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Friday, April 04, 2008

"Colorblind" Generation Struggles with Race--Seattle Times

"It doesn't make sense to say that you're 'colorblind,' " Greenwald said. "People need to be aware of the fact that our cultural environment — like news, entertainment, literature, all that — has implanted certain ideas in our heads."

Portion below; whole thing here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004326428_raceyoung04m.html

Miller, who grew up in a predominantly black Chicago neighborhood, echoes Olson's sentiments, calling for a "community dialogue" about race, especially among younger people who didn't grow up "knowing Black Codes or Jim Crow laws or fighting against something explicit."

When Miller was a teenager, she attended the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ, along with Obama, his family and thousands of other black Americans.

Obama's speech last month was in response to video of Wright making inflammatory comments from the pulpit about racism in America.

"People's reaction to Reverend Wright's comments are a good indication of where we are with race in this country," Miller said.

"A lot of black people feel they're oppressed every day. They're followed around stores, they're pulled over in their cars, whatever. A black church — and I'm not saying all black churches are the same — but a black church is all about providing a place to get your self-esteem boosted again. That's what Reverend Wright is preaching to."

While Miller says she's grateful that she has not had to endure the "in-your-face racism" that her parents did, she says her generation still has a lot of work to do.

"We need to be careful that in our struggle to be more progressive, we don't put the issue of racism on the back burner," she said. "We need to talk about the problem to fix the problem."

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