racism Archives | Little Village

Guns, fascism, infighting and couch-surfing: Researcher Serena Tarr recounts a year studying the alt-right

Posted on Oct 3, 2018 by Emma McClatchey

On March 4, 2018, after following around Richard Spencer and his alt-right entourage for months, Serena Tarr found herself in Michigan for the Foundation for the Marketplace of Ideas conference, organized by Kyle Bristow, the white nationalist attorney who used to sue colleges that rejected requests for Spencer to speak. But due to public pressure and possibly death threats, Bristow backed out at the last minute, and the “conference” was relocated to a house in Ann Arbor. Tarr followed. […]

Steve King brings national attention to Iowa by retweeting a British neo-Nazi

Posted on Jun 13, 2018 by Paul Brennan

Like many Iowans, the national media has grown so used to Rep. Steve King tweeting racist, xenophobic or just odd things that it takes a special tweet by King to attract attention. The eight-term Western Iowa congressman managed to serve up such a tweet on Tuesday. On its surface this tweet isn’t as arresting as his Monday tweet in which he decried a Swedish youth soccer program’s effort to accommodate players who don’t eat pork as a sign of that rightwing fantasy “the Muslim conquest of Europe,” while at the same time promoting Iowa’s pork industry.
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Mission Creek headliner Cakes da Killa pushes back against racism and homophobia on the streets of Iowa City

Posted on Apr 6, 2018 by Genevieve Trainor

Brooklyn rapper Cakes da Killa, in town for the Mission Creek Festival, experienced verbal harrassment after his show Thursday night, Afropunk reported. Their story followed a video Cakes da Killa posted on his Instagram around 4 a.m. Friday, showing the artist chasing an unknown individual down Burlington Street. […]

A List: Jane Elliott, the teacher behind the Blue Eyes/Brown eyes exercise, is still fighting

Posted on Sep 5, 2017 by Carly Matthew

Jane Elliott, 85, has spoken out against racism since April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. Elliott worked as a third grade teacher in an all-white classroom in Riceville, Iowa. She had considered performing the experiment before, but decided she needed to enact it that Tuesday. She divided her class into two groups, treating them differently based on the color of their eyes — the birth of her famous Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes exercise. […]

Anti-white nationalist protest at Iowa City Farmers Market

Posted on Aug 19, 2017 by Paul Brennan

The nine people at Jeff Pierce’s Renovation Carpentry booth at the Iowa City Farmers Market on Saturday morning weren’t there to buy anything. They were there to protest statements Pierce has posted on social media. […]

West Des Moines cafe drops its racist-sounding name after online pushback

Posted on Jul 19, 2017 by Paul Brennan

A new West Des Moines breakfast cafe will open next month, but without the racist-sounding name that caused a furor on social media. […]

Letter to the editor: Acknowledging and combating local racism

Posted on Jun 6, 2017 by Letters

By Audrey Keith Yes, racism happens in liberal Johnson County. On April 6, an employee of Coralville Petco used a racial slur against Chelsey Montgomery and then forced her to leave the store with the assistance of Coralville police officers. Chelsey’s live Facebook video about the incident later went viral. While Chelsey has received some […]

Racist message written on UI student’s dorm door

Posted on Nov 10, 2016 by Kelli Ebensberger

Early Wednesday morning the University of Iowa Housing & Dining staff was notified of a racist remark written on a student’s door at Burge Residence Hall, according to a statement sent out by university administrators and campus leaders. An investigation is underway and the University of Iowa Police Department are asking that anyone with information […]

Uncovering the forgotten history of black businesses in Iowa City

Posted on Feb 3, 2016 by Matthew Byrd

The state of Iowa has a well-worn reputation for racial progressivism. As any left-of-center, Iowa-centric political group will remind you, Iowa has long been ahead of the game on legislative victories over racism: It banned slavery in 1839, legalized interracial marriages before the Civil War, struck down segregated schooling in 1868 and did away with […]

Cultural Incompetency: Racist Yik Yak posts target Asian students on UI campus

Posted on Oct 23, 2015 by JoJo Baccam

Masked by pseudonyms and anonymity, social media is often viewed as an attractive way to express one’s feelings candidly. But the same technology that allows users to share ideas and constructively engage with others too often devolves into a toxic, often hurtful environment. As social apps like Yik Yak, which allow users to anonymously share […]

Trump supporters shame Jack Trice (and all of humanity) at Jack Trice Stadium

Posted on Sep 15, 2015 by Adam Burke

History doesn’t always repeat itself, but sometimes there are frightening echoes. Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa, racist supporters of Donald Trump made clear that the memory of the martyred football player Jack Trice has all but been forgotten. Trice, who’s father had been a Buffalo Soldier and slave, was the first black […]

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