Nothing Changes in America: Racism Still Exists and Will Persist

“Racial conflicts have been the biggest problem in U.S. society and domestic politics for centuries and are likely to remain so despite the fact that the United States itself put in a lot of effort to overcome this problem,” said Grzegorz Kostrzewa-Zorbas, asked by dziennik.pl about what was happening in the U.S. after the verdict in the case of a black teenager shot dead by a white security guard.

dziennik.pl: What is now happening in the U.S.?

Grzegorz Kostrzewa-Zorbas: There haven’t been any important changes, it is pretty much the same. Racial conflicts have been the biggest problem in U.S. society and domestic politics for centuries and are likely to remain so despite the fact that the United States itself put in a lot of effort to overcome this problem. In fact, the problem was only partially solved — it still persists for the most part.

This problem reappears on occasions of loud lawsuits, such as that concerning Trayvon Martin’s death.

These lawsuits aren’t the most important thing here. They are just the most attractive for the media to cover — that is what makes them stand out. This problem recurs every day and night throughout the country in millions of homes, thousands of villages, among over 300 million inhabitants. The problem does not lie in court proceedings, crimes or civil or legal lawsuits. That is the issue that Americans keep facing.

You said that the problem does not lie in lawsuits. But it is on those occasions that it can be heard outside the U.S.

Yes, and when some riots or election campaigns start. Lawsuits are frequently covered in the media overseas, but there are other events that get as much attention.

What if we turned the tables and had a black security guard shoot a white teenager and get acquitted? How would society react?

Partly similarly. A large group of Americans would assume or believe that the sentence is unjust and that judges were motivated by racial prejudice, rather than an objective judgment of the facts.

It would still be the same even if the verdict was different — in other words, if George Zimmerman was convicted.

It would be similar, but not the same. It would be less dramatic. The white are not the minority that was historically discriminated against, so the suspicion of racism influencing judges would not be that strong and sound. Let me emphasize it: It wouldn’t have been identical, just similar.

Bearing in mind that in some cities there are still protests and demonstrations, and comments remain loud, can we predict how it is going to end?

No, we can’t. What we can’t predict in particular is whether U.S. Attorney General Holder will accuse Zimmerman or municipal or state authorities of violating the victim’s civil rights ensured by federal law. This is what is currently being weighed in Washington. We cannot tell how long and how intense those peaceful demonstrations and riots will be. Those peaceful demonstrations, although very loud and visible, were far more frequent than riots, which in fact were not that frequent.

Does the fact that a black president called for peace play any role in this situation?

Yes, it does play some role. A black president has a greater power of persuasion over the African-American population of the United States, but he does not have absolute control over them. It is also worth noting that his election has not ultimately solved the problems of prejudice and racial conflicts in the U.S. For some Americans, especially the most conservative ones, it was a provocation which radicalized them and mobilized them to get involved in the case of real equality of the black, as well as other ethnic and religious, minorities.