I was wondering how anyone could write an article like this. I remember a White responsible for serving fried chicken to Blacks. He had his a$$ reamed and of course was fired. A teacher suggested eating watermelon because it is nutritious, etc. She was lambasted for that and called racist.
Then I searched for John Eligon using Google. Sure enough. I found out the reason why John Eligon was able to write such an article. Immunity. Protective pigmentation.
After covering six states as a general-assignment reporter, his beat took on more focus with the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson. Eligon heavily covered the shooting, which he called “a very big moment for black America.” The incident and its ugly aftermath prompted The Times to make him a national correspondent covering issues of race and class.
https://www.schoolnewsnetwork.org/2017/01/26/high-school-reporter-national-correspondent/