With the recent tragic shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, there are a lot of strong opinions out there about how the situation should be addressed. Some would say that there is a pervasive institutional racism at play in the criminal justice system and society as a whole. Yet, others are quick to defend the police in question and deny any sort of racial disparity in our grand ole nation. Regardless of one's stance on such issues, too many Americans have died at the hand of law enforcement.
Everyone understands that there are certain dangers associated with being an upholder of the peace, but those in such positions must understand that they yield extreme power in their holsters. The choice to take the life of another human being is never something to be taken lightly. I know that our police officers understand this. Ninety-five percent of those in uniform are the best kind of people who sacrifice the most for our society's safety. However, one unjust death at the hands of those who protect us is too much. We as a nation must hold our officers accountable for such actions to set precedent for future altercations. I digress, to get back to the discussion about institutional racism here are some facts about the slanted playing field we have created. The Center for American progress stated "A 10 percentage-point increase in the share of nonwhite students in a school is associated with a $75 decrease in per student spending." This means that if a community serves primarily non-white students, then there is a significant drop in student spending.
Education is one of the cornerstones of American culture. It is national law that every child under the age of 16 must attain some form of education. These children have a right to a good education that can set them up for prosperous futures later in life. I hear all the time that "for a person to make it in this world, they have to seize every opportunity and fight until they make it to the top." My question to you, since when has everyone been getting the same opportunities? Until we commit to fair and equal education to all of our Nation's citizens, there will always be racial and economic disparity in our great nation.
I haven't even touched on the lopsided demographics of our prisons system by race, as compared to our national demographic. That is another article for another day. Until then, remain open-minded about racial issues in the United States, we still have time to solve them.
