Most Racist Moments of 2013
A look at racism in 2013.
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A Look at Racism in 2013 - Unfortunately, racism is a part of American history that continues to rear its ugly head. From Home Depot’s derogatory monkey tweet to professional athletes dropping the N-bomb, BET.com takes a look at some of the most racist moments of 2013. —Dominique Zonyéé
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Racist Facebook Posts Target Italian Government Minister - Italian winemaker Fulvio Bressan sparked international outrage on Aug. 22 when he posted a series of racially charged posts directed at Cecile Kyenge, Italy's first-ever Black government minister. Bressan’s post calling Kyenge a “black monkey" and “gold digger” prompted wine connoisseurs to boycott his wine. Jacob Kennedy, a British restaurateur went so far as to smash his stock of Bressan wine on the sidewalk.(Photo: Bressan Wines)
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Family Feud - Steve Harvey, the host of TV's Family Feud, the day-time game show that requires contestants to think fast, was shocked when one contestant blurted out a racist answer. Harvey asked two contestants to “Name something you know about zombies?” and contestant Christie replied, “They’re Black!”(Photo: Courtesy of Georgia Entertainment Industries)
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Richie Incognito Calls Jonathan Martin N-Word - Richie Incognito was accused in October of bullying former Miami Dolphins teammate Jonathan Martin. The accusations led Incognito to be suspended indefinitely. While he denied bullying accusations he also had to deny being racist, after derogatory texts surfaced in which he called Martin, who is biracial, a “half-breed N-word.”(Photo: AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
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Former Eagles Baller Riley Cooper Threatens to “Fight Every N-----” - When you mix alcohol, Riley Cooper, and a Kent Chesney concert things can get ugly. The former Philadelphia Eagles receiver was caught on tape in June threatening to “fight n-----s)” while hanging out with his Eagles teammates at the concert. Cooper apologized and remains on the Eagles roster.(Photo: AP Photo/Michael Perez)
Photo By Photo: AP Photo/Michael Perez
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Home Depot’s Tacky Monkey Face Tweet - Home Depot made headlines on Nov. 7 for a racist tweet that showed a picture of two African-American drummers with a white person in a gorilla mask in between them and asked: "Which drummer is not like the others?" The tweet, an ESPN “College GameDay” ad, was immediately deleted. The next day Home Depot tweeted an apology, and the person responsible for the tweet was also fired. (Photo: Home Depot via Twitter)
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Barney’s Accused of Targeting Black Shoppers - For the most part African-American communities across the nation are no strangers to stop-and-frisk, but what about shop-and-frisk? Both high-end retail store Barney’s and Macy’s, in New York, came under fire for discrimination against Black shoppers. The alleged discrimination prompted several lawsuits against the stores and the NYPD, in addition to igniting protests and drawing attention from activists such as Rev. Al Sharpton.(Photo: AP/Facebook via Trayon Christian)
Photo By AP/Facebook via Trayon Christian
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Oprah Winfrey Denied Expensive Handbag - While Oprah Winfrey was in Zurich for Tina Turner’s August wedding, she encountered a “racist moment,” while out handbag shopping. Winfrey was at Trois Pommes boutique when she asked a saleswoman to see a bag, which the sales woman deemed “too expensive for Oprah to look at” and offered the first African-American billionaire a less pricey version.(Photo: Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for Lee Daniel's THE BUTLER)
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Actress Julianne Hough Is a Disgrace in Black Face - Julianne Hough dressed up for Halloween as Orange Is the New Black character “Crazy Eyes,” but in addition to donning an orange jumpsuit and wearing her hair in “Crazy Eyes” fashion, Hough decided it was appropriate to also paint her face black. Hough’s costume ignited a social media frenzy as tweeters labeled her “clueless” and “ignorant.” She later apologized via Twitter.(Photo: Devone Byrd/PacificCoastNews)
Photo By Devone Byrd, PacificCoastNews
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Atlanta-Journal Constitution Racist Tweet - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) tweeted on Oct. 23: “$1M GA Lottery winner Willie Lynch can get 40 acres and a whole lotta mules.” The tweet linked to an article about local lottery winners, but hit the core of many Black Americans who are descendants of slaves. During the American Civil War, Blacks felt that they had a right to own the land they worked on as slaves, thus the government gifted 40 acres of land and a mule to some. Ultimately the tweet was taken down and the AJC issued a written apology to readers.(Photos: Atlanta Journal Constitution via Twitter)
