OUR MILLENNIALS HAVE A VOICE THAT SHOULD BE HEARD!
White Supremacy still exists in America; it’s a pillar within the foundation of societal views as trademarks to living in the states. For example, the NBA and NFL are sports adored by millions of Americans worldwide, and some would say it is one of the only domains where the badge of a non-inclusive, strictly all-white America is absent. Yes, Blacks dominate the American sports scene. By 2020, 81.1% of the NBA players are black (if mixed are counted as black), 17.9% white, 12.5% mixed race (mostly mulatto), and 1.1% other races.
The NBA has the highest percentage of black players of any major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada to further my position. At a closer rate, 70% of the NFL players are black. Despite these promising statistics, these leagues being predominantly black is not because of a lack of white Supremacy in this country, but it’s an evident sign of its continuation. The age of slavery had a disturbing practice of breeding “super slaves” for profit. The price of slaves was anchored by industry in other states that consumed slaves in rice and sugar production and constant territorial expansion. As long as the slave power grew, breeders could bank on future demand and increase prices. Masters would breed the most muscular men and women together to create “better slaves,” and generations of significantly physically dominant generations followed. Black athletic dominance is rooted in White Supremacy. White Supremacy in America has managed to keep the minority where it wants them to be and where past generations bred them to excel. It has become a meme in mainstream social media to say, “you making it out of the hood” under-talented black men’s posts. For many young black men, “making it out of the hood” is not a joke but a reality. Making it out can become dependent on sports scholarships, which only measure their physical prowess by the white man’s world. Even then, less than 2 percent of college athletes ever play professionally. Going pro is no guarantee of having a long career because it is dangerous and too short-lived; some would go as far as to say it’s a modern-day manifestation of slavery.
The social stigma of white people ignoring the blatant problems concerning race and social standing in America is ignorant. It helps White Supremacy, which thrives under the guise of an America, heal from racism and systemic racism. For these supremacists to act like nothing is wrong in America enables the absurdity that happens every day. Police brutality resulting in death to less access to high-paying jobs causes a black disturbance.
With the idea of less funding for schools in predominantly black neighborhoods, governments never recognize this problem, and racial profiling continues to rise. A range of other injustices against African Americans is suitable under the general public’s nose. It doesn’t hit the news until a black who is affected becomes the menace, and the media runs away with it. White people who dismiss racial issues like Ahmaud Arbery’s murder and several more fatal police brutality cases will invalidate the seriousness of brutality against blacks. Instead, they resort to it by mentioning that the black person should have listened to the cops or shouldn’t have threatened them in the first place.
What’s wrong with this logic is that shooting someone should never be the first resort when a cop feels threatened, especially when the person they were apprehending did not come off as a threat in the first place. Cops are trained professionals who should know the risks to their lives that they encounter on the job. Pulling a trigger on impulse because they felt scared for their lives is an understandable emotion but a glaringly unprofessional decision, and it should cost them their jobs. But of course, a white person who refuses to face the facts will continue to gaslight those relatively privileged and ignorant of the problems plaguing black America by justifying racist actions.
These people can convince themselves White Supremacy is over because an increasing number of blacks hold power positions in modern times. For example, Michael Jordan is a billionaire basketball player, America has had a black president, Lupita Nyong won an Oscar. These people represent the small percentage of black America with special societal privileges due to their celebrity status. To see most injustices in black America, you have to look to most black Americans, not in positions of power that still experience a system’s brunt tactics, not in their favor. Fittingly, research shows scant interpersonal contact between white and black Americans. One in five white respondents took a poll from the Public Religion Research Institute last year and said that they rarely or never interacted with someone of a different race. In a 2013 study by the same group, nonpartisan nonprofit respondents were asked to identify the race of as many as seven people with whom they had discussed essential matters in the six months before the survey. Among white respondents, 75 percent named only white individuals as their core friendship network. Flippant white people, who invalidate the struggles of the minority, have a good chance of being a part of those statistics. They lack the opportunity to familiarize themselves with blacks and their challenges, but they do not lack the option to educate themselves. Without a genuine effort to acknowledge black America’s problems, White Supremacy will always have a cover to avoid racial issues.
Black people encourage ‘White Supremacy’ in ways that are rarely even apparent to themselves, in the name of being a “civilized human being.” Speaking independently of their people and scathing, generalized statements about their people are trademarks of what most call “Uncle Toms.” Uncle Tom’s and that mentality are disguised by wanting to have the best for yourself than most of your race. You can have the best for yourself even when you dress a certain way, speak a certain way, or act a certain way that identifies with a culture in the minority. Cultural hairstyles like dreads, African American vernacular, and casual wear in public are not signs of uneducated and unprofessional, which White Supremacy has conditioned many to believe. It is an expression of who you are and what makes you happy. White Supremacy’s lesser form of brainwashing is the phenomenon of black people flippantly airing out the fact that they do not vote because it “wouldn’t matter.” This racial identifier is the mentality that puts the oppressors in power and grossly misuses the rights their ancestors fought for them to possess. It will matter; it may not seem like it now, but every vote matters in the long run. White Supremacy bred the disenfranchisement of black America. Non-participation of blacks in voting feeds into what white supremacists love: an absence of a voice and representation for minorities. In that way, it is easier for them to control America politically. As long as black people let uncle tom’s mindsets control their actions, white Supremacy will take advantage of it. White Supremacy is not merely radical groups and raging “Karens” in social media that appear far and few in between daily. It’s a part of America’s structure and the structure of a staggering amount of people’s mindsets.
Submitted By:
Ms. Lettie
September 2020
This Article was Last Updated On: December 9, 2021