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posted by martyb on Thursday June 11 2020, @01:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the A-See-Change dept.

Many sources are reporting what we can read at ABC News,

NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its races and properties on Wednesday, formally distancing itself from what for many is a symbol of slavery and racism that had been a familiar sight at stock car events for more than 70 years.

The move comes amid social unrest around the globe following the death in police custody of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis. Protests have roiled the nation for days and Confederate monuments are being taken down across the South — the tradtiional fan base for NASCAR.

[...] The issue was pushed to the fore this week as Bubba Wallace, NASCAR's lone black driver, called for the banishment of the Confederate flag and said there was "no place" for them in the sport. At long last, NASCAR obliged.

"The presence of the confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry," NASCAR said. "Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special. The display of the confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties."

[...] The move was announced before Wednesday night's race at Martinsville Speedway where Wallace, an Alabama native, was driving a Chevrolet with a #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme. Wallace got a shoutout on Twitter from several athletes, including NBA star LeBron James, for using the paint scheme in the race.


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Thursday June 11 2020, @02:42PM (4 children)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday June 11 2020, @02:42PM (#1006304)

    Just some Joe Sixpack types with a hot car and stupid adventures. No racist overtones

    Blacks weren't exactly depicted as equals in the Duke family circle. Not that the show was attempting to be anything other than entertainment, but if they had thrown in an actual black family friend "on level" with the Dukes (not a servant or comic relief), that would have resonated poorly with the target demographics being entertained - depressed ratings and killed the show faster.

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @04:38PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @04:38PM (#1006396)

    Right. Every white person is a racist unless they have some black friends to be seen with. PROMINENTLY.
    Speaking of shows from roughly that era, how come "Good Times" set in Chicago housing projects was all about black people? You didn't see any whites except for that tall dopey white guy that was the butt of jokes.
    I am sorry if a show set in Appalachia (Dukes) didn't have enough urban diversity for you.

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @08:37PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @08:37PM (#1006582)

      Just having black friends isn't enough. You have to kowtow to them and wash their feet. Give it another year or two and you'll have to volunteer to be their footstool or something. This is all about power and dominance now and the goalposts will never stop moving.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Thexalon on Thursday June 11 2020, @10:36PM (1 child)

      by Thexalon (636) on Thursday June 11 2020, @10:36PM (#1006636)

      The rural areas of the US, including Appalachia, weren't all-white or even mostly-white for most of its history. They slowly became nearly-all-white from approximately 1880-1940 due to organized efforts of racist terrorism, most notably "sundown towns [tougaloo.edu]" where any black person found in the area after dark was likely to be murdered or at least beaten to a pulp. And they weren't shy about it, often putting signs up at the border of the town announcing this to anyone passing by. This in turn led to black people leaving rural areas and moving into major cities, as well as the development of the "Green Book" in which black people informed each other on how they could move around in their own country without getting murdered.

      So, if Dukes of Hazzard was lily-white, that both was a reflection of segregated entertainment and a reflection of rural America having black people kicked out by force.

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      • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 12 2020, @12:34AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 12 2020, @12:34AM (#1006686)

        And they (almost) all left, leaving nary a black trace.
        Tell me about that latest Loch Ness monster book you read, too. The truth is out there!