I grew up in Oklahoma, specifically the Tulsa area, and for nearly all that time I attended public schools. When I got to college, I was shocked to find out that my education had left out a huge chapter in Tulsa's history: The
Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.
That's a
huge omission. And it's not just the schools. As far as I know, there wasn't even a physical reminder of the event in or around Tulsa until five or six years ago. Compare that to the Oklahoma City bombing, which is comparable in terms of loss of human life and injuries. We have a powerful memorial museum there now, so Oklahoma has done its best to do right by those people, but as to the race riots...
My point is, battling institutionalized racism is not about pointing people out and calling them racist (although it does grab headlines when celebrities misstep). People
do do that, and it's petty and counterproductive, but the larger idea isn't about giving the self-righteous a club to thwack individuals with. There's a serious problem in the deal America gives black people that goes deep into how our society is built. It's why white people get leniency in court, and black people tend to get the book thrown at them. Not just the courts even, but people on the street .
Eh, I don't mean to rant. I'll stop it here, but there is a problem, and just because some kooks want to use the issue as a platform to feel superior or whatever, that doesn't meant the problem is imaginary.