Many Americans deny that racism is a huge problem here in the United States, even when there is quite overwhelming evidence that not only of racism existing, but of it being still a huge problem, and an enormous obstacle for the nation in progressing.
Here's the thing: the United States has a long and undeniable history regarding racism.
There was the genocide of the natives, with some Americans loudly voicing their favored opinion of extermination. Many more simply did not view the natives as real human beings, dismissing them as "savages" repeatedly - and I'm talking about very prominent Americans, including quite a few Founding Fathers, as well as numerous American presidents over the course of many years. There was also a trend of broken treaties whenever it as favorable for the American government to break existing treaties with the natives, which was often. Along the course of the centuries, there were also numerous episodes of Americans using superior force to kill natives en masse, from the Pequot War in New England in the 17th century, to the Wounded Knee massacre in the 19th century, and even to the reservation system that, in fact, essentially builds a wall encircling existing reservations that effectively keeps them from being recognized as true American citizens, and which keeps many of these nations in poverty and a perpetual system of hopelessness.
It was not the last country to abolish slavery, but abolition came significantly later than it did in other countries. Also, it took a fierce internal war with devastating casualties on all sides in order for it to end.
Then, it was officially replaced shortly thereafter with a state-sanctioned racist system that lasted from a few years after the end of the Civil War right to the sixties. In fact, officially, legalized Jim Crow racism was the law of the land in the Dixie states until 1964 - just ten years before I was born! So, we are not talking about ancient history here.
And let us not forget that there have been numerous racial incidents since, although Americans tend to feel uncomfortable talking about these (although they sure are quick to point an accusing finger when such tensions arise in other places, such as Europe).
Why so many Americans still deny racism exists when the evidence is everywhere Updated by Jenée Desmond-Harris on February 21, 2015
John Legend is right: more black men are in correctional control now than enslaved in 1850 by Dara Lind on February 23, 2015:
http://www.vox.com/2015/2/23/8088989/john-legend-oscars-speech-quote
American Denial premiered on Independent Lens on Monday, February 23, 2015, at 10:00 pm ET on PBS.
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