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If George Washington crossing the Delaware matters, so must his ruthless pursuit of the runagate Oney Judge.

Ta-Nehisi Coates

This feeling African-Americans have, this skepticism towards the police and the skepticism that the police show towards African-Americans is actually quite old. And it may be one of the most durable aspects of the relationship between black people and their country really in our history.
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Country Feel Many People Person Police Skepticism Towards
The Knowledge Rule 2080: From maggots to men, the world is a corner bully.
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Bully Corner Knowledge Men Rule World
In particular in how [Barack Obama] has directed what you could describe as patronizing remarks to African-American communities.
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Community Country Describe Direct Particular People Person
With segregation, with the isolation of the injured and the robbed, comes the concentration of disadvantage.
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Color Come Concentration Country Disadvantage Injured Isolation Robbed Segregation
[Grew up in Hawaii] that gave [Barack Obama] a kind of optimism, an ability to see things, you know, and frankly, an ability to trust, you know, in his fellow, you know, white countrymen in a way that I, for instance, you know, and the vast majority of black people I know never really could.
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Ability Frankly Gave Optimism People Thing Trust White
I’m asking you as an American to see all of the freedoms that you enjoy and see how they are rooted in things that the country you belong to condoned or actively participated in the past.
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Actively Ask Belong Country Freedom Long Participate Rooted
And I think, like, there’s a crucial difference between being, you know, Joe Schmo in the neighborhood and being the head, you know, of the government that, you know, in many ways is largely responsible for those conditions in the first place.
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Always Between Condition Difference First Government Head Many Neighbourhood Place Responsible Schmo Way
An unsegregated America might see poverty, and all its effects, spread across the country with no particular bias toward skin color. Instead, the concentration of poverty has been paired with a concentration of melanin.
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Color Concentrate Country Effect Instead Melanin Paired Poverty Spreadma Cross
All you need to understand is that the officer carries with him the power of the American state and the weight of an American legacy.
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Black Country Legacy Need Numbers Offer Power State Understand Weight Year
What I am telling you is that you do not need to know to love, and it is right that you feel it all in any moment. And it is right that you see it through–that you are amazed, then curious, then belligerent, then heartbroken, then numb. You have the right to all of it.
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I think President [Barack] Obama deeply underestimated the force of white supremacy in American life.
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Country Force Life People Peron President Supremacy Thinking Underestimate White
I did not know then that this is what life is – just when you master the geometry of one world, it slips away, and suddenly again, you’re swarmed by strange shapes and impossible angles.
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Geometry Impossible Life Master One Shape Strange Suddenly World
The symbolism was in – and this sounds really, really small, but it’s actually big for African-Americans – the symbolism was not in being an embarrassment, but to being a figure that folks were actually proud of.
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Actually Always Embarrassment Folk Future Really Small Sound Symbolism
They’re right there waiting for it. A community of people who’ve been denied wealth, denied wealth-building opportunities, are right there. And the banks went right after them.
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After Bank Community Denied Opportunities People Right Wait Wealth
Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole.
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Compound Country Debt Fivem Eyar Moral Policy Racist Reckon Thirty Whole
You know, it felt like him reverting back to what was in his bones and that’s, you know, optimism and a deep belief in, you know, American institutions and the American people.
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Back Belief Bone Country Deep Institution Know Optimistic People Revert

If George Washington crossing the Delaware matters, so must his ruthless pursuit of the runagate Oney Judge.

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If George Washington crossing the Delaware matters, so must his ruthless pursuit of the runagate Oney Judge.

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