Long road for equality, racism is still alive in U.S.

Racism is an issue that still, to this day, plagues the nation.

Many people will argue racism doesn’t exist because segregation is nearly nonexistent and we as the American people elected a ‘black’ president into the Oval Office.

Yet claiming that racism doesn’t exist is just as deadly as having acts of racism done bluntly in your face.

There is no true definition of race. Race is a social concept that is constantly changing and adding subcategories to conform to society’s needs. However, everyone utilizes ‘race’ to define who a person is.

When we see someone, the first things we notice are physical characteristics such as eye color, gender, hair type, and most importantly skin color.

With these characteristics we immediately attach an identity to that person and create racial stereotypes. Because of racial identity, we are relieved and comforted with knowing how to interact with one another.

The problem is, after identifying someone it becomes common to place that person at a certain level, whether it be class structure or social hierarchy.

White privilege is being both a non-racist and an innocent oppressor because of the way history has shaped society. White privilege is defined as “a right, advantage, or immunity granted to or enjoyed by white persons beyond the common advantage of all others; an exemption in many particular cases from certain burdens or liabilities,” according to an article by University of Dayton.

Everyone is supposed to have equal rights. However, not everyone has the needed resources to ensure the same level of success and privilege.

White privilege remains to be the elephant in the room because if it was to be addressed, it would threaten the social norm. Without seeing privileges there is no way to realize how you affect someone else.

We constantly compare what our peers and public media figures have, and as a result we fail to realize the privileges we have over people of other races.

It’s reasonable to believe that education is an open door to many opportunities in life, and the biggest, being the type of career you’ll have.

For example, in Ohio schools with the most minority students will get less state aid per student than less diverse districts, according to an article by the Cincinnati News. Instances like these give young students a lack of resources.

Without a good education it’s tougher to get a good job, and without a job there isn’t a steady flow of income.

This is why we see illegal activity around the urban communities, which then causes a snowball effect and leads to more stereotypes.

We live in a colorblind society that simply masks racial inequalities.

Racism and white privilege remain defining features of American society, and racial colorblindness allows whites and others that are privileged to ignore the disadvantages of the non-white population.

The colorblind rhetoric simply tries to brush off the history that originally created these problems.

There is an absurd notion that race doesn’t matter because everyone now has the same opportunities. Yet, minorities still fall inferior to white privilege.

Ignoring race and gender doesn’t prevent the practices of society and the fact that inequalities exist.

Take a more recent incident that has caused controversy: the 2014 NFL Super Bowl commercials.

This year Coca-Cola sparked a fuse in conservatives that are battling to preserve an America that has never existed.

People of different regions, cities and cultural identities sang “America the Beautiful” in different languages.

The intent of the video was to show how equally united America is, but it was quickly shut down by the social media uproar.

According to Time Entertainment, one Twitter user responded to the commercial saying, “WTF? @CocaCola has America the Beautiful being sung in different languages in a #SuperBowl commercial? We speak ENGLISH here, IDIOTS.”

This was one of the many disturbing tweets that showed how racism is alive and well.

There are common arguments that people of color will never be satisfied, always complain, and want sympathy for something that isn’t being done.

Nobody is yearning for sympathy. Minorities simply want the acknowledgement that racism still exists and a solution toward the so-called equal life we live.

-Chelsea Keyes is a sophomore communication major from Tacoma. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.