Franchesca Ramsey breaks down the concept of colorism as it exists within racism and explains how light-skinned black women have had skin color privilege throughout history.
aired 1/24/19Veronica Garza shares the origins of the word "cholo" and how a word meant to be an insult was transformed into a look, attitude and cultural movement.
aired 1/17/19While some drag queens and kings may identify as transgender, the performance of drag doesn't coincide with transgenderism any more than it does in the general population.
aired 1/11/19Describing women of color as "exotic" might be intended as a compliment, but the ugly truth is it's another way to reinforce white standards of beauty.
aired 12/21/18This past week a group of armed anti-government militiamen took over a national wildlife refuge in Oregon. But when the cops showed up...things got interesting. Because nothing happened! No tanks. No tear gas. No combat gear. And we've yet to hear any major news outlet or tv commentator call these men thugs or terrorists. This is of course in stark contrast to how police and media responded to protests in Ferguson and Baltimore following the deaths of Mike Brown and Freddie Grey. So what's the deal here?
When Christmas comes around you can usually expect to see Santa, his reindeer and helpful elves everywhere. But Dutch Santa doesn’t have elves...he has “Black Pete” or “Zwarte Pete.” Pete first showed up in the 1850 Dutch book “Saint Nicholas and his servant.” The story claims “Black Pete” is black because of the chimney soot, but that doesn’t explain his afro textured hair, or large bright red lips….all familiar racist black caricatures. Today, Black Pete is still a huge tradition in the Netherlands. So what'sthe deal? Why is this racist character still celebrated?
“The Donald” has been bombarded with criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike after his recent comments about Muslims entering the U.S. Many have begun to compare Trump’s positions against “outsiders” to Hitler’s views during WWII. While he certainly isn’t a genocidal mass murderer, he does give off some fascist vibes. What are your thoughts on the issue? Are Hitler comparisons justified, or are they taking it too far?
On Decoded, we’re always trying to explain aspects of inequality in America and across the world. Since society is prettyyyy unequal, we tend to not celebrate the positive steps-forward as often as we criticize the negative steps-back. But this Thanksgiving, let’s talk about some good things that happened this year. Here are 6 Things Franchesca is thankful for in 2015! What are you thankful for?