YouTube user That Japanese Man Yuta went out onto the streets of Tokyo to ask Japanese people what they thought about Black people in the States.
The few people he interviewed seemed to know very little about the relationships between Blacks and whites. The interviewer asked the Tokyo residents how many Black people were in the United States. Many gave extremely large percentages like 40 and 50 percent but were shocked to find out it was only 13.
The interviewer also asked if Black people faced discrimination, and many said no or maybe. One man gave a more nuanced answer but said that Black people did suffer discrimination — but not violent discrimination as in the past.
Democracy needs journalism it can trust.
This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.
For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.
Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.
We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.
If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.
