In dealing with race relations and
civil rights in the United States of America it is difficult to grasp the role
of politics as it is, as it once was and how it has grown. The idea of
democracy, at least as many Americans perceive it, would suggest that creating
change for any particular group, while it may be time consuming, would be very
plausible with some perseverance. I would not say that that is necessarily
false, but based on Dawson’s article about the future of black politics,
trusting the democratic process is not and has never been the way to do it.
Black politics, once upon a time, built
some of the strongest, most progressive politic campaigns of their era. Part of
this was through the democratic appointment of progressive leaders by
encouraging political participation in the black communities. Most of it was
done through gathering, raising awareness, and taking to the streets to make
the needs of the black community heard to the leaders already in power. The
black community developed its political power by demanding it. They developed
political power by mobilizing the masses and garnering support for their cause.
Through perseverance, they made headway in civil rights and race relations in
America. Politics in the black community are a very different and comparatively
dismal showing today. Today, black politics lacks strong, progressive leaders
and the poor and middle class black are too economically disenfranchised,
making it hard to mobilize the black community. The Latino community suffers
from similar difficulties. The Latino population in the United States is
growing faster than any other over the past few years. In fact, they are
currently the largest racial minority group in the United States. If the Latino
community could mobilize they would be capable of pushing for change and fairer
treatment of minorities in the United States.
Part of the reason both groups have
a hard time creating political action to change race relations is the ideal
that we live in a post-racial society. It is hard to fight color-blind racism. The
primary problem with American race relations is that everyone ignores the
issue. There is a shared sentiment, amongst whites and minorities alike, that
race is a much smaller factor in the unfair treatment of persons in the United
States than it really is. The election of a black (biracial) president and the
conditions of upper class minorities create support for the idea that
minorities are treated fairly in our country. Many minorities subscribe to the
idea that discrimination and the systematic crippling of minority communities
are not as prominent as they once were. Instead, the believe a lot of the
problems in black communities in particular are caused by lack of motivation, a
lack of education and a perpetuated culture of poverty. It is almost to
mobilize people when they themselves do not believe that there are policies and
people to mobilize against.
Racism without racists is something
that is difficult to combat politically, but if there was higher awareness and
understanding of modern racism it would be more plausible. The black and Latino
political powers need a target to aim at before they can develop or build any
traction.
No comments:
Post a Comment