Skip to content
  • Home Home Home, current page.
  • Moments Moments Moments, current page.

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Language: English
    • Bahasa Indonesia
    • Bahasa Melayu
    • Català
    • Čeština
    • Dansk
    • Deutsch
    • English UK
    • Español
    • Filipino
    • Français
    • Hrvatski
    • Italiano
    • Magyar
    • Nederlands
    • Norsk
    • Polski
    • Português
    • Română
    • Slovenčina
    • Suomi
    • Svenska
    • Tiếng Việt
    • Türkçe
    • Ελληνικά
    • Български език
    • Русский
    • Српски
    • Українська мова
    • עִבְרִית
    • العربية
    • فارسی
    • मराठी
    • हिन्दी
    • বাংলা
    • ગુજરાતી
    • தமிழ்
    • ಕನ್ನಡ
    • ภาษาไทย
    • 한국어
    • 日本語
    • 简体中文
    • 繁體中文
  • Have an account? Log in
    Have an account?
    · Forgot password?

    New to Twitter?
    Sign up
michaelharriot's profile
Michael Harriot
Michael Harriot
Michael Harriot
Verified account
@michaelharriot

Tweets

Michael HarriotVerified account

@michaelharriot

Sr. Writer at http://TheRoot.com , writer at Amber Ruffin Show, author of upcoming book “Black AF History,” board-certified wypipologist, last real Negus alive.

The Southside of Wakanda
kinja.com/michaelharriot
Joined December 2009

Tweets

  • © 2021 Twitter
  • About
  • Help Center
  • Terms
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies
  • Ads info
Dismiss
Previous
Next

Go to a person's profile

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @

Promote this Tweet

Block

  • Tweet with a location

    You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

    Your lists

    Create a new list


    Under 100 characters, optional

    Privacy

    Copy link to Tweet

    Embed this Tweet

    Embed this Video

    Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Hmm, there was a problem reaching the server.

    By embedding Twitter content in your website or app, you are agreeing to the Twitter Developer Agreement and Developer Policy.

    Preview

    Why you're seeing this ad

    Log in to Twitter

    · Forgot password?
    Don't have an account? Sign up »

    Sign up for Twitter

    Not on Twitter? Sign up, tune into the things you care about, and get updates as they happen.

    Sign up
    Have an account? Log in »

    Two-way (sending and receiving) short codes:

    Country Code For customers of
    United States 40404 (any)
    Canada 21212 (any)
    United Kingdom 86444 Vodafone, Orange, 3, O2
    Brazil 40404 Nextel, TIM
    Haiti 40404 Digicel, Voila
    Ireland 51210 Vodafone, O2
    India 53000 Bharti Airtel, Videocon, Reliance
    Indonesia 89887 AXIS, 3, Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata
    Italy 4880804 Wind
    3424486444 Vodafone
    » See SMS short codes for other countries

    Confirmation

     

    Welcome home!

    This timeline is where you’ll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.

    Tweets not working for you?

    Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.

    Say a lot with a little

    When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart — it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.

    Spread the word

    The fastest way to share someone else’s Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.

    Join the conversation

    Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you’re passionate about, and jump right in.

    Learn the latest

    Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.

    Get more of what you love

    Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.

    Find what's happening

    See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.

    Never miss a Moment

    Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.

    Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

    This narrative that black people who want an accurate reflection of history are "angry and resentful" leaves us with one logical takeaway: White people don't want to know history because they can't handle the truth. A thread.pic.twitter.com/YXDoUQReRU

    2:23 PM - 5 Jul 2020
    • 13,162 Retweets
    • 36,515 Likes
    • ______magnus_________ Leni Marzi Castella artisa Evan Thomas Kearney Camila Rivera rory Shay Gray
    495 replies 13,162 retweets 36,515 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        First, let's be clear: The Founders were racists. They weren't "products of their time." They KNEW slavery was wrong. They KNEW it was inhumane. Gouverneur Morris, who literally wrote the Preamble said this during the Constitutional debatespic.twitter.com/CoOODu5BQQ

        36 replies 917 retweets 6,073 likes
        Show this thread
      3. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        James Madison, who wrote the Constitution, "thought it wrong to admit in the Constitution the idea that there could be property in men." Even Lincoln was a white supremacist. That's not my opinion. He said it himself when asked about freeing slaves:pic.twitter.com/Rz1T3RfxRw

        42 replies 629 retweets 4,794 likes
        Show this thread
      4. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        In the only book Thomas Jefferson ever wrote, "Notes on the State of Virginia," he dedicated pages to explaining why black people were inferior. Washington knew slavery was wrong but wouldn't manumit his slaves. He stalked Ona Judge, a runaway, until the day he died.

        14 replies 418 retweets 4,100 likes
        Show this thread
      5. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        BUT here is the thing: When these truths are pointed out by black people or actual historians, it doesn't mean we want to erase everything they did. It doesn't mean we don't think the founding fathers' legacy should be deleted. We just want y'all to tell the truth.

        18 replies 997 retweets 7,694 likes
        Show this thread
      6. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        The problem is that many white people believe that being a racist is an all-encompassing trait that stains everything else a person does. They believe it is an evil feeling that lives inside the heart. I do not. I think racism is a noun.

        17 replies 721 retweets 5,701 likes
        Show this thread
      7. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        For instance: The fact that police disproportionately shoot black people is racist. It does not mean that individual officers go to work hoping to kill black people. It means they work for a system that disproportionately target black Americans. That is racism.

        23 replies 787 retweets 6,701 likes
        Show this thread
      8. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        Jefferson, Lincoln, Washington and others did not explicitly say they hated black people. They just created a system that dehumanized black people and treated black people as property. And, while we often focus on slavery, it was not just about slavery.

