This article explores many topics related to these two questions: Has the United States progressed morally and socially enough to where Black Americans are no longer disadvantaged on a societal level? And, how we are to decide what a marker of social progress is in the context of racial discrimination? The main issue explained in the article that prompts the questions above is the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States. To many, his election symbolizes an end to the era of racial prejudice. To sociologists who rely on objective data and the scientific method to judge social equality, however, the answer cannot be summed up based on the election of one person, regardless of how remarkable or symbolic it is. This
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People are not as blatantly racist, and racists must consider their company before saying racist things or risk exposure as bigots and the possibility of losing their social status. But is the fear of seeming racist or being racist the same thing as being post-racist?
The statistics about mass incarcerations of Blacks are so extreme that it is impossible to believe the system is not rigged; one must either believe that it is rigged or endorse the view that Blacks are inherently more criminal than Whites. This is also clearly seen when one looks at the statistics of wealth with regards to race: If Whites average about 10 times the amount of wealth as Blacks, what viewpoints are there other than that there is a social equality problem or that Blacks are less hard-working and/or and less valuable than their White …show more content…
The fact that we can even wonder if or when we will be a post-racial society is a big leap from 30 or 40 years ago where the entire concept would have been met with disdain or even mocked as being unimportant or unnecessary. However, even if our society suddenly became completely absent of primary victimization of Black people, the legacy and cascade effects of past racism would still exist. It takes more than a few generations to change a pattern, especially one as entrenched as the subjugation of a minority class by the ruling
People are not as blatantly racist, and racists must consider their company before saying racist things or risk exposure as bigots and the possibility of losing their social status. But is the fear of seeming racist or being racist the same thing as being post-racist?
The statistics about mass incarcerations of Blacks are so extreme that it is impossible to believe the system is not rigged; one must either believe that it is rigged or endorse the view that Blacks are inherently more criminal than Whites. This is also clearly seen when one looks at the statistics of wealth with regards to race: If Whites average about 10 times the amount of wealth as Blacks, what viewpoints are there other than that there is a social equality problem or that Blacks are less hard-working and/or and less valuable than their White …show more content…
The fact that we can even wonder if or when we will be a post-racial society is a big leap from 30 or 40 years ago where the entire concept would have been met with disdain or even mocked as being unimportant or unnecessary. However, even if our society suddenly became completely absent of primary victimization of Black people, the legacy and cascade effects of past racism would still exist. It takes more than a few generations to change a pattern, especially one as entrenched as the subjugation of a minority class by the ruling