Post-Racial America

With the election and then re-election of America’s first African-American President, it is clear that the United States has made extraordinary gains in terms of equality and racial harmony. After all, President Obama was the choice of not only minority voters, but a very large number of white Americans voted for him as well. That said, we still live in a society where racism and inequality exist. Following the verdict in the recent case of Trayvon Martin, President Obama stated in an interview that: “There are very few African-American men in this country that haven’t had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me” (Holland & Rampton, 2013, n.p.). This statement is particularly powerful given the fact that it came from the nation’s first black President. Mr. Obama went on to add that “each successive generation seems to be making progress in changing attitudes when it comes to race. It doesn’t mean we’re in a post-racial society. It doesn’t mean that racism is eliminated” (Holland & Rampton, 2013, n.p.). In other words, although we’ve made tremendous progress over the past half-century, there’s still a long way to go toward building a post-racial America.

Even President Obama doesn’t believe that his Presidency signifies an end to racism in America. Certainly, the election of our first black President caused many to jump to the conclusion that racism in America is now a thing of the past. To this fact, the President noted, “I never bought into the notion that by electing me, somehow we were entering into a post-racial period” (Huffington Post, 2012, n.p.). The fact is, we do not live in a post-racial society, not yet. “One in three black males born today can expect to go to prison at some point in their life, compared with one in every six Latino males, and one in every seventeen white males, if current incarceration trends continue” (Knafo, 2013, n.p.). There is still a tremendous amount of white privilege being doled out. Until all citizens are treated equally and fairly under the law, the idea of a post-racial America is still out of our reach.

Works Cited

Holland, S., & R. Rampton. (2013, July 19). Obama says ‘Trayvon Martin could have been me,

35 years ago.’ Reuters. Retrieved from http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE96I0XT20130719?irpc=932.

Huffington Post. (2012). Obama: I Never Thought My Election Meant America Was Post-Racial.

Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/obama-on-race-in- america_n_1455275.html

Knafo, S. (2013). 1 In 3 Black Males Will Go To Prison In Their Lifetime, Report Warns.

Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/04/racial-disparities-criminal-justice_n_4045144.html.