Ukraine Reporting Underscores Prevalent Bias Against Non-Whites

Racism will forever persist until we address unconscious bias

Jeffrey Kass
Momentum
Published in
4 min readMar 4, 2022

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Child with flag of Ukraine crying
Image: Da Antipina/Shutterstock

We are all reeling from the horrific criminal Russian attack on Ukraine and its sovereignty. No good person among us isn’t pained by the death and destruction occurring in Ukraine. People around the world are praying for the conflict to end.

But while we cry for Ukraine and root for its military to somehow defeat Russia, and we beg President Biden and the rest of the world to unleash every imaginable sanction against Russia and its benefactors, we get a sick reminder that too many of us continue to view people who are not white in the most racist manner.

Whether it’s on purpose or just so ingrained into their psyches that they can’t help it, the result is the same. Brown people are still portrayed as less than, backwards and uncivilized. And white is deemed worthy and special.

CBS News correspondent Charlie D’Agata, live from Kyiv, couldn’t help himself when it “slipped out.”

“Now with the Russians marching in, it’s changed the calculus entirely. Tens of thousands of people have tried to flee the city. There will be many more; people are hiding in bomb shelters. But this isn’t a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan…

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Jeffrey Kass
Momentum

A Medium Top Writer on Racism, Diversity, Education, History and Parenting | Speaker | Award-Winning Author | Latest Book: Black Batwoman V. White Jesus | Dad