Let’s Call Out Racism — Anti-Blackness!
Content Warning:
This article will discuss a recent act of racial violence that has gained national attention.
When I read the news headline and saw the cover photo of Ralph Yarl, a young Black high school student, I was overcome with all-too-familiar emotions.
Ralph Yarl went to the wrong house in Kansas City, Missouri, and after ringing the doorbell, he was shot twice. This is an act of racial violence or anti-Blackness:
Actions or behaviors that minimize, marginalize, or devalue the full participation of Black people in life.
The White shooter used the same rhetoric cops use when killing innocent Black people.
Kansas City, Missouri, has a stand-your-ground law, which essentially gives homeowners a license to kill.
This should have never happened to Ralph Yarl. The fact that he went to three houses after being shot before someone agreed to help him goes to show how Black people are stripped of their humanity, even in times of crisis.
This act of racial violence highlights how racism is viewed through the lens of anti-Blackness.
There are laws set in place that allow for the mistreatment of or deadly…
