It's funny. Racism is that issue we have faced as a nation for as long as we can look back in our history. Our nation was built on the racism that existed hundreds of years ago. Look at slavery. This is something that has stuck with future generations of African Americans who know that in many cases, the only reason their families ended up in this country was because of the slave trade.
Yes, things have become better at times, but at other times Racism simply finds its way to the forefront of the news and media again and again. Here we are in 2018, and just over the past 2 months we have seen black men getting the police called on them at Starbucks in a situation that likely would not have occurred if those men were white. We have had a black college student at Yale fall asleep in a common area as another Yale student called the police on her for no good reason at all. Now, allegedly, that same person who called the police on the black student has called the police on other black students in the past. A black couple stayed in an Air B&B home, and while taking their luggage out of the home after their vacation and loading up their vehicle, the police surrounded them because someone called the police regarding black people stealing from the home. To make matters worse, as the black couple showed proof of their Air B&B rental and connected emails, the police still refused to take them at their word.
If you look at just these examples of racism I have listed above which happened recently and were very publicized, it would be very easy to deduce that none of these things would have resulted in the police getting called had the individuals involved been white and not black. And these are just three examples of the most public instances. There are scores more every month around the United States.
Why do so many people still have the racist tendencies they have in 2018? If you look at our recent history over the past few decades, some of the problem lies within the upbringing of the current generation and generations prior. Racism was very common decades ago, and openly talked about. Black people had their own bathrooms and drinking fountains because they were considered dirty and not worthy of drinking from the drinking fountains white people used. Those who grew up in those times had racism passed down to them by their own families. In many cases, those racist tendencies have been passed on from generation to generation within some family structures, leaving us with people in today's America who still look at black people and other minority groups as lesser citizens. Its amazing that this still exists, but that is one of the reasons it does.
Other things that have led to continued racism in America are in part the hard separation of race within our own culture both physically and socioeconomically. There was a time in our history during and after segregation was prevalent when entire subdivisions and communities were segregated. There were areas black Americans could not purchase a home because only white Americans were allowed to live in those communities. We can say, "Oh, that's all in our past" all that we want, but the fact of the matter is that it is not. Those communities still exist, and they exist because after segregation was abolished, communities didn't simply become inclusive to all races. Black communities remained black. Asian communities remained Asian. White communities remained white. Simply put, the Segregation put into place years and years ago still stands strong in many areas today because the communities were set up in a way that hasn't changed. My family felt this when I was young and my mother married a black man. I grew up in a small town in Illinois with just 1000 residents, and when the community found out my mother was marrying a black man, the death threats rolled in. The residents (not all but some) of that town were not going to allow my mother and her new husband live within the community, so once married, we moved to a much larger and more inclusive community in the area. The fact is, racism still exists in full force within communities around the United States.
This goes both ways, however, as there are black communities within larger cities that are in no way tolerant of white people. That is one important point I need to make; Racism is a two way street. There are people on both sides who need to be educated and need their beliefs brought into the new millennium.
Organizations and Leaders still segregate races in our country through seemingly innocent acts. We have Black Entertainment Television (BET), The United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the Asian and Pacific Islander American College Fund (APIACF), etc.. These are just three examples, but as long as we as a country separate individuals out by race within our organizations and otherwise, racism will still exist. BET is a great network that allows people to enjoy programming aimed at black families. It sounds great on its face, but to show how the underlying tone of its existence is tied to racism ask yourself one question, "How would the country be accepting of an organization called WET, White Entertainment Television?" I am hoping the answer you came up with to that question would be that society would not be accepting of that at all, because we wouldn't be and for good reason. I am in no way saying that these things I mentioned above are racist on their face, but the fact that they exist leads to a continued separation of races within our society, even subconsciously.
