From my letter to my college's newspaper, Tech Times, in response to a ridiculous article

This is an excerpt from a letter I wrote to the editor of Springfield Tech. Community College's publication, Tech Times. I never received a response and it was not published. The letter was a response to an article in which the journalism student (who is an African-American) claims she never dealt with racism before attending an educational institution with a significant Black student population:


The question of whether reverse racism exists does require careful consideration of the various complexities of race relations in America. The reality of racism against minorities cannot be disputed, however. Members of minority groups can argue that what is perceived as racism toward the majority is actually self-consciousness and obsessive self-defense, due to the prevalence of racial inequality, injustice, and oppression. Can you blame them for feeling the way they do?


Throughout the history of this nation, minorities, not just African Americans, have been treated in a deplorable manner. Yes, the civil rights movement (which was not long ago) did produce certain laws that have drastically improved the lives of minorities, but racist attitudes still permeate every institution of the United States. Yes, slavery is over but African Americans are still playing catch-up in a society that was built on the backs of their ancestors and not developed for them to succeed. Recent sociological surveys show that America still has a long way to go before minorities are actually treated as equal to the majority. Can you blame minorities for noticing this in their daily lives and responding to it?

The article Black vs. White victimizes a historically racist majority and points an accusing finger at African Americans who have been conditioned to not only notice their racial difference but limited in their access to the American dream by that difference. While I do see the need for an erasure of the race lines that separate and confine us, I feel the majority is responsible for erasing the lines it has created.



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