Is Racism in America Over?
November 13, 2008
The hopes and dreams of millions of people across the world were realized when Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States. For the first time in American history, an African American family will be moving into the White House.
Obama’s ascension to political power begs the question: what is the future of race relations in America?
For decades now, conservatives engaged in a sophisticated assault on the civil and human rights of people of color in this country. The most obvious examples include the dismantling of affirmative action programs nationwide and still other efforts to eliminate the state recognition of race whatsoever, for instance, in the 2003 California ballot initiative, Prop 54. The severe diminishment of our social welfare net, the expansion of prisons, the disinvestment in public education, and the present-day attacks on undocumented immigrants are affronts to civil and human rights as well.
But perhaps the greatest victory in conservatives’ war on race is not political but cultural. The opponents of civil rights now control the very terms upon which Americans discuss race itself. Merely talking about race is divisive or amplifies stereotypes. Conservatives convinced Americans that race is only the color of one’s skin, nothing more.
It is no wonder that the power of the civil rights community to address widespread issues of racial inequality has been severely curtailed.
Does Obama’s election now mean that race is dead in America? Did Obama win the highest office in the land by transcending his blackness?
In the words of the President-Elect himself, no. In his March 18, 2008 speech delivered in the wake of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright controversy, Obama stated, “Race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now…. the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed.”
President Obama’s election lifts the racial gag order silencing the voices of the American civil rights community.
At the Asian Law Caucus, a 36 year old civil and human rights organization, we hope addressing matters of racial inequality will be a priority for the federal government. Moreover, we hope that the experiences of not only African Americans, but also Asians, Latinos, and Native Americans will be made part of the national discourse on race relations.
One major step in moving forward can be on the issue of immigrant integration. By looking at reforms to our immigration system through the lens of race, we are forced to craft solutions that do not relegate immigrants to second-class status in society. Instead, we should confront immigrant integration as a matter of racial integration. Our country has a strong tradition of overcoming the racial ills of our past, and we must carry this forward into the 21st century.
The next four years present unprecedented opportunities to confront our lasting legacy of discrimination. In truth, I never thought this discussion was even feasible until Barack Obama was elected President.
This is the change that we have been waiting for.
Christopher Punongbayan is the deputy director of the San Francisco-based Asian Law Caucus and a graduate of Brown University and UCLA School of Law. He is a former Ford Foundation New Voices Fellow.
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Racism may not be mentioned in politics much,but is alive and well in America’s criminal justice system.Take for example liberal California’s Three Strikes Law.The toughest three strikes law in the nation.California strikes out blacks at 14 times the rate of white, yet there is no evidence that blacks are more likely to commit crimes than whites, they are just more likely to be struck out in court than whites.The inequities in sentencing can be seen across the country and until we confront these we will be no better a nation than we were before civil rights ever became an issue!
Racism is not dead in America, and it never will be.
Just because the newest president is not a white man, doesn’t mean that racism is gone.
In my opinion Racism is not only discriminating people of a different race, but praising them because they are a different race.