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    Blacks, as well as other racial minorities, have been fighting for true equality since the birth of this nation. At this point in America’s ambivalent history, a battle of epic proportions is taking place. The objective is to get mainstream America to realize that there is still much more to be done to expiate the crimes that have been perpetrated and perpetuated against racial minorities in this proclaimed stronghold of democracy. After whites committed genocide against American Indians, and secured the slave trade—one of a number of heinous institutions that this world has seen—are racial minorities supposed to be appeased by mere legislation in the form of Civil rights and an embattled Affirmative Action program? After centuries of free labor and real estate that was acquired by unthinkable atrocities, and then leaving thousands of persons virtually homeless and with little to no economic power, does America truly believe that it has ameliorated this situation by telling racial minorities that they are equal in word, but not deed? Do the majority of Americans sincerely believe that a long and ugly history of exploitation, racism, and the doctrine of manifest destiny on one end of the scales of justice, can be balanced by four decades of halfhearted attempts at spreading “equality”?

    It is somewhat ludicrous that in this new millennium, many people still believe that they are inherently superior to others based on their race as opposed to being the historical and continual beneficiaries of racial oppression. To hear someone refer to “coons,” “wetbacks,” “chow meins,” “spicks,” “redskins,” “black jelly beans,” “niggers,” etc., while simultaneously drinking beer and chewing “snuff” is a ridiculous notion. But it is just as ridiculous to close your eyes to the racism that continues to manifest itself in America today, especially the institutional racism that is as prevalent as ever. Moreover, to downplay or remain purposefully ignorant (i.e., apathetic) about the dire sociological, psychological, and economical effects that centuries of racism have played upon oppressed persons is perhaps the greatest crime of all. Why do racial minorities make up disproportionate numbers within the military and penal system? Why are racial minorities so highly underrepresented in the boardrooms and classrooms of America? Why is there such a great disparity of social and economic conditions between whites and racial minorities? Could it be that racism and discrimination still exist, and/or Affirmative Action has not been allowed to reach fruition? After years of socialization through a whip, being overrun by “manifest destiny,” being treated like cattle or legally “three-fifths” of a man, and then later being negatively portrayed in the media (if portrayed at all), virtually being forgotten in school books, and not being paid any serious reparations for hundreds of years of oppression, how can this not have a detrimental effect upon the overall condition and psyche of racial minorities in today’s times?

    People must understand that for America to truly thrive, the undercurrent of ignorance that pervades this country must end. America cannot afford to allow an increasing class of persons to be deprived of social, economic, and educational opportunities because of institutional racism. If America continues on this course, social and economic sores will fester until the pain becomes unbearable. This could ultimately lead to civil unrest, or worse. Many of us are complacent now, but in another century when approximately half of America will be so-called “minorities,” future generations may look at our inaction to deal forthrightly and openly about our racial crisis as the Achilles heel that caused America’s demise.