        14 replies 505 retweets 4,853 likes
        Show this thread
      9. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        White supremacy is the reason there is an electoral college There were more enslaved people in the south, which would give the South a political advantage if they counted slaves as whole human beings. The founders' solution? Count them as 3/5ths of a person.

        22 replies 709 retweets 5,163 likes
        Show this thread
      10. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        White supremacy is the reason every state has different voting laws. Some states allowed free black landowners to vote, which was unthinkable to other states. The founders' solution? Every state gets to set its own rules.

        6 replies 614 retweets 4,749 likes
        Show this thread
      11. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        White supremacy is the reason behind America's military might. Southern states didn't think the federal government should be able to raise an army because they feared black soldiers might invade the South to free their black brothers. The Founders' solution? The 2nd Amendmentpic.twitter.com/MqUdnGG2p9

        7 replies 530 retweets 3,926 likes
        Show this thread
      12. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        These were GREAT ideas. They were also racist ideas. Jefferson, Washington, Lincoln, et al were great founders who WERE ALSO white supremacists. America is a great country and IT IS ALSO racist. Both things can be true. I'll explain by using whitesplainers' favorite subject:

        9 replies 547 retweets 5,100 likes
        Show this thread
      13. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        Martin Luther King was a great civil rights leader. Martin Luther King Jr. cheated on his wife. Both things are true. One does not negate the other. Now Martin Luther King Jr. studied the teachings of Gandhi, who was a racist. There's no way that King didn't know this.

        5 replies 387 retweets 4,522 likes
        Show this thread
      14. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        He was able to view the WHOLE TRUTH of history and reconcile it with Gandhi's philosophy just like he understood that white people were racist and STILL believed he could change them. Wait... What? King would never say that. Not that whitewashed MLK you read aboutpic.twitter.com/2icoTSDNHb

        5 replies 456 retweets 4,517 likes
        Show this thread
      15. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        For instance, I think Bill Cosby was one of the greatest storytellers who ever lived. AND I think he is a serial rapist. One does not negate the other. Personally, I cannot honor Bill Cosby as a comedian because TO ME, the rapist part makes him too evil to celebrate.

        10 replies 291 retweets 4,356 likes
        Show this thread
      16. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        Now "Racist" is a thing that people are — like a farmer or a cowboy or a Messiah or a human being or a serial rapist. It is up to the individual to determine whether or not someone who is that particular kind of noun deserves contempt, shame or forgiveness.

        4 replies 245 retweets 3,209 likes
        Show this thread
      17. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        I am not OK with MLK cheating on his wife but I am willing to overlook it when I weigh it against the good he brought into the world. Conversely, because I personally believe that rape is a despicable thing, I can’t fuck with Bill Cosby.

        4 replies 232 retweets 3,688 likes
        Show this thread
      18. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        If I was on Twitter caping for Bill Cosby, you can only make 1 of 2 logical conclusions: 1. I didn't know Cosby was a serial rapist 2. I know, but I don't care. So, when I see white people defending Confederate monuments and slaveowners, I can only make 2 conclusions:

        6 replies 468 retweets 4,356 likes
        Show this thread
      19. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        1. They don't know the founding fathers were serial rapists, murderers and enslavers; they don't know Confederates were white supremacist traitors to America; they don't know about the atrocities against indigenous people or: 2. They know, but they don't care.

        19 replies 560 retweets 5,429 likes
        Show this thread
      20. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        So, instead of facing these historical truths and force us to reconcile with how this country has treated black people and indigenous people since its inception, we'd rather lie about it. And, in the vacuum created by this intentional whitewashing, racism flourishes

        5 replies 439 retweets 4,160 likes
        Show this thread
      21. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        Why wouldn't you hate the idea of defunding the police if you didn't know that American policing descended from slave-catching rules? Why wouldn't you think Confederate statues are monuments to white supremacist traitors if you believe the Civil War was about "states' rights?"

        6 replies 427 retweets 4,089 likes
        Show this thread
      22. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        Why wouldn't you think black people are lazy and less intelligent if you didn't know about redlining and how it still influences school funding? Why wouldn't you be against reparations if you didn't know how black ppl were excluded from the GI Bill, the New Deal & gov't loans?

        12 replies 542 retweets 4,564 likes
        Show this thread
      23. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        Why wouldn't you think a speech at Mount Rushmore was a great idea if you didn't know how America stole the land from the Sioux after signing a treaty that said it belonged to them? But white people are right about one thing:

        11 replies 331 retweets 3,810 likes
        Show this thread
      24. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        Confederate monuments do represent history. They represent the historical lengths this country has gone to whitewash the past. They represent the lie of "liberty and justice for all." They represent their willingness to ignore racism in order to honor whiteness in all its glory.

        14 replies 815 retweets 5,501 likes
        Show this thread
      25. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        Removing these symbols of white supremacy has nothing to do with anger or resentment. If black people ever unleashed their anger, there is not a sword in the world that wouldn't be wet with throatblood. But we know that's not the answer.

        22 replies 391 retweets 4,243 likes
        Show this thread
      26. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        There is only one way. See, a long time ago, we read another activist explained exactly how to eliminate racism and give our people justice. It came from an admittedly whitewashed historical document but it still has a few relevant points, especially when he said:

        9 replies 241 retweets 3,245 likes
        Show this thread
      27. Michael Harriot‏Verified account @michaelharriot 5 Jul 2020

        "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free:"

        140 replies 362 retweets 4,870 likes
        Show this thread
      28. End of conversation

    Loading seems to be taking a while.

    Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.

      Promoted Tweet

      false

      • © 2021 Twitter
      • About
      • Help Center
      • Terms
      • Privacy policy
      • Cookies
      • Ads info