Unlike William Kristol, who shuddered at Barack Obama’s
speech on March 18th of 2008, I shuddered at Kristol’s responding column
of March 24 in the New York Times. Kristol claimed, “Over the last several decades, we’ve done
pretty well in overcoming racial barriers and prejudice. Problems remain. But
we won’t make progress if we now have to endure a din of race talk that will do
more to divide us than unite us, and more to confuse than to clarify.” In fact
I believe from the record of police brutality towards Blacks, the infamous
racist actions of the Republican Party since 1960, and the present poverty
rates that we as a nation have not achieved as much as Kristol claims that we
have.
First, Mr. Kristol says that the last thing this country needs is another
failed attempt at a focus on race, because we have better and more important
things to deal with like the war and our failing economy. Obviously Sean Bell’s
killers forgot to get that memo. Bell was just one of a series of victims of
police brutality against Blacks. Don’t forget Abner Louima in 1997, and Amadu
Dialo in 1999.
All these episodes reveal that race is still a topic to be
visited because the killings of innocent people are not to be looked over.
Maybe Kristol needs to realize that it could be the other failed attempts at a
focus on race are the reason why such acts of violence still occur today.
Another
question that we must ask ourselves when reading this outlandish response is
“Just how credible is this man?” Since the 1960s there has been a strained
relationship between Republicans, like Kristol, and the fight for civil
rights--especially at the hands of African Americans. The Republican Party has
been anti-Black civil rights for quite some time.
Today, Republican presidential nominee John McCain states
that he was sorry he voted against the Martin Luther King Day holiday because he did not have all the facts. Unless McCain and Kristol have
both been living under rocks, they would know that many Black people have added
and still add to the well-being of this country. Yet it seems that race does
not matter to them, and the Republican Party, in the least.
Lastly,
Kristol says that we have better things to deal with
that race, like the economy. But if Kristol were truly focusing on our economy,
he would see blatant inequality. According to the 2000 census about 9.1 percent
of white Americans live under the poverty line, compared to 24.9 percent of Black
Americans and 22.6 percent of Hispanic Americans. This data reveals that there is
still a great deal of inequality in America, which begs us to ask if Kristol
did his research.
Be
cause of his cavalier disregard of the evidence, Kristol’s claims have made him
out to be a liar. Race is still a powerful and prevalent issue worthy of a
national conversation.
Buki Elegbede is a Rutgers-Newark student. Posted June 2008.
