Laura Loomer knew what she was doing when she called Kamala Harris 'Shaniqua' [View all]

by Shaniqua McClendon

“You don’t seem like your name is Shaniqua, is that your actual name?”

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By the time I reached college, there was no longer any ambiguity about how people felt about my name. I was often told I seemed more like an “Ashley,” or “nothing like a Shaniqua.” During my run for president of the Black Student Movement, students left disparaging comments about me. The one that cut deepest was, “And of course her name is Shaniqua.”

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Though the message wasn’t said directly, the underlying sentiment was clear. The stereotype tied to my name was too loud to ignore, and it isn’t just personal experience that proves this. Look up "Shaniqua" on Urban Dictionary, and you’ll find definitions like: “a common name used to mock/describe a Black woman from the inner city.” These harmful caricatures turn the name Shaniqua into a punchline, a “safe” vessel for racial judgment.

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Which brings me to Laura Loomer, the far-right provocateur who recently referred to prominent Black women like Vice President Kamala Harris, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Fulton County (Georgia) District Attorney Fani Willis as "little DEI Shaniqua voices" and "meritless DEI Shaniquas." Loomer’s statement is an insult steeped in both sexism and racism, aiming to delegitimize the achievements of these women by suggesting they were only hired to fill a diversity quota.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/opinion-laura-loomer-knew-she-091113666.html

And what's Loomer's claim to fame besides hitting up on a guy old enough to be her grandpa?