The "R" Is Still Here
According to a recent online
article from Ebony magazine journalist Michael Arceneaux poses the argument
to the millennial generation ages 18-24 that America is not post racial and
racism is still alive. I am a woman of the millennial generation although I’m
not naïve like many of my peers and associates I do not believe racism has
disappeared. Honestly this logic pisses me off when people of my generation make these statements “Racism is of the past” “I don’t see color when I walk into a room.”
In the words of Tamar Braxton “Lies you tell!”
Another
point that was made in the article written by Michael Arceneaux was that a recent study conducted by MTV suggested
that many millennial (young people) believe that racism is more of a problem
for previous generations than its own. A majority surveyed from ages ranging
from 14-24 believe that “having a Black president demonstrates
that racial minorities have the same opportunities as White people.” I wish he
was making this up but I know people inherently believe this foolishness
because I hear it all the time. Let me be the first to say that race is not the
only factor in my life although it remains a huge part of my identity. As a
young African American woman from the South I cannot and will not ignore race.
Toni’s Thoughts: Race is a social construct in the context of
the United States of America our nation was founded on corruption, sexism,
racism, homophobia, etc. For all of the people that say I do not see color you
are a damn fool. How do you get dressed in the morning? When you walk into a room
at work or school you see an individual’s biological gender and the color of
their skin in addition other physical features. Racism is embedded in our
society; education, legal system, professional sports, entertainment industry, employment,
the list goes on. There are disparities everywhere based on race and culture
differences. The major difference
between racism in our ( millennial) generation and older generations is racism has become more covert which gives this ideology an opportunity to become normalized and
dangerous. All I’m saying is wake up break the rose colored glasses. Another
thing stop blaming the South for all of America’s racism; I will say the South
is the most overt region in the context of racism but the North, West Coast,
and Mid West are not exempt these regions have a long history of “race riots.” President Obama's victory is a wonderful accomplishment but it has not ended racism he deals with racial issues everyday himself. Here is the link to the article from Ebony magazine.
Author:
Michael Arceneaux
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