"I was astonished. Of course the paper was mine. I had an undergraduate degree in English and had spent years writing term papers. I knew how to construct theses, build arguments, footnote and cite sources. And - quite unlike my fellow students - I liked the course and had participated enthusiastically in class discussions, something the professor seemed to genuinely appreciate."
"Following his bombshell accusation, the professor told me only that "you don't speak well" and couldn't possibly have produced something so coherent. That was it. The way he said "you" repeatedly and pointedly, made it clear that he meant not just me, but all people like me. I realized that to him Black people could never ultimately measure up, even when they did. He had no proof of any plagiarism but he didn't need any: He just knew."
"In 2025, the overt racism of the Trump administration is not just another bump in the road; it's trying to end that road for good. The effort started on Trump's day one executive orders eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and soon after, with the help of Elon Musk and DOGE, he began firing or forcing out Black people from government jobs, from career employees to agency heads to high-profile appointees."
A Black graduate student was falsely accused of plagiarizing despite clear evidence of authorship and academic competence, revealing interpersonal racial bias that assumed intellectual inferiority. The professor relied on stereotypes, stating "you don't speak well" and treating all Black people as incapable, providing no proof yet presuming guilt. Such overt bigotry was portrayed as a common obstacle historically faced by Black people. Decades later, state-level actions escalated systemic racism: executive orders eliminated diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and coordinated efforts, aided by high-profile private figures, led to the summary dismissal of Black employees across government, aiming to end institutional progress.
Read at Daily Kos
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