Republicans just love to say that racism no longer exists in the United States. The “proof” for their assertion is that Barack Obama was elected and re-elected President. As if that makes all the bad go away with a wave of a hand. And those who support Donald Trump are no different. They too seem to believe that institutional racism is a thing of the past, as was demonstrated this morning on CNN’s State of the Union.
Van Jones began by saying that while Trump claims to be reaching out to African-Americans, he has only been engaged in a “botched, zig-zaggy outreach to African-Americans.” Jones then added:
“On the one hand, he sticks up for one of the shooting victims in Tulsa. And then he turns right around and says, ‘I want stop and frisk.’ Stop and frisk is the most unpopular, the least effective and the most alienating policy — period — in policing in 20 years, found unconstitutional. And he reaches out for that.”
Tennessee Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, who has replaced Michele Bachmann as the most ill-informed member of the House, replied:
“It is imperative that we support a thin blue line. It is what separates us from order and anarchy. You cannot say all cops are bad.”
Democratic strategist Angela Rye, who was also on the panel, countered Blackburn with a long-overdue history lesson:
“It’s very important when we talk about institutional racism to understand where that really comes from.
“And what gets dangerous is when we pretend that history isn’t is what it is. So as we commemorate the first national museum of African-American history and culture, let us also acknowledge the very treacherous history of law enforcement and black people that [have] roots back to 1704 when you had the very first slave patrol. That is our first interaction with law enforcement. The foundation of the institution is horrible for us.
“And you pass those tales down by generation to the point where kids like me growing up — now, I’m 36 — are afraid of the police. And that’s not for nothing, there’s a history there… So, we can’t pretend like this came out of nowhere and this is a new phenomenon.”
Then Van Jones said what has needed to be said for years now about what black Americans want from those who are sworn to serve and protect us all:
“What African-Americans want is an effective and fair policing. When someone says there’s institutional racism, they are not saying every single police officer hates black people. What they’re saying is, something is happening where there’s a bias, where an African-American kid wearing a hoodie seems to be a threat; a white kid wearing a hoodie might be seen maybe as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. And there’s an unfairness there.
“When you start talking about data, when you start talking about trends, and somebody says, ‘Well you just hate all cops,’ that shuts down the discussion as well.”
Featured Image Via YouTube Screengrab
