Abagond
John McWhorter, in his Forbes.com article, “Racism In America Is Over” (December 30th 2008), says that the election of a black man as president proves that racism against blacks is no longer a big issue in America. I expect white people to say that sort of thing, yet McWhorter is black.
McWhorter is not saying that racism has gone away completely, that no white person will ever use the n-word again, say. America will continue to be imperfect. But a racism that allows a black man to become president can only be so bad - and, in practice, not bad enough to matter much. It certainly cannot be the main issue or even one of the main issues that affects black Americans. Those who truly want to help blacks should give their attention to other, more important things.
I agree that America has come a long way in the past 50 years and the election of Obama is a big step on that road, but that does not mean racism no longer matters.
John McWhorter, in his Forbes.com article, “Racism In America Is Over” (December 30th 2008), says that the election of a black man as president proves that racism against blacks is no longer a big issue in America. I expect white people to say that sort of thing, yet McWhorter is black.
McWhorter is not saying that racism has gone away completely, that no white person will ever use the n-word again, say. America will continue to be imperfect. But a racism that allows a black man to become president can only be so bad - and, in practice, not bad enough to matter much. It certainly cannot be the main issue or even one of the main issues that affects black Americans. Those who truly want to help blacks should give their attention to other, more important things.
I agree that America has come a long way in the past 50 years and the election of Obama is a big step on that road, but that does not mean racism no longer matters.
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