Blog Post #1 Life After the Obama Administration
Three events in the past decade that crushed the hope Obama gave us
After watching and discussing "White Like Me," a film written and produced in 2013 while President Barack Obama was still in office, I realized how different the overall demeanor of our society truly is now than it was. Throughout this blog, I will give just a few of the countless examples of events that indeed prove that America is not the perfect example of antiracism that people hoped it would be after Obama's election.
#1 George Floyd's Murder
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was arrested and killed by police after allegedly using counterfeit money to pay at a convenience store in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A bystander videoed the incident and published the video online, which went viral. Americans were infuriated by the graphic video and took to the streets during a global pandemic to show their outrage.
Although cases similar to Floyd's have happened in the past and have happened since, his case, in particular, made history as it reignited the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of a presidency that promoted racism in America. Protests have subsided in the past few years, but more people are aware of police brutality than ever before. Moreover, in a study by AP News in June 2020, researchers found that about six in 10 adults in America say police are more likely to use deadly force on Black people. Police brutality existed during Obama's presidency; however, it wasn't until Donald Trump was elected that the president all but endorsed racially motivated police brutality.
#2 Racial Education Bans
Recently, in July of 2023, Florida lawmakers passed a bill on education that prevents curriculum in public schools from including teachings that may suggest "anyone is privileged or oppressed based on their race or skin color," according to CNN. This movement to take the discussion of race out of schools completely is sweeping across many of the southern states with an urge to "fight against wokeness," according to Ron DeSantis, the current governor of Florida.
Pushes to completely erase the discussion of racism in schools will be detrimental to American children's education. During most of my K-12 academic career, America thrived on the false hope for a bright future that resurrected with Obama, the first black man to be president's election. Now, children in school won't even be allowed to acknowledge the cruelty of slavery.
#3 The Corona Virus
On Jan 21, 2020, the first case of Covid in America was reported, and by February 2020, the United States had declared a public health emergency. The devasting coronavirus pandemic altered the lives of almost every American but had an extreme effect on minorities for two main reasons.
First, the virus was erected in China before becoming a global issue. So, people quickly blamed the entire Chinese race for the illness, with President Trump continuously calling it the "China Virus." Racism toward the Asian population in America skyrocketed and turned a tough time for all into a downright miserable time for Asian Americans.
Second, minorities, specifically Black people, were more affected by the virus than white people. According to The Covid Tracking Project, during the height of the pandemic, Black people died at 1.4 times the rate of white people. The high mortality rate for minorities during the pandemic proved that the healthcare system largely favors the care of white people over people of color. While there was no pandemic during the Obama administration to compare this situation, we know that Obama worked to address the inadequate treatment and care that Black people experience in healthcare.
Comments
Post a Comment