put it mildly and in terms that are satirical, it’s a genetic thing. The owners of the media are white, so they will never tell the facts about any current situation. They will spin it.
We rationalize that any single discriminatory event is a one off when in fact, it is the system. Keep reporting, linking, and demanding change because our humanity depends on it.
Thank you for this. Do you happen to have names of organizations working against racism that you support? I used to give regularly to SPLC but the latest set of accusations against them have made me uneasy. Thank you.
Every nation has its shameful history, and this is part of ours. Thank you, Qasim, for this gut-punch of our historical realities, and the challenge to do more than wring our hands and look for the exit. The fact that I could, indeed, move to another country signifies my privilege. I’m a fairly old white man. Leaving would improve nothing but my view out of the window.
Right here, in this festering rot of a culture steeped in nostalgia for a time that never was, is where we need to be if anything is to change. The United States does not hold the exclusive franchise on acts of inhumanity. But for a country that touts its nobility to a nauseating level, we may collectively house the most ignorant populace on the planet—ignorant of true history as opposed to the mythical. On the whole, we display ignorance of our neighbors’ lives if they look, speak, cook or pray differently. We are the same fragmented assortment of tribes that came mostly by ship, many unwillingly, and have spread across other people’s land with no respect whatsoever. We blame others for our frustrations and personal failures, and are ripely susceptible to the great bogeyman—immigration—as the cause of our problems.
Ours is a culture in the throes of resistance to deeply embedded racism and misogyny, and this is our fight. We must learn to identify the model for our nation in the charter of Plymouth Colony, created by people who, we’ve been told, risked their lives on the Mayflower in a quest for religious freedom. It was freedom all right—freedom to dominate, exclude, and rule by fear. Trump isn’t smart or educated enough to have planned it this way, but his dog-whistles of grievance have strengthened the worst in us.
As heart wrenching as your articles are I read every word, sometimes with tears, sometimes with rage.
I’ll so glad you’re here to educate .
I grew up in a white city high school with a few black students that persevered while being left out and ridiculed. This is tearing me up! My mind says that we’re over this. But that’s what I see.
Racism has never left Amerikkka, and now this administration has revived the open expression of it! If I were younger, I would leave this country. I am sickened by everything this country is becoming!!
Nobody should leave. In particular if you are old, get out and make a fuss unless you are physically unable to do so. I have been on the street demonstrating against Israel for a year and a half every day unless it rains. I'm 75 and have never felt better because I am showing my responsibility to the country that has allowed me to live a life that makes me wonder if an angel was looking down on me the whole time. Americans are the most spoiled people in the world, taking always more and giving back little to nothing. That isn't me, now, and I am proud of it. My latest sign for demonstrating is, "Support of Israel is America's Shame. End It" part of my effort to make up for decades in which I blissfully ignored the awful that the US was conducting around the world. Time is running out for me but I am free at last
The FBI could have checked out the Iranian soccer team even before they came here. Oh, wait, Kash Patel is running the FBI, and he has managed to ruin them, or Patel is too stupid and/or drunk to really know how to do things properly.
The Hank you. We can never become complacent. The Civil Rights Act was never fully enacted or embraced. This country has never had Liberty and Justice for All. Not once in our 250 year history. This country was founded on white supremacy and remains that way today.
“Stop making everything about race” is always said by people working overtime to make race disappear from the evidence. Ban the athletes. Bury the veterans. Acquit the killer. Scrub the archive. Then act shocked when someone notices the pattern. Juneteenth is not a patriotic cupcake with red icing. It is a receipt. Freedom delayed was never an accident, beloved. It was policy. And policy has descendants.
When I read about all of those killings, the inequities, it truly makes me sick. How can we as humans treat others this way because of the color of their skin? It’s truly sickening to think this is the USA!
Qasim Rashid, Esquire IMO you have been on a hot streak lately. Hard hitting pieces with accuracy, historical context, and heart.
Heartbreaking.
