Everyday Racism in Barack Obama’s America

Much has improved for black people in the United States since Kennedy — but not everything. Many police officers are still too trigger-happy with their guns. This does not mean that all police officers are Rambo.

A black president, a black attorney general, a black national security advisor, a black four-star general as head of the U.S. military command responsible for the Middle East, and black CEOs or federal judges. The United States seems to be light years away from the conditions under John F. Kennedy, when the black community could only dream of ever being more than a harassed minority, decried as a hotbed of criminals and the uneducated.

The impression is both true and deceptive. A lot has changed, incredibly so, but not for everyone and not everywhere, and the feelings of the old days are just as alive as the mutual distrust. There are police officers that are quick to shoot, and there are activists who want violence. Experiences and memories do not disappear so quickly.

When the Hispanic George Zimmerman shot unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida two and a half years ago, emotions flared, and it came to riots. When a white cop in St. Louis shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown on August 9, the same thing happened. The old experience that the police are quick to shoot black people seemed to be confirmed again — assuming that everything happened as currently believed.

Obama’s Thumbscrews

It is progress that the disturbances have not spread to other cities across the United States, as they did before. However, it would be an illusion to believe that all black Americans see their past lack of rights as irrelevant. Equal rights do not mean having the same memory, the same pride, the same happiness.

The American police force in turn has its own experiences. A violent leftist splinter party has sent its people to Ferguson; street gangs are also involved in the riots. However, the numerous attacks against journalists, by the police as well as the activists, indicate a nervousness that does not fit the image of progressive America.

A militarized police force and a media-hostile attitude in parts of the Obama administration contribute to the impression that the thumbscrews are tightened just below the once-charismatic election winner of 2008. Barack Obama had promised more openness, more tolerance and more common sense in resolving conflicts.

It does not look good when his government is committed to press freedom around the world, but a governor from Obama’s party can arbitrarily have journalists arrested in America — as if St. Louis actually lies in Eastern Ukraine.