Will racism in America ever end? Sadly, probably not.

I got the call the other day that my Uncle Tom had died. Yes that was really his name. Tom Davidson. He was actually my step uncle but whatever. I lost touch with him several years ago which is to actually say that I quit contacting him. It turns out that he was a super big redneck racist and these are not the type of people that I like to associate with. His level of racism and his outward displays of it did not appeal to me. He would say things like, “That O’Boy ain’t my president!” and things like that. It is the sort of mentality that will never get us past all the work that we’ve done as a nation to get over this racism problem that we have. And yes, we do have a racism problem. Just look at the news. The reality though is we are all racist in a sort of way. It is just how we act upon it. Don’t believe me? Let me ask you a question- You are walking down a residential street and coming your direction is a large black man with a pit bull and on the opposite side of the street is a little old grandma walking a poodle. Which side of the street do you walk on? That is racism.

To actually say there is no difference between the blacks or the Asians and the whites is just ludicrous. There are obvious differences. Oh yes sure we are all just people with the same hopes and dreams and concerns but there are indeed differences. The challenge is that we will never get past racism. Racism will always be a part of our society and culture. Oh sure we have gotten past the days where blacks were not allowed to hang out in the same casinos and resorts as their white counterparts were allowed to do so in Las Vegas. I remember hearing stories of Sammy Davis Jr not being able to hang out with Frank Sinatra at the Sands. He had to go up the road to Moulin Rouge Resort and Casino. Or the time he took a swim in a resort pool and they drained it when he left. We can all drink out of the same water faucet now. But the thing is if you look around you will see people who are still super racist like my uncle was. You will see people who are still joining the KKK and this sort of thing where they are telling their children that it is proper to be a racist then we will always have this problem. The children will grow up and have these beliefs of racism pounded into their head and they will believe it to be true and then they will pass it onto their children as well. What we really need to do as a nation and as people who are not racist as my Uncle Tom was is to stop acknowledging the fact that we are black or white or whatever. We need to just concern ourselves with being people. We need to embrace that we are all just human beings. We need to acknowledge the fact that we do not need an NAACP or the United Negro College fund or any of these things. These organizations remind the members they are different than others and they need special help. If we are equal then we should be treated all equally. No special things for anybody just because you’re white or black or Indian or Asian. No special programs if you are male or female. If we are all the same then we should all be treated the same. I know… sadly it is not that way.

I mean because if we are really honest with ourselves we see and acknowledge and understand the fact that we are not all the same. But in order for us to get past the stupid idea of racism and equality based on the color of your skin or your sex or nationality then we need to just start treating each other as equals.