Black History Month 2009 is over. For some Americans, the celebration of African Americans’ unique history, “one that has helped to define what it means to be an American,” should be consigned to, well, history.
A Rasmussen survey found that 37 percent of Americans think Black History Month should be ended. Another 14 percent are “undecided.”
The survey also found decidedly mixed feelings about affirmative action. Forty-one percent think the election of the first African American president shows that black folks have overcome. Twenty-one percent are not sure.
What is sure is that race still matters.
The NAACP is engaging in direct action against Rupert Murdoch and calling on the media baron to “end racism in his media empire.”
Attorney General Eric Holder has come under fire for calling the United States “a nation of cowards” for not talking about race.
Meanwhile in Chicago, they’re screaming about race. Some black alderman told Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan to STFU. Sen. Roland Burris got this seat so back off calls for a special election.
Alderman Freddrenna Lyle said:
I would just suggest to those people who seek to run in the wards of the city of Chicago where there are people of color living that they should tone it down because some of us are taking notes. Those people will run at their peril.
Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin acknowledged race mattered in the Senate’s decision to seat Burris:
My colleague from Illinois, Congressman Bobby Rush, made strong statements along those lines. They were painful and hurtful, and it became part of this calculation.
Persistent racial disparities are even more painful and hurtful. President Barack Obama told the 10th annual State of the Black Union:
You know that tough times for America often mean tougher times for African Americans. This recession has been no exception. The unemployment rate among black Americans is a full five points higher than the rate among Americans as a whole.
The struggle continues.
