407 years ago, the first slaves arrived in Virginia. They were from Angola.
162 years ago, Lincoln declared all enslaved people in Confederate territories were free.
160 years ago (to the day!), the last enslaved people in the USA were freed.
61 years ago, racial discrimination and segregation were outlawed by the Civil Rights Act.
60 years ago, black Americans finally secured comprehensive electoral protections through the Voting Rights Act.
But…
12 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled states no longer required federal approval for new voting policies.
Since then, more than 100 voter suppression laws have been passed across states with histories of discriminatory practices.
For every dollar earned by a white person in the USA, a black person earns 87 cents.
White Americans hold 84% of the country’s wealth, while black people hold just 3%.
Institutional racism remains a serious problem, with black people facing disparities in education, housing, employment, healthcare, and the criminal justice system.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, three good things that help everyone, are under constant attack.
Today is Juneteenth. It’s a day to celebrate.
But I hope all of my white friends can take a moment to consider that however far we think we’ve come with civil rights in this country, it hasn’t been enough.
Every day we see more examples of people in power actively working to undermine fairness and decency, while driving increasingly larger wedges between ethnic groups. We have to be better than this. We must refuse to accept this. There is so much work to be done, by all of us.
Adam is the creator of OMG.lol (which has and is scheduled to sponsor Foofaraw) and Neato, an upcoming blogging platform.
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