This article about Native American teens pulled off a college tour because of a white woman's discomfort with their presence says a lot about American race issues today. As with anti-communist scares of the past (Red Scare), our country has gotten stuck on a media diet of foreign invasion and homegrown race hatred. When every incident is seen as a potential racist or terrorist event, maybe it's time to change our diet and start addressing the underlying issues of race and privilege.
We live in a time when the American government encourages us to "see something, say something." But, increasingly, it feels to people of color like being seen by white people means having the police swiftly called on us, because we make those white folks feel uncomfortable based on our presence alone. What they're "seeing" is people of color in spaces they expect to be more white, and they're calling law enforcement to reassure them of that - and it's blatant racism.
THINK: Native American teens pulled off college tour are latest victims of the push to police white spaces
No comments:
Post a Comment