Post-Racial Society . . .

Hey everyone I hope yall are good. I just really needed to talk about this concept that we are living in a post-racial society. I hear this term on the news, in tv programming and just through-out regular everyday conversation. Now what is a post-racial society you ask well it is a society that does not view people by their race just taking a person as that a human being.

Now all this talk has really picked up steam since Pres Obama was elected into office. Some ppl say "look you have a black president, so that must mean that race is no longer a factor". I look at this comment and say just the fact that you are pointing out his "race" to prove that we are past "race" seems to disprove your theory (but that is just me) . . .

Now let me get into a few recent stories that struck me as "odd" if we were living in a post-racial society: First since I am a lawyer I have to start off with the Harvard Law Student that stated that "African american are genetically predisposed to be less intelligent". Now the only reason why anyone heard about this story was because of who the young lady sent this crazy email to. And once it was sent it was forward to every Black Law Student Association within the top 25 law school list servs (gotta watch your friends, I keep telling ppl). Now even though this theory was disproved decades ago and there is no scientific backing for her ludicrous statements, she still voiced them. And to think she will be starting her legal career as a law clerk for a Federal Judge where policy can actually be affected. I will have the link to the story at the end of the blog post just in case you want to read all about it . . .

Next up we have this great article by Tim Wise entitled "Imagine if the Tea Party was Black", which basically outlines the ridiculous things that the tea party does but asking you to imagine if there was a black person doing these things. The article is very insightful and culminates stating the privilege that whites hold in this country to this day is staggering to say the least. Now I took a class addressing this topic of "white privilege" in law school and learn that no matter how much we try to deny it is still very much in play today in most aspects of society. The link to the article will be at the end of the blog post as well and is definitely well worth the read.

Next, we move to the new Arizona immigrant law which is "tough on border patrol". Now while I understand that we have to be tough on people crossing the border, this law in my view steps up a system of racial profiling that is bound to have grave repercussions. Not only do you have to walk with identification to prove that you are "legal" (even though this country was built by "illegal immigrants") the police can stop any one you they "reasonably suspect" to be an illegal, man that is just opening up the door to grave due process violations (but that is just my way of thought). Just like how mostly blacks are stopped for "reasonably" being "suspicious" (which is complete BS), so will many Latinos succumb to this blatant racism. And if that was not enough the citizens of Arizona have the right to sue any governmental agency (other than the police department and the State itself) if they feel that this law in not being enforced (and people wonder why the Court systems are so clogged). Well there is a hilarious take on the law done by the Daily Show and the end of the post.

Finally, this was last year but I just remembered it while I was typing and that was the uproar that surrounded a white homecoming queen at Hampton University an HBCU. While the controversy to me personally was just ppl showing their true colors it comes to show you that no one is beyond this craze racism. And just a spoiler she is mixed . . . The link to the article is at the end of the post.

As I stated at the beginning this post-racial society concept is a good concept but in this country I feel it is more of a fairy tale than anything. These four stories tend to show that people still conceive the concept of race daily and to reject that it still has its place in this society is rejecting what this society is . . . Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your day! GOD BLESS!!!

Link to Harvard Law Student Email: http://abovethelaw.com/2010/04/hls-3ls-racist-email-goes-national/

Link to Tim Wise Piece "What if the Tea Party were Black": http://ephphatha-poetry.blogspot.com/2010/04/imagine-if-tea-party-was-black-tim-wise.html?spref=fb

Link to Daily show skit on Arizona Immigration law: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-april-26-2010/law---border?xrs=synd_facebook

Link to the Uproar over teh White homecoming queen at Hampton: http://thefreshxpress.com/2009/10/a-white-homecoming-queen-at-an-hbcu/