The last we checked in with celebrated PBS journalist, newscaster, and occasional debate moderator Gwen Ifill, she was tweeting to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu her thoughts on the soon-to-be-approved Iranian nuclear agreement.
Take that, Bibi. https://t.co/V9Gn9vP6xN
— gwen ifill (@gwenifill) September 2, 2015
That “inadvertent” poke in Twitter’s eye and the amusement she seemed to glean from it is difficult to forget when Ifill is tackling a project like “America After Charleston,” which aired tonight on PBS. Charleston, obviously, is a reference to the horrific mass shooting at the Emanuel AME Baptist Church that left nine dead. White supremacist Dylann Roof was captured and taken into custody.
Liberal outlets like Salon knew immediately where to point the finger, penning thought pieces like, “White America must answer for the Charleston church massacre.” Organizers of a vigil for the “Charleston 9” in Harlem burned American flags and read from the works of cop-killer Assata Shakur.
That was the immediate response. Given the shooting occurred in June and PBS taped its town hall in September, would there be a more thoughtful, considered response under the moderation of impartial journalist Ifill? Or would the blame fall anywhere but on Roof?
Do Whites and Blacks have the same opportunity when it comes to equal justice? #AfterCharlestonPBS pic.twitter.com/OUfxeo8Slc
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) September 22, 2015
When it comes to job opportunity, here's how Whites' and Blacks' views differ #AfterCharlestonPBS pic.twitter.com/1sE5hFFjPJ
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) September 22, 2015
Thanks, Obama! And this has what to do with Roof and the Charleston shooting?
The wealth gap is real. #AfterCharlestonPBS pic.twitter.com/ivL4AbmwdB
— PBS (@PBS) September 22, 2015
Race is "discussed" in the run for the WH http://t.co/BE6VQuO49J but are you hearing it above the noise? pic.twitter.com/NOdJwEUlDl
— hari sreenivasan (@hari) September 22, 2015
Do you think we’re talking enough about race in this political election? #AfterCharlestonPBS pic.twitter.com/hpcVbI49vw
— PBS (@PBS) September 22, 2015
Here's how Americans view #BlackLivesMatter http://t.co/AiamwznuWu #AfterCharlestonPBS pic.twitter.com/QdRwKHUpav
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) September 22, 2015
#AfterCharlestonPBS : "we have to align capital with justice."
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) September 22, 2015
"We must align capital with justice" to correct economic disparities. #AfterCharlestonPBS
— Kelley Chunn (@KelleyChunn) September 22, 2015
Voice from Charleston: "Forgiveness or anger is a false dichotomy – we're not forgiving of racism" #AfterCharlestonPBS
— Basic Black (@BasicBlackWGBH) September 22, 2015
"ppl need to know the truth about what has happened in our country and the legacy of slavery." #AfterCharlestonPBS
— ColorOfChange.org (@ColorOfChange) September 22, 2015
If black lives really mattered there would quality education &healthcare for black folks instead of mass incarceration #AfterCharlestonPBS
— ColorOfChange.org (@ColorOfChange) September 22, 2015
"As a white man…my main purpose is to get out of denial…"
For the sake of grief. #AfterCharlestonPBS
— Leif Brostrom (@leiftheviking) September 22, 2015
"Grief." Why one white man in my audience at #AfterCharlestonPBS said he wants to unlearn racism.
— gwen ifill (@gwenifill) September 22, 2015
"Don’t confuse forgiveness in Charleston with forgiveness for racism"
http://t.co/nTj0teehgn by @AndraGillespie #AfterCharlestonPBS— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) September 22, 2015
“It’s unacceptable to be second-class citizens in a nation we built.” — @arielle_newton #AfterCharlestonPBS pic.twitter.com/5sWrhkviMm
— PBS (@PBS) September 22, 2015
Unless #BlackLivesMatter, all lives do not matter. The 1st has to be true in order for the 2nd to be. – @CornellWBrooks #AfterCharlestonPBS
— NAACP (@NAACP) September 22, 2015
“Slavery did not begin because of miscommunication.” @jelani9 #AfterCharlestonPBS pic.twitter.com/vSBSP6omPp
— PBS (@PBS) September 22, 2015
.@jelani9 points out, correctly, that it can be exhausting to keep having these conversations. #AfterCharlestonPBS
— gwen ifill (@gwenifill) September 22, 2015
When it comes to race relations, it's not just about conversation. "It's about access to resources" too #AfterCharlestonPBS
— Colleen Shalby (@CShalby) September 22, 2015
@jelani9 The LEGALIZED systems of exploitation used toward blacks must collide with interests/resources to combat them! #AfterCharlestonPBS
— Black Excellence (@blackexcelhonor) September 22, 2015
You're a Republican because "your parents voted for Reagan"? Grow a pair and come on over honey. #AfterCharlestonPBS #BlackLivesMatter
— Dragon! (@gpsinwonderland) September 22, 2015
Poverty, poverty poverty. Votes against affordable health & education are racism. #aftercharlestonpbs
— James Lloyd (@JamesAtLLOUD) September 22, 2015
America needs to rid herself off gun culture. #AfterCharlestonPBS
— d.fresh (@DFX809) September 22, 2015
Black students are far more likely to attend underfunded, under resources schools, creating a permanent underclass #AfterCharlestonPBS
— ColorOfChange.org (@ColorOfChange) September 22, 2015
If black lives really mattered there would quality education &healthcare for black folks instead of mass incarceration #AfterCharlestonPBS
— ColorOfChange.org (@ColorOfChange) September 22, 2015
Missing from the #AfterCharlestonPBS convo- the role of media in creating a climate of hysteria, racism, sexism, exclusion, etc…
— ColorOfChange.org (@ColorOfChange) September 22, 2015
"We have to understand our history and we have to also understand the struggle." #AfterCharlestonPBS
— Washington Week (@washingtonweek) September 22, 2015
@PBS @NAACP @NewsHour Will definitely continue this conversation in the classroom with my students #AfterCharlestonPBS
— Air Fryer Stan Account (@CajunVegan) September 22, 2015
Where was the people whom this conversation was about? The poor and uneducated. What is their opinion? #AfterCharlestonPBS
— Ron Patterson (@RonPatterson01) September 22, 2015
Audience member Andra Gillespie penned an opinion piece to accompany Monday night’s broadcast, entitled, “Don’t confuse forgiveness in Charleston with forgiveness for racism”:
The best way for us as a nation to honor the victims of the Mother Emanuel shooting is to do more than just pat ourselves on the back because their relatives took the bold, courageous and painful step of publicly starting their personal healing process. Their personal journey is not our collective journey. Our task is to interrogate the systems, institutions and practices that taught Dylann Roof that he should be superior to blacks because of the color of his skin. Our task is to reform an educational system that failed Roof and many others by not teaching them to be more discerning of historical perspectives that fail to tell the truth or the whole story.
And if we don’t? “…then sadly, we doom ourselves to have to repeat this kind of forum later.”
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