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Opinion columnist Mary C. Curtis warns that racism has become tolerable in American public life and politics, arguing that racial hostility is increasingly reframed or ignored rather than condemned. In a column she cites decisions, speeches and social media posts to illustrate how what she calls “racism-lite” has become politically acceptable and electorally consequential.
Court rulings and political rhetoric
Curtis points to the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County decision as an early sign of retreat from federal protections against racial discrimination in voting. She quotes Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.’s majority opinion: “Our country has changed, and while any racial discrimination in voting is too much, Congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions.” Curtis also recalls that, she says, Roberts as a young attorney in 1982 described the Voting Rights Act as “the most intrusive interference imaginable by federal courts into state and local processes,” a line she suggests foreshadowed the later ruling.
She argues the same pattern of normalization shows up in contemporary politics. At a recent Republican convention and Trump rally in Texas, she writes, Vice President JD Vance drew cheers with a line that recasts concerns about crime, immigration and economic change as legitimate policy differences rather than rhetoric some view as racist: “We were tired of being called racists for noticing that our country was becoming dirtier and poorer and less safe and less prosperous.” Curtis contends that such language, she says, would not have been out of place at a white nationalist event.
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Social media, GOP reaction and accountability
Curtis highlights a separate example in Mike Davis, identified by the column as a Republican leader, former Senate Judiciary Committee staffer and head of the conservative Article III Project. She cites a post Davis made on X (formerly Twitter), reproducing the text: “Dear Bitching Minorities: Here’s my proposal for your reparations: One-way tickets anywhere. 6 months of living expenses. Renounce your U.S. citizenship. Never come back. Good luck. You’ll need it. (Especially with that nappy-ass head of hair.)” Curtis writes that Davis’s message was aimed at a broad audience and criticizes the lack of consequences she sees from Republican elites or conservative media for that kind of language.
She also accuses Vance, in this piece, of earlier spreading false claims that residents of his home state were “eating people’s pets,” describing those assertions as lies that harmed Haitian communities. Curtis predicts Republicans may use the kinds of remarks she documents in future campaign advertising.
Democrats and Black voters
While sharply criticizing Republicans, Curtis also urges Democrats to listen more closely to Black voters. She cites recent comments by Texas Democratic candidate James Talarico acknowledging the party has taken Black voters for granted, and she recalls moments when Democratic strategists or leaders overlooked concerns — including criticism of John Fetterman’s record as mayor of Braddock and debates over putting South Carolina first in the primary calendar.
Curtis points to past disputes over Michael Bloomberg’s “stop-and-frisk” legacy as another example of tensions that shaped voter attitudes, suggesting that assumptions of automatic Black support can be politically costly.
In closing, Curtis argues that unless Republicans face consequences for racial rhetoric, the author writes, the party will continue to use language and policies that many Black voters and others find alienating — and Democrats, she warns, must not assume those voters will always turn out without being heard.
Mary C. Curtis has worked at The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Charlotte Observer, as national correspondent for Politics Daily, and is a senior facilitator with The OpEd Project. She is host of the CQ Roll Call “Equal Time with Mary C. Curtis” podcast. Follow her on X @mcurtisnc3.
