Race Relations In America Improving Every Year, And The Media Hates It

by Noah Rothman | 1:32 pm, July 15th, 2013

Many readers of this post clicked through only because they were appalled at the implication in that headline – that racism in America is on the decline. This empirical, undeniable reality provokes predictable expressions of disbelief, rage, and frustration from those who wish to believe it is not true. They are the predictable reactions one would expect to follow any expression of heresy which contradicts canonical “truths.”

Those who insist that race relations in America are on the decline are provided with ample, anecdotal evidence on a daily basis from the news media which supports this article of faith. But the overwhelming preponderance of evidence contradicts this assertion. Even merely asserting that there has been undeniable progress in relations between blacks and whites in the U.S. over the course of a single generation is greeted with horror from the establishment media. Much like the prosecutors in the trial of George Zimmerman argued that the jurors needed to decide the case with their hearts rather than their heads, the media asks its audience to emote and disregard the facts when discussing racial politics in America. This is a tragedy.

In a post last week, I noted that political commentators – on the left and right – predicting civil unrest in the event that Zimmerman was found not guilty were displaying an offensive lack of faith in or knowledge of the black community. That verdict came and, with some small-scale exceptions, that event was not characterized by a violent response from African-Americans. Unsurprisingly, though opinions about the correctness of the verdict varied, the vast majority of all Americans internalized the jury’s decision rationally.

This prediction was not a difficult one to make. Any historical reading of the progress of race relations in this country suggests that they are far better today than they were in 1992 – the last time a shocking trial verdict resulted in widespread rioting.

Gallup polling over the course of the last 50 years measures the trajectory of how blacks and whites view one another. Since Gallup started recording data on race relations in 1963, the trend has been an undeniably positive one.

In June of that year, respondents were asked “do you think that blacks have as good a chance as white people in your community to get any kind of job for which they are qualified?” Only 39 percent said that they were, while 48 percent said that they were not. The next time they asked that question, in June of 1978, that result had flipped with 67 percent of respondents saying that African-Americans were qualified for and had access to whatever opportunities they chose to seek while just 24 percent disagreed. Though the number has fluctuated throughout history, today between 71 and 79 percent of Americans think blacks have “as good a chance” as white people to have access to the career of their choice.

Another dramatic shift can be observed in how Americans think “civil rights for blacks have changed in this country.” In 1995, in the wake of the verdict in the trial of O.J. Simpson, only 32 percent of Americans said that civil rights for blacks had “greatly improved” while 51 percent said civil rights had only improved “somewhat.” In August, 2011, 50 percent said that civil rights for blacks had “greatly improved” with 39 percent qualifying that improvement with “somewhat.”

In 2011, a full 76 percent of Americans believe that “new civil rights laws” are “not needed” to advance racial equality. Just 21 percent said that they were – down dramatically from August, 1993, when 38 percent agreed that new laws relating to civil rights are necessary.

Following the O.J. verdict, 68 percent of Americans said that race relations in America will “always be a problem.” Only 29 percent said they believed that racial animus will “eventually” disappear. In 2011, 52 percent believed that race relations between blacks and whites will “eventually [be] worked out.” 46 percent insist that problems will persist, up from 30 percent in 2008 following the election of the first black President of the United States.

In Gallup’s most recent survey of the state of race relations in America in January, 2013, a majority of Americans said that they were “somewhat” or “very” satisfied with racial progress in America. While all of the above data points have fluctuated – and racial progress comes in fits and starts, occasionally receding at times – the trajectory of race relations in America are following a historically positive trend.

It is not merely a fact of American life measured in survey responses. Gaps indicative of racial disparity in this country continue to dissipate. “According to the most recent census data, blacks have virtually closed the gap with whites not only in the percentage graduating from high school but also in the percentage graduating from junior college,” wrote Orlando Patterson in the New York Times… in 1997. Today, in an underreported but critical development showing how race relations have improved, the 2010 census showed that, while blacks were slightly less likely than other groups to receive a college degree, “Blacks were also more likely to have completed some college than any other group.”

Unfortunately halted by the onset of the Great Recession, the income and wage gap between blacks and whites was gradually, though not fast enough, approaching parity in 2005. Persistently higher unemployment among blacks in the wake of the financial downturn has exacerbated the perennial problem of a wealth disparity between the races. But the statistical trends are hard to ignore.

