Monopoly is just a board game unless you want it to be racist
Racism Score: 0.8
Take a good look at a Monopoly board. Like a really hard look. Looking hard at one? Now look even harder. What do you see? Probably just a board game.
If you are a Racism Hunter, you see a board game rife with racism, segregation and inequality. Which is precisely what Mary Pilon from The Atlantic sees. Our rule of thumb is if you have to squint to find the racism, you might be hunting for it where it may not be present.
There’s something about Mary to point out the inequity in the board game Monopoly (see what we did there). Kudos to Pilon for seeking out the racist backstory of properties listed on the board. It was extraordinarily important to shed light on the historical inequalities of exclusion Black people faced on Pennsylvania Avenue, property valued at $320 on the board.
Major props for creating awareness around a Black maid named Clara Watson who lived on Baltic Avenue (Baltic Ave. must be in the hood), where property is only priced at $60 on the board. Why don’t we just cancel the game all together?
End of sarcasm.
The property, land, and wealth inequalities the Black community faces cannot be overstated. There is a tremendous gap. However, making the correlation to a board game is unproductive. The reason it is unproductive in our opinion is because the focus shifts from actionable tangible improvements, to labeling the most well-known board game itself as racist.
Honestly, we understand the intent of the article, but it should be placed in journalism jail with no get out of jail free card. This type of article does not enhance equality and it is not helpful to Black people.
The article provides no solution or well thought out recommendation. Did Pilon write this article to educate or instigate? Enlighten or incite? Simply, the article comes across like “LOOK! This is racist!” Monopoly the game is not racist. Stop it, Mary.