As long as we concentrate on a separation of race within society, we will always have racism. Until we get to a point where we can look at each other as people, and not races of people, we will always have racism. Gangs are often brought up when it comes to racism. We have gangs in the inner cities that control sections of city the police refuse to even go into because it is too dangerous. What do gangs have to do with racism you might ask. Well, immigration and migration really were the hinge pins for the start of gang activity in the United States, coupled with poverty. Slums were created across the United States in heavily populated areas, and gangs slowly grew in these impoverished areas out of necessity at the time. The most predominant gangs initially in America were white, Hispanic and black gangs. Gangs killing members of other gangs was normally a territorial dispute between different organizations. Large cities that pushed for slum clearances and additional ethnic migration caused a large uptick in gang deaths and violence in the early 90s and beyond, because gangs had very established territories, but with the slum clearances, those territories were no longer. Gangs had to relocate, take on new territories, and in most cases, that led to fighting between different gangs to establish new territorial maps.
Going back to segregation of different races in America; that can, in part, when coupled with poverty and ethnic migration, be noted as a contributor to the racism we see in many places still today. People learned to stick with their own race, not trust other races, and keep their race strong and powerful.
Then enter the power figures of the modern world. You had very positive figures who were inclusive and searching for a society in which everyone was accepted equally. Martin Luther King Jr. is a great example of that type of person. Then you have people who take situations that are not about race, but run to the media and make them about race. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, when they would ever get a sniff of black people involved in some sort of situation, would come without the facts and make whatever situation they were responding to one of racism. If we continue to have people who falsely make things about race, racism will still exist.
My opinion in all of this is that I truly feel that racism is going to be an ongoing issue in this country for the foreseeable future and there is not much we can do about it. In the age of social media and instant access, there will always be individuals and organizations who will take advantage of every situation possible to make them about race in order to drive a narrative.
What it will take is an all-encompassing change in the way we raise the next generation. It will take all parents raising their children to be inclusive and to love and respect all others....I think after reading that it is easy to say that will never happen. We can chip away at racism, nip it in the bud whenever possible, and do our best to drive a more inclusive narrative, but it will always exist to some extent. Some years will be better than others, but it will always exist.
What I want you to take away from this is simple. Drive the narrative in your own life. Teach your children that all people are created equal. Teach your children to respect everyone, regardless of their race. As generations grow and drive that message, eventually we will minimize the amount of racism that exists, but today...today there is far more racism than I think any of us expected to see in 2018.
DUNK
Yes, things have become better at times, but at other times Racism simply finds its way to the forefront of the news and media again and again. Here we are in 2018, and just over the past 2 months we have seen black men getting the police called on them at Starbucks in a situation that likely would not have occurred if those men were white. We have had a black college student at Yale fall asleep in a common area as another Yale student called the police on her for no good reason at all. Now, allegedly, that same person who called the police on the black student has called the police on other black students in the past. A black couple stayed in an Air B&B home, and while taking their luggage out of the home after their vacation and loading up their vehicle, the police surrounded them because someone called the police regarding black people stealing from the home. To make matters worse, as the black couple showed proof of their Air B&B rental and connected emails, the police still refused to take them at their word.
If you look at just these examples of racism I have listed above which happened recently and were very publicized, it would be very easy to deduce that none of these things would have resulted in the police getting called had the individuals involved been white and not black. And these are just three examples of the most public instances. There are scores more every month around the United States.
Why do so many people still have the racist tendencies they have in 2018? If you look at our recent history over the past few decades, some of the problem lies within the upbringing of the current generation and generations prior. Racism was very common decades ago, and openly talked about. Black people had their own bathrooms and drinking fountains because they were considered dirty and not worthy of drinking from the drinking fountains white people used. Those who grew up in those times had racism passed down to them by their own families. In many cases, those racist tendencies have been passed on from generation to generation within some family structures, leaving us with people in today's America who still look at black people and other minority groups as lesser citizens. Its amazing that this still exists, but that is one of the reasons it does.