None of these statistics are cited as an effort to show race relations are perfect, or that racial disparity does not exist. Inequality and racism do exist in America – in varying degrees, they probably always will. But these statistics do empirically advance the notion that the equality of opportunity for blacks and whites, as well as non-white Hispanics and Asians, is progressing every year.

Many, particularly those in the elite media, react bitterly to this news. The outcome of the Zimmerman trial has highlighted how many media professionals cling to the belief that racial disparity in America is fixed feature of its existence and will never appreciably dissipate.

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http://www.mediaite.com/online/race-rela...media-hates-it/

I've been all over the country and met all sorts of Americans and the most racist people I've ever met were the Canadians I ran across in the strip clubs of Niagara Falls. They hate the French Canadians so much they started beating the shit out one just for the hell of it.

Quote: Frank Cannon wrote in post #2

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I've been all over the country and met all sorts of Americans and the most racist people I've ever met were the Canadians I ran across in the strip clubs of Niagara Falls. They hate the French Canadians so much they started beating the shit out one just for the hell of it.

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Quote: Rev wrote in post #3

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The most racist people I have had the sore displeasure of coming across are Leftists.

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Quote: Rev wrote in post #3

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The most racist people I have had the sore displeasure of coming across are Leftists.

We conservative folks respect an honorable human being regardless of color, but from the sanctimonious Liberal elite all the way down to the street level Alinskyite agitator, they are racists to their core. Yet, black, white and Latino Leftists will work together in the war against freedom, even though they loathe one another.

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Zitat

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BTW,I also disagree that there is less racism. IMHO,there is FAR more racism today than there was in 1960.

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I believe it's taken a different form. My family moved from rural western PA to Durham, NC in 1961 when I was 8 years old. In my little elementary school in PA, there were no blacks. I'm not sure if I was aware or not that there WERE black people - I vaguely remember my parents having a jazz album with a black lady pictured on it (Ella Fitzgerald, maybe?) - and I asked about her. There CERTAINLY weren't any blacks on TV - not in the days of the Beav and Ozzie and Harriet.

So moving to NC was quite an experience - there were LOTS of black people. There were also drinking fountains and rest rooms labelled "white" and "colored." I guess what I'm saying is there was "institutional" racism - sponsored by the gov't (at least on the state & local level). We lived in NC for about 2 years - during that time the elementary school I attended there was integrated - with one little sixth grade girl.

What an experience that must have been for her.

Of course now all those kinds of laws are long gone - and rightly so. But racism will NEVER completely go away - no matter how many laws the Statists try to ram through on their way to a Humanistic Utopia. And while you can and should create laws that ensure EVERYONE has an equal opportunity, you cannot legislate AGAINST a human condition.

Quote: Rufus T Firefly wrote in post #6

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Zitat

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BTW,I also disagree that there is less racism. IMHO,there is FAR more racism today than there was in 1960.

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I believe it's taken a different form. My family moved from rural western PA to Durham, NC in 1961 when I was 8 years old. In my little elementary school in PA, there were no blacks. I'm not sure if I was aware or not that there WERE black people - I vaguely remember my parents having a jazz album with a black lady pictured on it (Ella Fitzgerald, maybe?) - and I asked about her. There CERTAINLY weren't any blacks on TV - not in the days of the Beav and Ozzie and Harriet.

So moving to NC was quite an experience - there were LOTS of black people. There were also drinking fountains and rest rooms labelled "white" and "colored." I guess what I'm saying is there was "institutional" racism - sponsored by the gov't (at least on the state & local level). We lived in NC for about 2 years - during that time the elementary school I attended there was integrated - with one little sixth grade girl.

What an experience that must have been for her.

Of course now all those kinds of laws are long gone - and rightly so. But racism will NEVER completely go away - no matter how many laws the Statists try to ram through on their way to a Humanistic Utopia. And while you can and should create laws that ensure EVERYONE has an equal opportunity, you cannot legislate AGAINST a human condition.

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Racism might not completely go away but we were making great strides until Obama chose to divide us along racial lines for political reasons.
I can't ever remember feeling the way I do now about blacks. They have put these feelings inside me out of frustration with their never ending demands and playing the never ending victims.
It's hard to see a future where they will be satisfied with just being Americans along with the rest of us, proud of their country, pride in themselves, and some kind of independent living besides the government supporting them from cradle to grave.

