Persisting Racism

“You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” ~Octavia Butler
Even though this quote doesn’t exactly pertain to the blog I am writing, I liked it and I think it pertains to the essays we are writing for our final papers. Writing takes practice; even Octavia Butler has to edit her work. First drafts are always shit.

Even if the whole quote doesn’t pertain to the blog, persistence does. In Octavia Butler’s novel Kindred, racism persists throughout history. Butler says, “The future of humanity will be like the past, we'll do what we've always done.” In Kindred Dana is a “slave” to the company she writes for and when she travels back in time, she is a slave to Rufus. Race defines who Dana is. Even though her education and intellect alter her experiences she can’t “rub off” (127) her skin tone.

In my sociology class, we have been learning about institutionalized racism. Even though the civil rights act in 1964 banned explicit forms of racism like segregation, racism is still engrained in the practices of American society. Much like Dana suffered as a slave to her job, while Kevin enjoyed job freedom and job security- situations like this exist in real life. The unemployment rate for African Americans is 16%, 4% higher than that of whites. In New Orleans, there is a 50% chance that African American men will spend part of their lifetimes in prison, whereas white men in New Orleans have less than a 10% chance of ever going to prison. Schools in mostly black neighborhoods are often worse than schools in mostly white neighborhoods, and adoption rates for black babies are half that of those for white babies. Why do these forms of institutionalized racism persist in American society almost 50 years after the Civil Rights Act was enacted? Is it like Butler said “the future of humanity will be like the past”? Or will this form of persistence eventually fade?