Michigan’s State Bar Grants Literary Award to Racist Attorney

Michigan’s State Bar recently handed a prestigious literary award to a lawyer who has made it his life’s work to pen racist opinions.

In 2012, attorney Kyle Bristow wrote, “The early and relatively sophisticated Egyptians understood that their civilization would be threatened if they bred with the Negroes to their south, so pharaohs went so far as ‘to prevent the mongrelization of the Egyptian race’ by making it a death penalty-eligible offense to bring blacks into Egypt … [although] blacks still came to Egypt as soldiers, slaves, and captives from other nations. By 1,500 B.C., half of the population of southern Egypt was of mixed blood, and by 688 B.C., societal progress had ended in Egypt.”

Despite these words and many others like them, the State Bar of Michigan recently granted Bristow an Honorable Mention for his short story “Post-Conviction Relief,” a ruthless tale about a lawyer named Jack whose daughter is murdered by a black gang member… Tyrone Washington.

From the story:

“Jack doodled a picture with his black ink pen on his notepad of a stick figure being hanged. He crudely x’ed out the eyes with such vigor that the pen striking the paper was heard by Tyrone, who did not take note of what Jack had drawn.”

Earlier last week, however, the bar issued an apology for awarding a story “embedded with racist cues and symbolism,” and announced that they had rescinded Bristow’s prize.

Despite the racist overtones, the story is a weak display of writing and completely undeserving of any acknowledgment. Read it here and decide for yourself.