Lingering Racism in the U.S.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal". This was stated by white, middle or upper class men in 1776. But, they did not really mean it, good as the phrase still sounds today. Slaves were property, not humans. And even those African Americans who had won or earned their freedom were not considered 199% citizens, but given a certain fractional worth- 3/5 of a citizen. Women, regardless of race or ethnicity, were not allowed to vote until the 1920s. Is it any wonder that, through the years, black voices have been raised in anger, frustration, militancy as well as sorrow about the fact that only one thing: the color of their skin- exempted them from enjoying life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to the fullest extent. While it is admirable that there are now college-level courses in African American history, the fact that they are necessary- that it takes a delving into the past to establish a sense of belonging and pride in overcome slavery and condescension and bigotry, is sometimes difficult to accept. Even as Thomas Jefferson wrote about his hope that slavery would be abolished and slaves emancipated, he put a caveat into his words- that this must be done "with the consent of the masters". The Constitution phrases this idea a little better: with the consent of the governed. But then, even in 1787, the governed that counted were white males. Yes, there is a rise of African American desires to be in the American mainstream. They were (and to some degree still are) frustrated and opposed by the more radical element which prefers a separateness.

Racism certainly lingers in the political process. Not that blacks are excluded, but they see little difference whether (or if) they vote, because there seems to be no single positive answer to true equality. The facts clearly indicate that, far as some feel African Americans have progressed from the time of inhuman slavery, they have been unable to form a concerted political and economic bloc that merits attention from those in power. Clinton was right in 1992, and his message is still viable today: "It's the economy, stupid!" To move African Americans away from negativity, or even political neutrality, they must be provided a reason for their increased participation. We should be less concerned with the American Dream, as with a weekly paycheck that sustains a family. African-Americans should be less concerned with worrying about the Clarence Thomases of our nation, as about demanding better schools, better teachers, and greater motivation for the next generation. Until every African American is furnished proof of his or her worth, and given economic incentives, we are far from a "United" states of America, but- even as before 1860- a disjointed States of America. Liberty and justice for all has to be supplemented by economic opportunity. It is not simplistic to say that today's racism is linked to economic matters.

The economic gulf really begins with a lack of proper education for most young blacks. In a new book, Jonathan Kozol, a persistent critic of American education, is " contending that urban school districts -- including Los Angeles Unified -- are made up of individual schools as racially isolated as those of the Deep South in the pre-Civil Rights era... Kozol thinks that advances born of the 1954 Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education case, which ruled segregation to be unconstitutional, have slowly eroded under a series of subsequent court decisions affecting how schools are financed. Most urban minority students receive educations inferior to those enjoyed by more affluent white suburban students, contributing to social isolation that helps perpetuate segregated neighborhoods - 'A self-betrayal of our national ideals,' Kozol says" (Martelle E-1).

In a recent book, Anne Barnes provides a chilling exsample. "For this study, Barnes, a professor of anthropology and sociology, interviewed 146 middle-class, working-class, and poor black college students to uncover their encounters with racism. In stores, at work, in law enforcement, and elsewhere, these students have found, chillingly, that racial hatred is still a part of American life" (Burns and Jonmes 104).

What is truly disturbing is the fact that so many people - especially the white majority- feel that racism is a thing of the past. "Many Americans now seem to believe that racism and racial inequality no longer exist. Nothing could be further from the truth. Current census data shows that racial inequality is ingrained in our society as much now as during the Civil Rights era. The inequalities are so well-documented that after listing a few of them, it begins to feel redundant. According to recent US Census statistics: the median income of black and Latino families is $34K compared to $54K for whites (2001); the average net worth of white households is nearly five times that of black households (1998); the unemployment rate for blacks is twice that of whites (2002)" (Lewis 1).

Racism goes beyond major issues, according to some observers: "Little things. When it comes to race, everyday interactions can be fraught with peril. Lena Williams describes some of them in a book called It's the Little Things: The Everyday Interactions That Get Under the Skin of Blacks and Whites. The "white eye treatment," for instance- -a white coworker failing to acknowledge a black coworker walking down the same street. Or a white person commenting in amazement about how articulate a black Ivy League graduate is. On the flip side, Williams describes white resentment at the way some blacks delight in the notion that whites appear to age faster" (Anon 24).

As one can see, it is not only the major issue-0 politics, influence,, education---but sometimes the small slights that seem to indicate that racism is alive and well in America today. If further proof is needed, one can look to the recent tragedy in New Orleans of Hurricane Katrina. It seems the ones truly destitute who cold not afford to leave their homes were the poor mostly black citizens. There are now rumors floating around that the levees were deliberately dynamited by the government to inundate and destroy the poor black neighborhoods. Unlikely as this is, the fact that this rumor spread among the black evacuees is telling.

There is another frightening aspect to lingering racism in America. Lawlessness and violence is coming back. "Is an ugly past returning to haunt America? A black man dies in New York's Howard Beach section as he flees a beating by a white gang. A black freshman at the Citadel in South Carolina is hazed by upperclassmen dressed in sheets and shouting racial epithets. Ku Klux Klan members throw rocks, bottles and mud at civil-rights marchers in Georgia's all-white Forsyth County. Is overt racism, which seemed to be waning in the 1970s, now on the rebound?

Civil-rights leaders say it is. They cite the tally of racial incidents reported to the Justice Department's Community Relations Service, which jumped from 99 in 1980 to 276 last year. "People have begun to express their racism in lawless acts,' says Steve Suitts of the Southern Regional Council" (Gest 12).

"Most Americans think that the most blatant forms of discrimination and segregation have ended, that we're dealing now with a much more-complex, often more-subtle form of discrimination," says Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. "Yet incidents like the ones we're discussing now seem to belie that point... Some recent examples: *In the Washington area, KayBee Toys has been charged in a federal civil rights suit with refusing to accept personal checks at stores in predominately black neighborhoods... Florida officials charged a Miami restaurant owner with automatically adding a service charge to bills of black customers but not to those of white patrons" (Knickertbocker 1).

Unfortunately, all the above evidence proves that, in the 21 century, all men are STILL not created equal in America.

REFERENCES:

Burns, Ann, and Jones, Emily Jay: "Everyday Racism: How Blacks Experience Racism in Today's America. (Review) Library Journal, Nov 1, 2000 v125 i18 p104

Gest, Ted: "Is an ugly past returning to haunt America?'

U.S. News & World Report, Feb 2, 1987 v102 p12(1)

Knic kerbocker, Bert: "New face of racism in America; Retailers denying checks and cab drivers refusing rides in minority".The Christian Science Monitor, Jan 14, 2000 p1

Lewis, David "The New Racism in America" The America's Intelligence Wire, Oct 27, 2004 p. NA

Martell, Scott: "Blunt critic on schools, integration" Los Angeles Times, Aug. 30, 2005

No author listed: "The great divide. (racism in America)" U.S. News & World Report, May 28, 2001 v130 i21 p14