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<\/a><\/p>\nIn the wake of the Mike Brown and Eric Garner decisions, of the excessive additional unarmed youth who have been killed in the short weeks following the injustice, and in the face of vast disparities facing our country at every level, I believe that there is an important discussion that we need to be having, but one being generally avoided.\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n In our society, we’ve demonized the “R Word” so much so, that people pretend it doesn’t exist in our communities, and certainly not in our government, legal system, or other public spaces. That word, and problem, is racism.<\/p>\n A recent public poll<\/a> found that only 6 percent of whites in the United States believe racism to be a very serious problem. On the other hand, most of people of color report experiencing racial discrimination in their lives.<\/p>\n A similar Gallup Survey<\/a> on black-white relations revealed that seven of 10 whites believe that blacks are treated equally in their communities; eight in 10 say blacks receive equal educational opportunities, and 83 percent say blacks receive equal housing opportunities. Only a third of whites believe blacks face racial bias from police in their areas. That means two out of three whites believe that black Americans are treated exactly the same as white Americans.<\/p>\n But when you look at the data, it’s appallingly clear that this isn’t the case.<\/p>\n A major national study revealed that people with “white sounding names” are 50 percent more likely<\/a> to be called back for a job interview than those with “black sounding” names, even when all other credentials are the same. First-time arrests for black youth have an incarceration rate that is 48 times higher<\/a> than white youth, even when all other factors of the crime are identical. Black Americans are 2,100 percent more likely to be fatally shot by police<\/a> than white Americans. In fact, the average black male has a one-in-three chance<\/a> of going to prison in their lifetime.<\/p>\n To explain these staggering statistics either you believe that people of color are naturally criminally inclined, have a poor work ethic and are predisposed to engage self-endangering behaviors, or you believe that we have a systemic wide problem across our political, legal, education, financial and health sectors. Either way, it confirms the existence of prevalent racism.<\/p>\n The civil unrest that is occurring now is only one battle in a long war. Black Americans have been fighting for air since they were dragged here as slaves and treated as property. Think about it: Eric Garner’s murder would have been punished in the 1800s for destroying property but our “justice” system ruled that his life was not even worth that. Native Americans have been dealt with unjustly since immigrants arrived to steal land and commit genocide without retribution. They’re expected to be grateful that they can build casinos while our system continues to hack away at their rights, while major sports teams still see them as savages and mascots. We still have a state (Florida) that has a law embedded into its constitution<\/a> designed to prevent Asians from owning property. When it was on the ballot, voters elected to keep it there!<\/p>\n People of color have been drowning, struggling for air in a “justice” system that is anything but just to those most affected by its oppression. Racism did not end with the march on Washington, Dr. King’s “dream” seems like a far reality when those who enforce our laws are not held accountable to live by them. It did not end when Obama was elected president. The end of racism could not be captured by a single moment because justice is a process, not an event.<\/p>\n