Racially Divided...Still

An editorial commentator from the LA Times went on to provide well thought out argument that there is still a large disparity in regards to equity among races in the United States.  The commentator was well researched and spoke to a largely overlooked point.  Now since the LA Times is deemed as a "liberal" publication, the people who think racism is completely gone, will probably not lift the page.

Now to clarify, if someone states that racism does not exist, that speaks largely to their ignorance, or that in fact they are racist themselves.

The commentator focused on how GOP presidential candidate, (and opponent for President Obama in the upcoming election) Herman Cain, really failed to address the issue at large.  They quoted Mr. Cain saying, "I don't believe that there is racism in this country that holds anybody back in a big way."  However, towards the end of the article provided some statistics that could make jaws drop.

What the commentator did fail to mention is that assertions like Mr. Cain's come from a place of privilege.  (Again showing ignorance or in fact that they themselves are racists, not to say that Mr. Cain is racist, merely privileged).

It is important to note that by and large racism still exists in the United States.  Lynchings happened as late as 1983, and more notably, the cycle of poverty in low-income areas (aka-the inner-city that the white middle class vacated to move to the suburbs) is wildly perpetuated.  The commentator did note that access to excellent elementary and high schools in these areas is few and far between for these kids.  However, Jonathan Kozol (activist, researcher, academic, advocate), in his book Shame of the Nation, goes one further and steps inside of these low-income area schools for his research and turns out results that would make any well-intentioned parent gasp with dispair.  Kozol notes that in these schools, children are not told to seek higher education, they are not told that they have resources available to them to get them out of poverty (scholarships to higher education, etc), but they are told to aspire to nothing more than a management position at a local chain restaurant/convenience store/fast food etc.  Kozol also notes that schools are far more segregated now than they were in the 1960s, under the guise of "diversity."  (How many white children attend those schools?)


Racism exists in the school districts, at the boards, and with the distribution of funds to these types of schools.  To rebut Mr. Cain's assertion, there needs to be more scrutiny to what is being taught at low-income schools, so that children in the areas truly do have a level playing field.  The commentator ended the article by a quote by Austin Nichols, "The playing field is still slanted," and it will remain so until people in their place of privilege, with their good intentions, and their ideas that racism does not exist, actually research and get upset at the fact that the United States does not practice the equality it preaches.  The commentator did say that those individuals looking to sit in the Oval Office have to be cognizant of where opportunities truly lie in leveling the playing field.