Fear and Loathing in Trump’s America

FEATURING CHENJERAI KUMANYIKA – A number of high-profile incidents have made the news in the past few days highlighting racism, hate, and violence in the age of Donald Trump. Since the Portland stabbing of three men by a white supremacist who racially targeted two young women of color, there have been reports of a white man attacking an African American man with a machete in the midst of a racist tirade in Clear Lake, California.

And, two young native members of the Quinault Indian nation in Washington State were struck in a hit-and-run incident involving a white man driving a truck. Tribal leaders say the incident could be a hate crime.

Most recently, a noose was found at the African American History Museum in Washington DC.

Meanwhile police killings of young black men continue. In fact, three unarmed 15-year old boys in three different cities were gunned down by police in May alone. America is a frightening place for people of color. In Trump’s America, that fear is greater than ever.

Chenjerai Kumanyika is an Assistant Professor in the Rutgers University Department of Journalism and Media Studies and a correspondent for Rising Up.