8/14/2019 The Only Known Cure for Racism
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The Only Known Cure for Racism
By Sally Morem
A Gallup poll recently revealed that white Americans generally
believe that blackAmericans are treated fairly in such areas as
hiring, education, and housing. Black
Americans disagree. Few white people admit to harboring racist
sentiments even though
they do concede that racism is a serious problem in the U.S. No
one can doubt the forceof race hatred in such cases as the black
man being dragged to his death by white
supremacists in Texas.
However, there is a serious disagreement between those who wish
to rectify past
discrimination with such policies as affirmative action and
those who oppose them.
Affirmative action is seen by many to be the only way to lighten
the load of racialprejudice experienced by members of minority
groups.
Others see it as a new version of racism doomed to fail the very
groups it was designed to
help by reinforcing racial stereotypes and animosity. California
political activists find itironic that affirmative action has
actually hurt a minority group--Asian American college
students.
Speaking of which, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American
commentators forcefully
remind us that America has never been merely a "bi-racial"
society. The problems of race
have never been limited to "black" and "white." They too have
suffered fromdiscrimination over the years.
We must also face the challenge of conflict between minority
races. For example, the
Los Angeles riots pitted Korean American shopkeepers against
black residents in south-central L.A.
Other commentators point out that more and more Americans of
different races are
marrying one another. Their children no longer feel comfortable
in choosing to identifywith one race. Instead, they prefer to call
themselves bi-racial or multi-racial Americans.
As a result, the reconfiguration of racial catagories in the
2000 census has becom aserious bone of contention between racial
activists.
