50 years ago this upcoming April, civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated and, while Dr. King is responsible for helping push the country to a new era, it would seem that his lessons have been forgotten by many in recent years.
Polls of Americans, both white and black, have shown that favorable views of racial relations have been falling since 2013. This change coincides with the acquittal of George Zimmerman and the subsequent formation of the Black Lives Matter movement. According to Gallup polls, 2015 marked the lowest point in race relations since the turn of the century.
This was not long after the time President Obama was heeded as the man who could finally close the chapter on America’s racial tensions. Instead he opted to stoke it, meekly condemning the “handful” of rioters who took to the streets whilst also justifying their reasons for doing so. The massacre of five Dallas …show more content…
Now President Trump has opted to play culture warrior as well after trading blows with NFL and NBA athletes over the national anthem. The status of Racial identity politics is now one such that any conversation to be had on police brutality has become polluted if not infeasible.
At the heart of it all, Dr. King’s message of placing the content of one’s character of the color of one’s skin has faded in recent years, with college campuses being particularly affected. From Evergreen State and their “No White People Day,” to UC-Berkeley students using a human wall to restrict white students from crossing a bridge, to the hysterical protests at Mizzou. These big moments overshadow the persistent racially divisive message being sowed on campus every day in classrooms and clubs across the nation: the color of your skin is a quintessential part of who you
Polls of Americans, both white and black, have shown that favorable views of racial relations have been falling since 2013. This change coincides with the acquittal of George Zimmerman and the subsequent formation of the Black Lives Matter movement. According to Gallup polls, 2015 marked the lowest point in race relations since the turn of the century.
This was not long after the time President Obama was heeded as the man who could finally close the chapter on America’s racial tensions. Instead he opted to stoke it, meekly condemning the “handful” of rioters who took to the streets whilst also justifying their reasons for doing so. The massacre of five Dallas …show more content…
Now President Trump has opted to play culture warrior as well after trading blows with NFL and NBA athletes over the national anthem. The status of Racial identity politics is now one such that any conversation to be had on police brutality has become polluted if not infeasible.
At the heart of it all, Dr. King’s message of placing the content of one’s character of the color of one’s skin has faded in recent years, with college campuses being particularly affected. From Evergreen State and their “No White People Day,” to UC-Berkeley students using a human wall to restrict white students from crossing a bridge, to the hysterical protests at Mizzou. These big moments overshadow the persistent racially divisive message being sowed on campus every day in classrooms and clubs across the nation: the color of your skin is a quintessential part of who you