How much racism is there in America?
The problem is that people (well, white people) think there is no racism if it isn’t in their face – if it isn’t obvious & overt. That’s part of our present problem – denial. The overt stuff is easy to point out; it’s still all over the country. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project counted 762 active hate groups in the United States in 2004. It’s the subtle racism that’s harder to see. How many people of color do you know? How many hold top positions in the company you work for? Have you been in a conversation with them about racism and if so, do they think it’s pretty much over? Yes, things have improved, but… Not being able to see that most people of color do NOT think it’s over is a big part of “white privilege”. There are several books about it; I suggest you read some (see Antiracism resources). When told that it was more a problem of poverty and that people who are “well-educated and of above average intelligence” are the privileged ones, I replied as follows.
