Horror in Dallas

The murder of five policemen in Dallas, during a peaceful protest at the deaths in Louisiana and Minnesota of two black citizens by law enforcement agents, starkly revealed the depth of the racial divide that grips American society. President Obama, extremely sensitive to police abuses, has been equally firm in his condemnation of what happened in Dallas, which he described as “vicious, calculated and “despicable.”

Despite the undeniable legislative progress since the ‘60s to eliminate discrimination, racial tensions are still present in that society, in a country in which lax gun control makes it easy to resort to deadly violence. The crimes committed in the Texas town are particularly serious if, as research suggests, it was a premeditated act, executed solely for the purpose, in the words of its author, to “kill white policemen.”

The numbers of deaths by police — and of the police, as in this case — starkly reveal the extent of the problem. In the last year police have killed 509 people, 123 of whom were black, 24 percent — twice the size of the African-American population, which only represents 12 percent of the total.

Along with gun control, repairing ties between the community and law enforcement are outstanding problems that Obama will leave to whomever succeeds him. His historic arrival at the White House is undeniable proof of progress in civil rights and equality. But, as these episodes show, changing the laws is not enough if you do not change attitudes that give wings to racism and violence.