Racially-Insensitive Moments In 2025...So Far

Back in 2020, then-18-year-old activist Miracle Boyd was struck in the face by a police officer during a protest. The cop, who has since resigned, even knocked out Boyd’s tooth. Five years later, Boyd received a $280,000 settlement, according to Fox 32 News. But just one day after her settlement was announced, Boyd was sent a letter full of racially motivated attacks. The person even told her “Miracle Boyd deserves to be knocked unconscious and be hanged from a tree.”

Police say two MO schools were vandalized this month. The first attack occurred on March 7 at Affton High School, when officials discovered swastikas and other offensive messages had been spray painted on an outside wall, according to Fox 2 News. On March 12, officers were called to Rogers Middle School where racial slurs, including a threat to kill Black people, swastikas, the words “wite power,” and the numbers “88,” which means “Hail Hitler” were all painted on the building, according to KSDK. Eventually, 18-year-old Patrick Sloan was arrested and charged with the crimes after his mother recognized him from wanted posters and turned him in.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as the Secretary of Health and Human Services on Feb. 13, despite his documented history of being anti-vaccine and perpetuating racist ideas. As The Root previously reported, his confirmation represents an unprecedented regression in the American health system. Most notably, the Trump nominee claimed a “series of studies” in Poland showed Black folks have “a much stronger reaction” to “particular antigens.” Meaning in his mind, Black Americans should be on a different vaccine schedule than other Americans.

A heated exchange between two women in Iowa took a racial turn when the white woman told the Black woman filming her “You wouldn’t be here if we didn’t bring you here.” From there, the women excused her offensive statement saying “Hey, I’m Jewish... So you know what? Big deal.” The Black woman stood her ground and was not afraid or threatened by the woman’s attacks.

As The Root previously reported, the LAPD was exposed after a formal complaint was filed citing racism, sexism, and homophobia. “In one conversation, a Latina LAPD officer offered this advice on how to fight African Americans: You hit black people in the liver; I heard they got weak livers,” according to the complaint filed Jan. 5 with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Professional Standards Bureau and the inspector general’s office.

On Jan. 31, the Department of Defense announced all “identity months dead at DoD.” This came just days after the president signed an executive order to ban DEI at the federal level. Because of the DoD memo, celebrations like Women’s History Month, Pride Month, and even Black History Month will not be recognized within the department.

It all started when the alleged attacker, Wilfred Francis Hutson IV, spotted a Black man sitting in his own car. According to an affidavit obtained by MLive.com, the Black man was waiting inside his vehicle when Hutson allegedly accused him of staring at him. That’s when the white man began hurling racial slurs at the Black man, eventually prompting the victim to drive off. Hutson chased the Black man down and even physically attacked him. He was later arrested and charged with felony ethnic intimidation and misdemeanor assault and battery.

On Feb. 10, Military.com reported that the Army and other service branches will get rid of recruiting efforts at this year’s Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA). The annual conference has had a long-running public partnership with Army Recruiting Command, as we previously reported. In response, an Army general told Military.com they found halting recruiting efforts discriminatory. “It’s f***ing racist. For the Army now, it’s ‘Blacks need not apply’ and it breaks my heart,” they said.

In early February, a Uhaul van full of neo-Nazis gathered in the predominantly Black Cincinnati suburb of Lincoln Heights for a demonstration. They wore masks and carried guns as they called residents racist slurs. The group of white supremacists also waved flags with red swastikas on a highway overpass. Soon afterwards, someone went as far as to spread racist pamphlets from the Ku Klux Klan all over Lincoln Heights, as we previously reported.

Even with DEI being banned by the president, Trump and his supporters still managed to blame DEI for the fatal collision between a D.C. bound passenger plane and a Black Hawk helicopter last month. “The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative,” Trump said during a press conference. And because of it, the president claimed DEI caused a lowering of standards for FAA employees, leading to the crash.

James Rodden, an attorney who worked for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was accused of allegedly operating a “racist, bigoted, xenophobic, hateful, harassing and dishonest” X account, according to a legal complaint filed against him. As The Root previously reported, the account, which boasts over 17,000 followers, contained tweets including, “America is a white country, founded by whites,” and “Migrants’ are all criminals.”

The Chicago rapper caught everyone off guard when he called himself a nazi, saying “I LOVE HITLER NOW WHAT B*TCHES” and flat out confessing “IM A NAZI.” In a rant on X, Ye even addressed his past social media posts sexualizing former Vice President Kamala Harris. Now, he says “I DONT KNOW KAMALA AND I AINT GOT NOTHING AGAINST THAT LADY SHE WAS JUST BEING USED FOR WHAT THEY CALL ‘THE BLACK VOTE.’” The rapper has since continued spewing racist and homophobic language attacking Black Americans, Jewish people, and the LGBTQ+ community.

John Chong Uk Moon, 54, and Cindy Kim, 58, are in police custody after being caught on video hurling racial slurs at a couple eating.“What are you looking at, n****r?” Moon asked the woman recording him. Apparently, the beef began before the woman pulled out her phone. She alleged Moon started verbally attacking her and calling her names. Moon’s sister, Kim, jumped in and told the Florida duo “Don’t be a n****r, don’t act n****rly.’” Moon then called the male tourist “white trash” among other things. The video of the siblings eventually went on to help identify Moon and Kim as suspects in the murder of a 66-year-old family man, The Root reported.