Thank you for this history and analysis. The struggle for basic human decency never ends; justice is another story entirely. I watched Iran's first World Cup match with interest, as a rabid fan of the game and to see how this unfairly treated team would respond. Their collective spirit was commendable.
The colonizers brought racism with them and it never left. To put it mildly and in terms that are satirical, it’s a genetic thing. The owners of the media are white, so they will never tell the facts about any current situation. They will spin it.
How can anyone deny that we are a nation of lawlessness, A nation of racism without a doubt,
We rationalize that any single discriminatory event is a one off when in fact, it is the system. Keep reporting, linking, and demanding change because our humanity depends on it.
Thank you for this. Do you happen to have names of organizations working against racism that you support? I used to give regularly to SPLC but the latest set of accusations against them have made me uneasy. Thank you.
I saw this on YT last week, this was just racism and cheating!
Every nation has its shameful history, and this is part of ours. Thank you, Qasim, for this gut-punch of our historical realities, and the challenge to do more than wring our hands and look for the exit. The fact that I could, indeed, move to another country signifies my privilege. I’m a fairly old white man. Leaving would improve nothing but my view out of the window.
Right here, in this festering rot of a culture steeped in nostalgia for a time that never was, is where we need to be if anything is to change. The United States does not hold the exclusive franchise on acts of inhumanity. But for a country that touts its nobility to a nauseating level, we may collectively house the most ignorant populace on the planet—ignorant of true history as opposed to the mythical. On the whole, we display ignorance of our neighbors’ lives if they look, speak, cook or pray differently. We are the same fragmented assortment of tribes that came mostly by ship, many unwillingly, and have spread across other people’s land with no respect whatsoever. We blame others for our frustrations and personal failures, and are ripely susceptible to the great bogeyman—immigration—as the cause of our problems.
Ours is a culture in the throes of resistance to deeply embedded racism and misogyny, and this is our fight. We must learn to identify the model for our nation in the charter of Plymouth Colony, created by people who, we’ve been told, risked their lives on the Mayflower in a quest for religious freedom. It was freedom all right—freedom to dominate, exclude, and rule by fear. Trump isn’t smart or educated enough to have planned it this way, but his dog-whistles of grievance have strengthened the worst in us.
Thank you Quasim🙏. Thank you🙏.
As heart wrenching as your articles are I read every word, sometimes with tears, sometimes with rage.
I’ll so glad you’re here to educate .
I grew up in a white city high school with a few black students that persevered while being left out and ridiculed. This is tearing me up! My mind says that we’re over this. But that’s what I see.
Keep up the GOOD FIGHT,!
Racism has never left Amerikkka, and now this administration has revived the open expression of it! If I were younger, I would leave this country. I am sickened by everything this country is becoming!!
Nobody should leave. In particular if you are old, get out and make a fuss unless you are physically unable to do so. I have been on the street demonstrating against Israel for a year and a half every day unless it rains. I'm 75 and have never felt better because I am showing my responsibility to the country that has allowed me to live a life that makes me wonder if an angel was looking down on me the whole time. Americans are the most spoiled people in the world, taking always more and giving back little to nothing. That isn't me, now, and I am proud of it. My latest sign for demonstrating is, "Support of Israel is America's Shame. End It" part of my effort to make up for decades in which I blissfully ignored the awful that the US was conducting around the world. Time is running out for me but I am free at last
The story of George Stinney, Jr. ripped into my soul. Moreso because I wasn't paying attention to the date and at first thought it has just happened.
Until we reckon with our original sin as a nation, we won't be able to ever move toward a more perfect union.
The FBI could have checked out the Iranian soccer team even before they came here. Oh, wait, Kash Patel is running the FBI, and he has managed to ruin them, or Patel is too stupid and/or drunk to really know how to do things properly.
The Hank you. We can never become complacent. The Civil Rights Act was never fully enacted or embraced. This country has never had Liberty and Justice for All. Not once in our 250 year history. This country was founded on white supremacy and remains that way today.