The following is taken from a letter that I wrote to a friend following the decision of the grand jury in Ferguson, MO.

“Back here in the US, I think that we’ve woken up to the need to a Civil Rights Movement #2 (Dos.) It’s a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, but the older I get the more I feel convinced that we were subtly indoctrinated with a few concepts when we were going through the US school system. One of those concepts is that the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s was something that happened a long time ago and that it slew the giant of Racism, which is also something that happened a long time ago. This teaching was a big disservice to White Americans, as well as to Americans “of color.” While there are many white people who are able to at least try to imagine themselves in the place of a Black person, there seem to be far more white people who believe that racism is over and that Black people in this country just moan and complain, and play the “race card” whenever it is convenient for them. 

With each new incident –like this tragic one– we are being shaken awake (I hope) a little at time to discover it is not as we were taught. It’s a sickening moment for me, but it leaves no doubt in my mind as to where I stand in the US. And it lets me know that we’ll have to keep fighting. We no longer have the luxury to believe that any of this ended in the 60s.”

Not long after sending the letter, I came across an article on CNN’s news site, and thought that it was the best analysis on the subject that I have ever come across. I have included a link to that article, and I hope that others will read it, as I believe that it gives a helpful insight into where we are in America’s present struggle to combat systemic, and dangerous bias against Black Americans.

The new threat: ‘Racism without racists’