BBC News posted an interesting list of statistics, which are "six numbers that tell the story of United States race relations." The numbers are: "2 black billionaires," "9.8% have a bachelor's degree," "75% of white Americans have only white friends," "10.9% black unemployment," and "37% of male prison inmates are black." The article says that these numbers help to explain how the shooting of one black teen in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked violence across the United States.
In light of the decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the death of Mike Brown, these statistics help to explain the reality of race relations in the United States, and the growing frustration of minorities with these relations. In fact, these statistics are very discouraging, yet, sadly, not surprising. As a country, the United States likes to think it has come farther than it has in establishing and maintaining racial equality. However, these statistics prove that racism truly is not "dead" in the United States, as the Supreme Court claimed in 2013.
Many people have expressed befuddlement as to why people became so outraged over the murders of black teenagers such as Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown in recent years. Looking at the statistics, it becomes clear that not only is racism very real and alive, but that racial tensions have always been present in the United States, and are only now becoming more visible due to the interconnectivity provided by the internet. This newfound awareness of the true state of race relations in the United States, which blacks have long been aware of and which many whites are only just discovering, has led to all the protests and violence across the United States over the death of Mike Brown, which symbolizes the omnipresent racism blacks still face in this country.
The statistics listed in the article prove that race relations are not as simple as thought, especially after the election of the United States' first black president in 2008, which seemed such a positive step forward. However, these statistics raise the question of what can be done to change the numbers, especially when many in the United States, including the Supreme Court Justices, do not seem to recognize the rampant racism. The events in Ferguson have helped to start a discussion, but even more important is continuing that discussion and enacting positive change from it, which will be difficult unless the majority of Americans acknowledge that there is a problem in the first place.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30214825
A blog for the Civil Rights Movement class at Rhodes College, Fall 2014
These statistics are extremely enlightening, thanks for sharing the article! I wish this had gone viral on social media websites, but I could only imagine the high amounts of people that would argue these facts and claim inaccuracy.
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, many people feel we have progressed through racism because of the election of Obama. The reality of the situation is that we still live in a society with strong racist tendencies. I feel that most Americans are unwilling to admit this problem, which is why there has been so much discourse over the shootings of Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown. If everyone would be able to sympathize with the inequalities African Americans face in America on a daily basis, everyone would want to join the fight against the institutional racism rooted throughout America.
Right now, America, as a whole, is complacent with the racism we have instilled in our society, and we need to struggle with it and fight against it until we are able to overcome it.