Other things that have led to continued racism in America are in part the hard separation of race within our own culture both physically and socioeconomically. There was a time in our history during and after segregation was prevalent when entire subdivisions and communities were segregated. There were areas black Americans could not purchase a home because only white Americans were allowed to live in those communities. We can say, "Oh, that's all in our past" all that we want, but the fact of the matter is that it is not. Those communities still exist, and they exist because after segregation was abolished, communities didn't simply become inclusive to all races. Black communities remained black. Asian communities remained Asian. White communities remained white. Simply put, the Segregation put into place years and years ago still stands strong in many areas today because the communities were set up in a way that hasn't changed. My family felt this when I was young and my mother married a black man. I grew up in a small town in Illinois with just 1000 residents, and when the community found out my mother was marrying a black man, the death threats rolled in. The residents (not all but some) of that town were not going to allow my mother and her new husband live within the community, so once married, we moved to a much larger and more inclusive community in the area. The fact is, racism still exists in full force within communities around the United States.
This goes both ways, however, as there are black communities within larger cities that are in no way tolerant of white people. That is one important point I need to make; Racism is a two way street. There are people on both sides who need to be educated and need their beliefs brought into the new millennium.
Organizations and Leaders still segregate races in our country through seemingly innocent acts. We have Black Entertainment Television (BET), The United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the Asian and Pacific Islander American College Fund (APIACF), etc.. These are just three examples, but as long as we as a country separate individuals out by race within our organizations and otherwise, racism will still exist. BET is a great network that allows people to enjoy programming aimed at black families. It sounds great on its face, but to show how the underlying tone of its existence is tied to racism ask yourself one question, "How would the country be accepting of an organization called WET, White Entertainment Television?" I am hoping the answer you came up with to that question would be that society would not be accepting of that at all, because we wouldn't be and for good reason. I am in no way saying that these things I mentioned above are racist on their face, but the fact that they exist leads to a continued separation of races within our society, even subconsciously.
As long as we concentrate on a separation of race within society, we will always have racism. Until we get to a point where we can look at each other as people, and not races of people, we will always have racism. Gangs are often brought up when it comes to racism. We have gangs in the inner cities that control sections of city the police refuse to even go into because it is too dangerous. What do gangs have to do with racism you might ask. Well, immigration and migration really were the hinge pins for the start of gang activity in the United States, coupled with poverty. Slums were created across the United States in heavily populated areas, and gangs slowly grew in these impoverished areas out of necessity at the time. The most predominant gangs initially in America were white, Hispanic and black gangs. Gangs killing members of other gangs was normally a territorial dispute between different organizations. Large cities that pushed for slum clearances and additional ethnic migration caused a large uptick in gang deaths and violence in the early 90s and beyond, because gangs had very established territories, but with the slum clearances, those territories were no longer. Gangs had to relocate, take on new territories, and in most cases, that led to fighting between different gangs to establish new territorial maps.
Going back to segregation of different races in America; that can, in part, when coupled with poverty and ethnic migration, be noted as a contributor to the racism we see in many places still today. People learned to stick with their own race, not trust other races, and keep their race strong and powerful.
Then enter the power figures of the modern world. You had very positive figures who were inclusive and searching for a society in which everyone was accepted equally. Martin Luther King Jr. is a great example of that type of person. Then you have people who take situations that are not about race, but run to the media and make them about race. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, when they would ever get a sniff of black people involved in some sort of situation, would come without the facts and make whatever situation they were responding to one of racism. If we continue to have people who falsely make things about race, racism will still exist.
My opinion in all of this is that I truly feel that racism is going to be an ongoing issue in this country for the foreseeable future and there is not much we can do about it. In the age of social media and instant access, there will always be individuals and organizations who will take advantage of every situation possible to make them about race in order to drive a narrative.
What it will take is an all-encompassing change in the way we raise the next generation. It will take all parents raising their children to be inclusive and to love and respect all others....I think after reading that it is easy to say that will never happen. We can chip away at racism, nip it in the bud whenever possible, and do our best to drive a more inclusive narrative, but it will always exist to some extent. Some years will be better than others, but it will always exist.
What I want you to take away from this is simple. Drive the narrative in your own life. Teach your children that all people are created equal. Teach your children to respect everyone, regardless of their race. As generations grow and drive that message, eventually we will minimize the amount of racism that exists, but today...today there is far more racism than I think any of us expected to see in 2018.
DUNK
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