06/19/2026
‼️📣 At her barely-advertised and last-minute-notice town hall in Worland today, Harriet Hageman had the audacity to tell a Black woman ON JUNETEENTH that racism is on the decline in this country. 😡
Little did she know, she was talking to Courtney Seghetti, WDP Minorities and Allies Caucus Chair.
Those who know Courtney can imagine how that went down when Hageman decided to double down instead of listen and learn.
Hageman trying to tell a Black woman on the national holiday that celebrates Black freedom is not just terribly ironic, it’s disrespectful, ignorant, and emblematic of just how much racism is still a problem.
Perhaps Hageman needs a reminder about the problem of racism in this country:
- Hate crimes have increased substantially since the mid-2010s, according to annual data collected by the FBI. Race-based hate crimes consistently make up a large share of reported incidents.
- Anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Hispanic, anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, and antisemitic hate incidents have all experienced notable spikes during various periods of the past decade.
- Surveys show racial attitudes have become more polarized along partisan lines.
- The racial wealth gap remains large. The median White household possesses significantly more wealth than the median Black or Hispanic household.
- Black Americans continue to face higher rates of poverty, lower rates of homeownership, and lower levels of accumulated wealth than White Americans.
- Residential segregation remains widespread in many metropolitan areas due to historically racially motivated discrimination, despite being illegal by law.
- Schools remain highly segregated in many parts of the country because of historically racially motivated housing patterns and district boundaries.
- Black Americans are disproportionately represented in the prison population relative to their share of the general population and their share of committed crimes.
- Studies repeatedly find racial disparities in traffic stops, searches, arrests, sentencing outcomes, and use-of-force incidents.
- Research has found that job applicants with traditionally White-sounding names often receive more interview callbacks than otherwise identical applicants with traditionally Black-sounding names.
- Studies have identified racial disparities in healthcare outcomes, maternal mortality, life expectancy, and access to quality medical care.
- Black women experience maternal mortality rates several times higher than White women, even after controlling for income and education.
- Many Native American communities continue to experience disproportionately high poverty rates, inadequate infrastructure, and reduced access to healthcare.
- Surveys show that many Americans of color report experiencing racial discrimination in employment, housing, education, healthcare, and interactions with law enforcement.
- Online racism and racial harassment have expanded through social media platforms, exposing more people to racist content than in previous eras.
- White nationalist and extremist organizations have become more visible and active online, making recruitment and dissemination of racist ideologies easier.
- Political rhetoric surrounding immigration, race, religion, and national identity has become increasingly racially charged in recent years, with the charge being led by our current President.
- Book bans and erasure of Black history are becoming more common place, with the current Administration removing mentions of slavery, women, and Black history from federal properties.
- Public opinion polling shows many Americans believe race relations have deteriorated compared with a decade ago.
- High-profile incidents such as the killing of George Floyd sparked nationwide protests precisely because many Americans viewed them as evidence that racial inequities remain unresolved.
So, yes, Harriet. Racism is still a problem and is, in fact, not decreasing.
