As part of Civility Week, ETSU’s Student Government Association hosted an educational discussion about race and America entitled “Race and Democracy: America is Always Changing, but America Never Changes” that was given by Dr. Eddie Glaude. In this talk, he discussed how even several decades after the civil rights movement, racism is still equally prominent as before.
While this may sound like an exaggeration to some people, it does not seem far-fetched when one thinks about the circumstances in the last few years alone. The high levels of police brutality against African Americans and Black Lives Matter activists in 2020 alone, and the recent mass shooting in Atlanta targeting Asian American and Pacific Islander women are strong indicators of how prominent racism is in our country.
According to the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences in the U.S.A., “black men are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police over the life course than are white men.” This is just one example of the many forms of racism in America. I think the people who are shocked by claims of racism being as prominent as during previous eras are surprised because they have not experienced or witnessed racism themselves.
However, with the rise of social media and more instantaneous news, it is much easier for racist acts to be recorded and reported on than it was 10 or 20 years ago. It is true that things one sees on social media are not necessarily an accurate representation of how often they are happening in the grand scheme of things all over the country. However, the sheer volume of racism one can encounter daily on social media has been a major indicator to me personally how widespread different forms of racism and prejudice are.
I see at least one recording or report of a racist act pretty much every single day on my social media timelines and smaller acts of racism such as racist or micro-aggressive comments far more frequently. Racism in the country is clearly here, whether I myself have seen it firsthand with my own eyes or not. In order to try to combat the hate in our country, we must have open minds and ears. We need to believe those who speak out and not make excuses for those who have shown behaviors of aggression or racism. Denying something that is clearly there just because one has not witnessed themselves does nothing to help anyone but those who seek to oppress others.
