A British writer has been sacked by a US magazine for writing a racist article that advised white and Asian children to “avoid large concentrations of blacks” amid the Treyvon Martin controversy, in which an unarmed 17-year-old was gunned down in Florida.
John Derbyshire, 66, a journalist for the conservative National Review, was dismissed for writing an article in Taki’s Magazine mocking black writers who have published stories describing a “talk” they have had to give to their children on how to avoid being viewed with suspicion.
Derbyshire’s riposte, entitled: The Talk: Nonblack Version, advised "nonblack" parents to tell their children to avoid events frequented by “a lot of of blacks”.
"There is a talk that nonblack Americans have with their kids, too," he wrote.
"A small cohort of blacks – in my experience, around five per cent – is ferociously hostile to whites and will go to great lengths to inconvenience or harm us."
Listed in the piece are a number of advice points, including:
- Stay out of heavily black neighborhoods.
- If you are at some public event at which the number of blacks suddenly swells, leave as quickly as possible.
- Do not settle in a district or municipality run by black politicians.
- If accosted by a strange black in the street, smile and say something polite but keep moving.
Originally from Northamptonshire and a graduate of University College London, Derbyshire has courted controversy before, describing himself as a “homophobe” in 2003.
His recent screed has caused outrage in a country still traumatised and divided by the Martin killing.
Rich Lowry, the editor of the National Review, described the article as “nasty and indefensible”, which forced “a parting of the ways” on Saturday.
"Derb has long danced around the line on these issues, but this column is so outlandish it constitutes a kind of letter of resignation."