Racism in a Color Blind Post-Racial America…

The presidential campaign and the election of Barack Obama have highlighted race relations in our country. America elected its first African-American President, and not to mention the first President, who is not a white man, signals an important moment in America’s racial history. However, this event must be taken in the proper context, and it must be acknowledged that racism still burns brightly in our county.

This issue has been brought to light most notably on our college campuses, both locally here in Texas and in other places across the country.

According to accounts in the Appalachian “disappointment” has been expressed numerous times through the harassment of black students in residence halls of Appalachian State University, and casual attitudes regarding assassination attempts against Obama including t-shirts that have been seen with “Obama ’08, Biden ’09” on them.

At Lehigh University in Pennsylvania racial slurs were directed toward at least three black Lehigh University students in the week following Barack Obama’s election. According to the Brown and White while a African-American female student was having a conversation about Obama another student said to her, “You don't know what you're talking about. You're just an ignorant black bitch.”

The day after the election, according to an article in North Carolina News and Observer, racist graffiti was found in the North Carolina State University’s Freedom Expression Tunnel. The arcticle went on to say that the message in the tunnel was not the first time "KKK" had appeared in public spaces on campus this semester. The NAACP met with Chancellor James Oblinger this morning and has called for the four students responsible to be expelled.

According to a story in the Waco Tribune-Herald, there were incidents at Baylor University after the election; a noose was found hanging from a tree outside Morrison Hall, Outside Brooks Flats students burned Obama/Biden campaign signs, and there was an incident between black and white students outside Penland Residence Hall. One student characterized the incidents as “people looking for a story and making something out of nothing.”

At Texas A&M University there have been several incidents over the last few years, and recently there was an “Anti-Obama Carnival” protest staged by the Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) in which students were encouraged to throw eggs at a photograph of Barack Obama. During a second protest, in which students threw eggs at Obama’s “policies”, the YCT executive director Jay Cunningham sparked resentment among African-American students when he responded to the questions from an African-American student by saying that he “does not speak Ebonics.”

To all the people, especially the college students, who say that this election was not about race and that we live in a color blind society: You need to wake up. Every time you repeat those words you propagate the message that race and racism did not have an effect on this election and does play a prominent role in our society. We do not live in a color blind society and we do not live in a post-racial world. Until we put aside these ideas we are only going to hold ourselves back from progressing in race relations in this county.

In an editorial by the Brown and White editorial board the question is asked how should the problem of racism be approached:

It is evident that there is no easy solution to fighting hate and it can be agreed that something must be done. Should it be a top-down approach, a bottom-up approach or both?

The truth is that no matter how many course requirements for gender and race studies are added to curriculums, no matter how many changes to the code of conduct are made, no matter how much sensitivity training for student groups is given, it has to start on an individual level.

Anti-prejudice, anti-racist, and anti-sexist allies are made through interaction and engagement, not through mandates. This does not mean that the leaders of institutions of high learning or leaders in our government should not lead in these issues. What this means is that when you see or hear hate you should not just ignore it. When you see or hear intolerant behavior you should confront it.

Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. That is where it starts. It starts with one person standing up and saying that using racial slurs is offensive not just to the people they are aimed at but to all Americans that think everyone should have equal opportunity. It starts with a friend, a classmate, a coworker, a stranger.

Racism and prejudice is something that has lived in America for generations, and you cannot erase two hundred years of racial divide during one election. However, you can start with one person.

Yes we can, begins today.