black optimism

The racism of low expectations

In 1964, the United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, ending the ability to discriminate and the basis of race. Obviously, this didn’t end racism, but it did make it much harder to be overtly racist. Since then, as more and more racists die and are replaced by kids who didn’t grow up learning to hate others for characteristics like skin color, racism slowly dies out. It would be great to magic wand it away, but unfortunately, humans are not that easily programmed or reprogrammed. I’m sure some people grew or learned their way out of racist behavior,…

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See the women rally

Blacks in the United States have had tremendous obstacles placed before them throughout the country’s history. Even if you start your clock after the last slaves were free, a number of laws, rules, and permitted attitudes have not ensured the playing field is not yet level. I was discussing this with a female friend who accidentally veered into something I had been observing the past few years, but never connected to the black community. If you’re a user of LinkedIn or in a mid-to-large size corporation, you can’t get too far without noticing another “women in tech,” or “women’s…

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