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COLOR BLIND: MICHAEL BROWN AND RACE RELATIONS IN AMERICA

By Adeyemi0670 on August 18, 2014 • ( 0 )

BY ADEYEMI OSHUNRINADE

August 18, 2014

The crisis is Ferguson MO, is reminiscent of a trend that once again proves race relations in America is at the lowest ever. The killing of Michael Brown is not the first and won’t be the last, it is just one among cases that show the intolerance and divide in today’s America.

As the nation waits for all the facts to emerge, many in the African-American community have concluded that nothing but race is the reason an unarmed Black teen, got shot in cold blood by a White cop. If asked, supporters of Darren Wilson, the cop accused of killing the unarmed teen, would say race has no part in why Brown was shot but one of those unfortunate situations gone bad.

There is a disagreement over racial discrimination in America. Both sides are refusing to accept the divide that exists but irrespective of outcome of the Brown’s case, institutionalized racism will remain an American problem, until we as people become color blind and begin to see one another as human beings.

Despite the Civil Rights Movement attempts to close racial divide in America, racial discrimination remains a problem and the current crisis among others, is another evidence America is far behind on race relations. There exists White-Black intolerance. There are Whites who consider themselves superior to Blacks and want nothing to do with them. On the other hand, Blacks refuse to be marginalized or treated unfairly based on race and see Whites as privileged because of the color of their skin.

There is a stigma attached to being black and the racial intolerance is obvious in our daily lives. Whites are eager and quick to move out of a neighborhood as soon as they see the arrival of blacks and other so-called minorities. The question is why the intolerance and what is your definition of color? I mean what makes a person white, black, or Hispanic?

Many attribute the declining economic status of blacks and Hispanics to what they claim as lack of education, but this is not true. There are many blacks and Hispanics with college degrees today more than any other time in the history of our nation. But despite their education, blacks and Hispanics lack the opportunities their white counterparts have. It is ten times harder for a black applicant to get a job than for a white and even when the black is well qualified, there is still a stigma attached to the color.

In 2014 and decades after abolition of slavery, racial intolerance is still an issue in America. The election of Obama has not solved the problem and no amount of speech by the president or protests in Ferguson Missouri, will bridge the racial divide. It won’t take the government alone to end racial intolerance in America. All the State can do is make laws and regulations against discrimination, while the bulk of the job belongs in us as people to treat fellow human beings as a person and not based on color.

The constitution guarantees Equal Protection and while there are laws and regulations in place against discrimination, race still has adverse effects on the daily life of blacks, their economic aspirations and the pursuit of happiness. Or else, why despite the laws against discrimination and hate, we still have a sector of the population both racially and economically marginalized.

To end racism and have confidence in the system, we as individual must improve race relations among ourselves. If you are a White employer and all you see in your establishment are White employees then, you are not helping to improve race relations in fact, you are contributing to why Blacks and Latinos are racially and economically depressed.

The same goes for Black and Latino establishments that discriminate against Whites out of anger for years of mistreatment and racial intolerance. Taking your frustration on the White race by refusing to give a White person opportunity when privileged to do so will not help race relations but lead to more racial divide. The lawmakers have done their part, all they can do is make regulations against discrimination and for decades they have done just that but yet in 2014, we’re still worried about racial intolerance in America.

The war against racial discrimination is unwinnable unless we all choose to be color blind. The killing of Michael Brown and prosecution Officer Wilson, his alleged shooter won’t help race relations or end the divide, until we treat each other as persons irrespective of race, color and creed.

Adeyemi Oshunrinade [E. JD] is the author of ‘Wills Law and Contests,’ ‘Constitutional Law-First Amendment’ and ‘SAVING LOVE’ available at http://www.amazon.com/author/adeyemioshunrinade. Follow on Twitter @san0670.