Wake up and smell the racism

Check out this video. Study participants included 133 children from schools that met very specific economic and demographic requirements. In total, eight schools participated: four in the greater New York City area and four in Georgia.

I'm not technological enough to get this video to load, but it's longer and more telling of the problems with skin color bias. I just want to hug the cute little girl in the blue sweater who says "skin color is magical." AC360 Biased toward lighter skin 

Racism is still a problem worldwide, and that includes America. Even these little kids know it. I struggle with racism, everyone I know does. It creeps in when you least expect it because our society has some major issues to deal with. I'm by NO means an expert on everyday racial challenges, so these are just my amateur thoughts. I also realize that racism is not just about whites against blacks, but that blacks are racist toward whites too. It's a colossal problem all around with deep, old, engrained roots. 

The African American community does face some daunting challenges, but they also suffer from a troubled past (yes, I'm going to play the slavery card). From my studies (and no, I'm not brainwashed by "liberal professors"), I've learned more about the struggles African Americans have had to face in the 20th century. Only post-1950s (ish!) did black Americans technically have roughly similar education, employment, and extracurricular opportunities. So, that means that our parents' generation would be the first black generation to remotely have a chance to move beyond their circumstances, and even still they faced rampant racism. Whether we admit it or not, African Americans are still burdened by the consequences of racism, ideas which in large part stem from the heritage of slavery. I'm not glossing over personal responsibility or making excuses, but I get frustrated hearing white people born into circumstances which provided them with good public schools or expensive private schools, employed (and often educated) parents, guidance to get into college, and encouragement to stay in school disparage blacks for not following the same path. 

Tucker mentors two 8th grade African American boys in town, and they are definitely suffering from the statistics below. They are great boys, so fun, respectful, hilarious, kind, and ambitious. Both of them want to go to college (even though Maurice is a Florida fan!). But they live in the government projects and attend a school with many kids in their same situation. Their caretaker doesn't have higher education, but, as a single mother who has taken in her nephew as well, she fears for her boys, that they will fall into violence, drug dealing, or worse. You can't tell me it's completely these boys' fault that they struggle in school, even though they're smart. Even with teachers giving their all, it's tough to teach kids who have unstable home environments or caregivers who, because of their own lack of education or guidance, therefore don't know how to help their own kids. And we can't just slap a government program onto the problem like a bandaid and trust it will heal. They call it the cycle of poverty for a reason. It's not just up to the "black community" to embrace these challenges and solve them. We are all in this community together, and to truly bridge the racial divide means respecting one another and realizing our mutual problems. If only it could be so simple, I know. 

To get involved with kids in Athens, visit Downtown Ministries. There are some amazing things going on there to help heal wounds between the black and white community. You can also check out Friends 4 Life in the Athens area for mentoring opportunities. 

Here are current challenges the US black population faces as of March 2011 (taken from Atlanta Post, an African American news website):

1. According to a report by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) African-Americans only make up 13.6 percent of the United States population, but represent 50.3 percent of all diagnosed cases of HIV
2. According to a study by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University, regardless of income, African-Americans have less financial assets than middle-income white families, and the wealth gap between black and white households has more than quadrupled, regardless of income bracket. The average white family holds around $95,000 more in assets than the average black family. 
3. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African-American mothers lead the percentage of unwed mothers at 72 percent.
4. According to a report by the United States Department of Education, almost half of African American students who attend high school in low-income areas have higher dropout rates, about 73 percent.
5. According to the Associated Press, only about 37 percent of African Americans who enroll in college, actually receive a degree within six years.
6. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, African-Americans make up 60.21 percent of the United States prison population.
7. According to the United States Census Bureau, African-Americans have the highest population of people living in poverty.
8. According to a report by the United States Centers for Disease Control Health Disparities and Inequalities in January 2011, African-Americans have the highest coronary heart disease death rate.

Those are some pretty convicting statistics with of course no easy solutions. Here's hoping increasing awareness will break down barriers and facilitate change. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes. 

"So the question is not whether we'll be extremists but what kind of extremists will we be... extremists for hate or for love?...for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? ...Jesus Christ was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists."  MLK, Jr.