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11 / 21
Ted Nugent Wants Blacks Profiled Like “Dogs” - Rock musician and National Rifle Association board member Ted Nugent is known for his radical outbursts, but nothing takes the cake like Nugent claiming he was not racist in an interview with Media Matters and then within minutes saying, “I think when you use the word profile, if a Dalmatian has been biting the children in the neighborhood, I think we’re going to look for a black and white dog,” in regards to racial profiling.(Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
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Paula Deen Kicked Out of the Kitchen - Paula Deen couldn’t stand the heat after a video surfaced in June of her admitting to using the N-word and making anti-Semitic jokes. She was later sued for racism and harassment, but the claims were thrown out. However the Food Network, where Deen gained most of her success, announced they would not renew her contract. (Photo: WENN.com)
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Miss America Win Ignites Racial Slurs - Nina Davuluri made history as the first Miss America of Indian decent, but her 2013 victory was met with stereotypes and racist Twitter backlash. People tweeted comments such as “This Is Miss America, not Miss Muslim.” #notsorry.(Photo: AP Photo/Mel Evans)
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Miami Police and Mayor Sued for Harassing Black Suburb - Eleven residents of Miami Gardens, a predominantly Black Florida neighborhood, filed federal civil rights lawsuits against the mayor and police department of Miami Gardens. The plaintiffs cited aggressive police tactics, including stop-and-frisk searches and arbitrary arrests, targeting African-Americans in the suit. One plaintiff, Earl Sampson, 28, was stopped by police about 288 times over a four-year period.(Photo: Surveillance via MiamiHerald.com)
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Massachusetts' Teen’s Home Spray Painted With Racial Slurs - Lunenburg High School in Massachusetts canceled its football team's final game in November after someone spray painted “Knights don’t need N-word” on the home of 13-year-old biracial student Isaac Phillips. The FBI is investigating, but no one has been arrested for the vandalism.(Photo: Courtesy of WCVB Boston)
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Cartoonist Draws President Obama With Ape-Like Features - Cartoonists have an obligation to be humorous, but when it borderlines racism it becomes offensive. Cartoonist Ted Rall drew backlash from his satirical conversational cartoon featuring President Obama as an ape-like figure. Rall defended his cartoon stating, “Anyone familiar with me and my work knows I’m not racist.”(Photo: Ted Rall/TheDailyKos.com)
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Mexican-American Boy’s National Anthem Sparks Racist Comments - When Sebastien De La Cruz, 11, performed his rendition of the National Anthem during Game 3 of the NBA Finals dressed in traditional Mexican attire there was nothing but applause, however off the court it was different story. People took to Twitter make fun of his attire and challenge his American citizenship: "How you singing the national anthem looking like an illegal immigrant,” were among the negative tweets. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
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Ayo Kimathi - Ayo Kimathi was working as the acquisitions officer for Immigration and Customs Enforcement by day and planning a “War on the Horizon” by night. He was fired in December after being put on paid leave in August for running a racist website, which bashed President Obama, gay people, whites and people of mixed race.(Photo: ABC)
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Craig Cobb - Craig Cobb, a proud white supremacist who is planning to open an all-white Caucasian community in North Dakota, was not amused to find out he has some African in him. As a guest on the Trisha Show, he agreed to take a DNA test and the results came back that he was 14 percent Sub-Saharan African. Cobb refused to acknowledge any of his Blackness and called it “statistical noise.”(Photo: CraigCobbDeprogram via YouTube)
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Sarah Palin – Almost Anything That Comes Out of Her Mouth - It’s not often when we don’t hear a racist comment come out of former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin’s mouth. Palin took the cake when she compared federal debt to slavery at an Iowa dinner in November. “Our free stuff today is being paid for by taking money from our children and borrowing from China,” Palin said. “When that money comes due — and this isn't racist, but it'll be like slavery when that note is due. We are going to beholden to the foreign master.".(Photo: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)