As pointed out, the Urban League put out some sobering statistics just recently... in all honesty I'm not so surprised by these figures. The nation we reside in tends to live in a fantasy world, thinking as time moves forward, so are we. Essentially, everyone thinks as we progress, our practices in everyday life progress with us. The fact of the matter is, they don't. People are still suffering, people are still starving, people are still dying and will continue to until we, as a nation, systematically change our ways. So much of our nation thrives upon contradictions, in the schools we teach equality, at home we teach equality, in the government we establish laws to uphold equality. Now excuse my language, but none of that means a damn thing when at the end of the day these same people fighting for equality still withhold prejudice and hate in their hearts. Where is the rationale in preaching equality but when you encounter a sketchy situation, you refer to stereotypes you have familiarized and associated with certain people day in and day out? I often come across the argument that in order to rid our nation of racism, we must first remove the established forms, such as affirmative action, and other jobs where a certain class receives preferential treatment. Truth is, if we remove this ...racism will not unroot itself. Racism is a part of the nations fabric, we must put more thought into the matter... it cannot be left to mere awareness campaigns, or laws that are half-heartedly enforced. Some people may be utterly astounded by these statistics, but the question is, did they really think it was any better? Its easy for someone not living in the belly of the beast to assume "its not all that bad" but until they make that trip across the bridge, per se, they will continue to live in fairytale land.
The problem at hand is not limited to only a lack of reality, but also a lack of seriousness. So many people recognize there is a problem but very few recognize its true severity. As noted earlier, the media loves to portray black families in a comedic light… I mean who really wants to take black families serious, right? Wrong. African Americans have been asking for equality for far too long, day in and day out we see images of a multitude of different races, yet the media is very selective on the images we see and the lights in which these races are portrayed. But as I’ve stated before, the media is not completely at fault. Their main focus is to play what sells, and according to the vast majorities …this is what we want to see.
Last but definitely not least, there is a division amongst blacks as a race as well. Much like the differences of DuBois and Washington, many feel we should reform in an effort to better fit in with the vast majorities of the nation. While the other half completely disagrees, why should we change our ways to find acceptance. America is the home of the brave and the land of the free, how is assimilation in hopes of fitting in, brave? How can you argue we live in a free nation if we are bound by our own differences, doesn’t America strive on the differences we face? I will be the first to say we need to broaden our horizons, but so is the case with anyone else… knowledge is power. But changing just to fit in, most definitely not. America must change its ways.
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