On Tuesday, March 1, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was rather racially insensitive. Although he is ahead in the election, he is not quite ahead in terms of diversity with the public eye, for he has been critical towards certain religious and minority groups. Throughout the years, it is common for the campaigns and elections to have their level of personal experiences with race, economic troubles, and public welfare. Movements such as the Black Lives Matter movement are receiving backlash from Donald Trump.
The Black Lives Matter movement and other activist organizations are strongly defending and supporting for equal rights of immigrants, Muslims, women, and people of color, generally because of police brutality, broken economy, nativism, and sexism. All of these open-minded associations and social activist groups are including and bringing forth many Americans to protest and have their voices heard. Unfortunately, Trump’s pro-fascist nativism is increasing in power and the Republican Party is shocked that his racism and sexism is being brought to the forefront. Many minorities were rudely treated at Donald Trump’s rally in Louisville, Kentucky. Many white males in the crowd shoved and mistreated these minorities at this rally. Ignorance united them in their demonstration of corruptness towards the barbaric actions across lines of race, religion, and gender. With the internet being overridden by Trump’s beliefs, the reporters interviewed his wife Melania Trump, asking her personally what and why people are angry about her husband’s views on certain groups of people. “He is not a racist, he speaks his mind and isn’t afraid to do so,” said Trump. Bill Maher replied with, “If you are a Republican, you are not necessarily a racist, but if you are a racist you are probably a Republican.” I believe that running or being president should give you advantage to be open towards everyone, not just a select few. I understand that the first amendment gives people the right to freedom of speech. However, like the old saying goes: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Donald Trump is putting a façade that he doesn’t interfere with the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) David Duke. He claims that he was unaware of the existence of David Duke and his endorsement for Trump’s campaign. Trump speaks with such arrogance and deception to the topic and is very apprehensive of including his interest with this particular group. I find it hilarious that a man of Trump’s educational caliber “doesn’t know anything” about the KKK and David Duke.
I suggest that he snaps himself back to reality and understand that race is a personal yet hard issue to speak openly to the public. “I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists,” said Trump. “So I don’t know. I don’t know why he did endorse me, or what’s going on? Because I know nothing about David Duke; I know nothing about white supremacists.”
Tag: Racism
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Is Donald Trump Racist?
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America, Give Iowa a Try
With the presidential election moving ahead, with President Barack Obama finishing his second term, and with others just itching to become the new president of the United States, the Iowa caucuses took place on February 10 for the candidates to compete for the most votes.
In the Republican Party, Ted Cruz won with 27.6% of the vote, beating second-place candidate Donald Trump, who gained 24.3% of the vote. Hillary Clinton took first in the Democratic Party with 49.9%, 0.3% lead over second-place candidate Bernie Sanders, who took 49.6% of the vote.
Unfortunately, there is some debate over whether the primaries for the party nominations should start in such an unrepresentative state. According to a 2014 survey by the US Census Bureau, 92.1% of the state of Iowa is white. African-Americans, Hispanics, Latinos and other racial minorities do not make up a large portion of the Iowa population. The Iowa caucuses have been criticized as “overwhelmingly white.” What makes the 2016 presidential election so interesting is that some candidates are Jewish [Bernie Sanders (D-VT)] or of African-American [Ben Carson (R)] or Cuban [Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL)] descent. Some say that Americans are more open to having a Catholic, female, black, Hispanic, or Jewish president.
The Iowa caucuses are problematic for future primaries. Because it is the first state to vote in the presidential primaries, Iowa sets the tone for the future primaries and can even sway voter decisions in other states’ primaries. Iowa contains few major cities and hardly any people of color. New Hampshire is in a similar boat as Iowa, being the second state to hold its primary. Iowa and New Hampshire have large white populations, 92.1% in Iowa and 94.2% in New Hampshire. African-Americans make up only 3.3% and Latinos 5.6% in Iowa; New Hampshire is 1.5% African-American and 5.6% Latino. The United States collectively is 77.7% white, 13.2% black, and 17.1% Latino.
Over fifty years ago, African-Americans campaigned and fought for the right to vote; now we have that vote. However, when presidential elections start with a deeply unrepresentative primary, we need to reassess whether this is truly equal. I believe it would be much better to have the Nevada caucus spearhead the primaries because it has a more diverse population. Nevada’s population is 51.5% white, 9.2% black, and 27.8% Latino, a much more representative racial breakdown than Iowa’s. This would not be a huge change either; Nevada is the third state the hold its primary (Tuesday, February 9 for the Democratic National Party and February 23 for the GOP). All we need to do is move the caucus up three weeks and let a more diverse state set the tone for the presidential election. -
Missouri’s Misery
I have read endless articles about the daily injustices black communities face. All fill me with a pang of sadness, but more importantly, a desire for empathy and change.
The recent events at the University of Missouri (“Mizzou”) complete yet another chapter in the American black narrative, one marked by unimaginable suffering.
It is sickening to know that people’s demands for safety are addressed only by putting said safety at stake through protests and hunger strikes that often turn sour. We believe that the administrations at our schools have our best interests at heart, but for many, that is not the case.
The now ex-President of Mizzou, Tim Wolfe, did not act on the requests and pleas of his students, all of whom had legitimate grievances. Students complained about feeling unsafe on campus and alienated by the school’s racially disproportional makeup.
Several black students protested about their unmet needs in the homecoming parade. They halted Wolfe’s vehicle temporarily, but that is the furthest extent of their success.
His apathy is a reflection of how a majority of Americans feel about racism. This lack of understanding and its ramifications disgusts me.
At the same time, I harbor immense guilt for the prejudices I carry. I am an extension of the collective racist pysche that continues to define American society.
To be black means to live in a world where you are barred and prevented from living normally. This is the current state we find ourselves in fifty-one years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Such is the situation that black students tried to alter at Mizzou.
To some degree, they were successful. The university’s president and chancellor soon left their posts amid boycotts by the football team and certain professors.
Sadly, once-explicit forms of racism have transmuted into implicit (and often subconscious) means of discrimination, all of which function through continued insularity.
Even if a safe space is created for black students, the opposition’s views are not eliminated. Prejudice is rooted so deeply into our minds that we are often incapable of recognizing them.
To this day, I still discover how my biases manifest themselves in small actions and thoughts. By writing this piece, I do not feel absolved of any guilt or shame. Rather, I feel a stronger sense to confront my judgments and do my part in this fight for equality.
I stand with the students of Mizzou and all others who face discrimination. Granted, I can’t do much, but in working towards gaining a better understanding, my desire for change burns even more feverishly.