The young blacks have been taught to hate white people by blacks like Al Sharpton so they have a big chip on their shoulder. It's not going to be removed any time soon but most people are getting tired of it and are turning away for lack of any progress. Obama is also fanning the flames of partisan divide and will surely live to regret his actions.

Quote: Olivia wrote in post #7

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Quote: Rufus T Firefly wrote in post #6

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Zitat

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BTW,I also disagree that there is less racism. IMHO,there is FAR more racism today than there was in 1960.

---

I believe it's taken a different form. My family moved from rural western PA to Durham, NC in 1961 when I was 8 years old. In my little elementary school in PA, there were no blacks. I'm not sure if I was aware or not that there WERE black people - I vaguely remember my parents having a jazz album with a black lady pictured on it (Ella Fitzgerald, maybe?) - and I asked about her. There CERTAINLY weren't any blacks on TV - not in the days of the Beav and Ozzie and Harriet.

So moving to NC was quite an experience - there were LOTS of black people. There were also drinking fountains and rest rooms labelled "white" and "colored." I guess what I'm saying is there was "institutional" racism - sponsored by the gov't (at least on the state & local level). We lived in NC for about 2 years - during that time the elementary school I attended there was integrated - with one little sixth grade girl.

What an experience that must have been for her.

Of course now all those kinds of laws are long gone - and rightly so. But racism will NEVER completely go away - no matter how many laws the Statists try to ram through on their way to a Humanistic Utopia. And while you can and should create laws that ensure EVERYONE has an equal opportunity, you cannot legislate AGAINST a human condition.

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Racism might not completely go away but we were making great strides until Obama chose to divide us along racial lines for political reasons.
I can't ever remember feeling the way I do now about blacks. They have put these feelings inside me out of frustration with their never ending demands and playing the never ending victims.
It's hard to see a future where they will be satisfied with just being Americans along with the rest of us, proud of their country, pride in themselves, and some kind of independent living besides the government supporting them from cradle to grave.

The young blacks have been taught to hate white people by blacks like Al Sharpton so they have a big chip on their shoulder. It's not going to be removed any time soon but most people are getting tired of it and are turning away for lack of any progress. Obama is also fanning the flames of partisan divide and will surely live to regret his actions.

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Exactly, things were much better along these lines pre-2008. Using the "black v. white" racial divide has been one of their chief tactics to sow discord and unrest. We also see the "rich v. poor," "Christian v. non-Christian," "AGW-believers v. Heretics," "muslims v. everyone else," "gays v. everyone else," and I'm sure there are a few more that I can't think of at the moment. But you get the general idea.

Quote: Olivia wrote in post #7

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Racism might not completely go away but we were making great strides until Obama chose to divide us along racial lines for political reasons.

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In my opinion, the most racism we see is in the News. If we shut the tv and computer and went out...if you live in an area where mixed races use dept stores, food stores, etc..it seems everyone is polite and gets along.

If you ask me..TV was our ruination.

The blacks also get attention..because if you are black..you are part of one big group. People make the mistake that all hispanics are another group..and whites, another group. Thats not true. Hispanics come from different countries and they all dont like each other, which is why you dont see them coming out the way the blacks do..they are too busy disliking each other..same with whites. Blacks stick together like no other group.

Heh..and to take it a step further. As you know, I am of Italian decent. I was raised in a town that was mostly Italian immigrants and their descendants. They used to bicker "sort of kiddingly" about where in Italy they came from, and their area was always the best. I remember when I was a kid, in the 50s, and they started to put these mafia tv shows on, my mother would tell me not to tell anyone I was half Sicilian..because they wouldnt like me..lmao. Well, that went over like a lead balloon for her. She chose to marry one..therefore..thats who I was. But, you see what I mean? Whites and hispanics do not stick together like the blacks do.

Quote: Just Ducky wrote in post #10

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Whites and hispanics do not stick together like the blacks do.

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The white race is getting watered down little by little. Other races seem to have more children....there is a lot of mixed marrying going on, which doesnt seem to be taboo, the way it was in my generation.

As for whites sticking together. I dont see that happening. If it hasnt happened so far, I doubt it ever will. Whites are more willing to support blacks, than the other way around. Just look at this Zimmerman case. Between TV and FB, I see a lot of whites, putting race aside and siding with the poor, innocent, black child.