CNN conducted a poll from August to October of this year and reported many Americans feel that racism is a growing problem here in the United States, especially given the recent focus on police brutality against minorities and the uncovering of certain racist actions by different groups of people.
The Editorial Board has wondered if racism has truly become more of a problem or if we are just becoming more aware of it.
We figure it’s a combination of both. On the one hand, the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson August 2014 was a catalyst for discussion about race relations in the U.S.
Ever since, people have begun to demand fair and equal treatment from police departments, have worked hard to uncover corruption, have staged protests and demanded intervention from their government officials.
Additionally, social media has allowed us as a population to share breaking news much more easily and quickly. Now, we know if a person of a marginalized group has been unjustly killed by police or has been killed in particularly odd circumstances, like the case of Sandra Bland or Freddie Gray, both of whom died in police custody.
We have been able to start grassroots campaigns online, and call out companies, government organizations or officials and even our neighbors for racist actions. We are also able to provide examples of how racism exists and how it affects us today, like the hashtag #CrimingWhileWhite.
But on the other hand, those same platforms that allow people to fight institutionalized racism also give racists, sexists, homophobes, etc., the ability to spew their own offensive agendas.
Though there has been an increased focus on race, there has also been an increase in the exposure of racist rhetoric as a response to those movements that wish to question modern race relations.
We don’t argue race is an important issue in our state, our country and even on our campus.
But recently it has become a larger issue that we need to work to solve. An increased focus on race, no matter how it comes about, is necessary for us to move forward and fight for equality for people who have been denied it.
Don’t let people tell you racism is dead. Racism is alive and well, and exists in new and insidious forms.
If we can continue to create solutions to the problem and work together to educate and inform people about how racism still harms large swathes of our population, then we can work to end it altogether.
