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There are many people alive today who grew up under legal segregation Legal segregation never went away, it's just not necessarily Plessy v. Ferguson obvious a

There are many people alive today who grew up under legal segregation Legal segregation never went away, it's just not necessarily Plessy v. Ferguson obvious anymore. There was a great episode of Why is this Happening about two years ago with Nikole Hannah-Jones, who you might know as the NYT's Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist behind the 1619 Project, that covered this topic: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/investigating-school-segregation-2018-nikole-hannah-jones-podcast-transcript-ncna896116 https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/investigating-school-s... ---- Sidebar: if you haven't seen Nikole Hannah-Jones's 1619 Project, now is the perfect time to familiarize yourself with it. Here's the main site: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619... And here is the incredible podcast: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/podcasts/1619-podcast.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/podcasts/1619-podcast.htm... — if you only have time to listen to one episode, try the third one, "The Birth of American Music".

ForHackernews 6y ago
The 1619 project has admirable aspirations, but it's maybe worth noting that some prominent academic historians have criticised it for inaccuracy: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/historians-clash-1619-project/604093/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/historians... Still very worthwhile if you're unfamiliar with the deep and ongoing legacy of slavery in the United States.
- aaronbrethorst 6y ago
  I had forgotten how good Adam Serwer’s piece, which you linked to above, was. The clash between the Times authors and their historian critics represents a fundamental disagreement over the trajectory of American society. Was America founded as a slavocracy, and are current racial inequities the natural outgrowth of that? Or was America conceived in liberty, a nation haltingly redeeming itself through its founding principles? These are not simple questions to answer, because the nation’s pro-slavery and anti-slavery tendencies are so closely intertwined.
sacks2k 6y ago
"Legal segregation never went away" Now, college students want enforced segregation. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/red-alert-politics/more-than-75-colleges-host-blacks-only-graduation-ceremonies https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/red-alert-politics/more-t... This isn't due to racism, this is due to the African American student body wanting separate ceremonies. In addition to this, many of the demands of BLM and protesters on campus want 'safe spaces' where no whites are allowed. It seems strange to me that one group of people is allowed to do this without it being considered racist, when it clearly fits the definition. "Nikole Hannah-Jones's 1619 Project" I attempted to read through some of the articles. Most are completely inaccurate and biased and try to inject race into every single decision of our founding fathers. it only serves to divide us as a nation. Many people forget that we fought a war over slavery and hundreds of thousands of non-black Americans fought and died to free the slaves. The confederate army was also much smaller than the union, which should show you that the majority of the people in this country, even then, didn't support slavery. Sure, racism still exists (and it probably always will). But it's not at the government level anymore or widely accepted. The US is one of the least racist countries in the world. If you go anywhere else in the world, especially when it comes to getting a job/employment, racism is not only accepted, but part of the hiring process.
- untog 6y ago
  > Now, college students want enforced segregation. You're conflating two very different things. An oppressed minority seeking an isolated space for themselves is not comparable to a majority forcing one on an unwilling minority population. > The US is one of the least racist countries in the world. I disagree with that statement, but rather than descend into a fruitless back and forth over the assertion, I'd rather challenge the context: why does it matter what other countries do? The US holds itself to its own standard. If the population consider that standard insufficient then it's time to act.
  - sacks2k 6y ago
    "You're conflating two very different things" I'm not confusing anything. Declaring that no other races are allowed in a specific area, is racist. It shouldn't matter if the group doing it is in the majority or minority. We are supposed to be all equal. But it sounds like once again that it has nothing to do with wanting equality, but wanting superiority and having special rules and treatment for a specific group of people. This will only further divide us. How is it that I'm the one fighting for equality here and you're the one that seems to be against it? "I'd rather challenge the context: why does it matter what other countries do? The US holds itself to its own standard. If the population consider that standard insufficient then it's time to act." Reporters are even fired from there jobs every year on MLK day for accidentally saying a word that sounds racist. That woman walking her dog the other day that was racist? She got her dog taken away and was fired from her job. The cops that were involved in the current situation? They were fired from their jobs and are now being brought up on charges and investigated. The US had an African American president. The highest position of power in the country and the world. Sure, some people didn't agree, but he got enough votes to put him into office. The US really does set the standard.

ForHackernews 6y ago

The 1619 project has admirable aspirations, but it's maybe worth noting that some prominent academic historians have criticised it for inaccuracy: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/historians-clash-1619-project/604093/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/historians... Still very worthwhile if you're unfamiliar with the deep and ongoing legacy of slavery in the United States.

aaronbrethorst 6y ago
I had forgotten how good Adam Serwer’s piece, which you linked to above, was. The clash between the Times authors and their historian critics represents a fundamental disagreement over the trajectory of American society. Was America founded as a slavocracy, and are current racial inequities the natural outgrowth of that? Or was America conceived in liberty, a nation haltingly redeeming itself through its founding principles? These are not simple questions to answer, because the nation’s pro-slavery and anti-slavery tendencies are so closely intertwined.

sacks2k 6y ago

"Legal segregation never went away" Now, college students want enforced segregation. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/red-alert-politics/more-than-75-colleges-host-blacks-only-graduation-ceremonies https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/red-alert-politics/more-t... This isn't due to racism, this is due to the African American student body wanting separate ceremonies. In addition to this, many of the demands of BLM and protesters on campus want 'safe spaces' where no whites are allowed. It seems strange to me that one group of people is allowed to do this without it being considered racist, when it clearly fits the definition. "Nikole Hannah-Jones's 1619 Project" I attempted to read through some of the articles. Most are completely inaccurate and biased and try to inject race into every single decision of our founding fathers. it only serves to divide us as a nation. Many people forget that we fought a war over slavery and hundreds of thousands of non-black Americans fought and died to free the slaves. The confederate army was also much smaller than the union, which should show you that the majority of the people in this country, even then, didn't support slavery. Sure, racism still exists (and it probably always will). But it's not at the government level anymore or widely accepted. The US is one of the least racist countries in the world. If you go anywhere else in the world, especially when it comes to getting a job/employment, racism is not only accepted, but part of the hiring process.

untog 6y ago
> Now, college students want enforced segregation. You're conflating two very different things. An oppressed minority seeking an isolated space for themselves is not comparable to a majority forcing one on an unwilling minority population. > The US is one of the least racist countries in the world. I disagree with that statement, but rather than descend into a fruitless back and forth over the assertion, I'd rather challenge the context: why does it matter what other countries do? The US holds itself to its own standard. If the population consider that standard insufficient then it's time to act.
- sacks2k 6y ago
  "You're conflating two very different things" I'm not confusing anything. Declaring that no other races are allowed in a specific area, is racist. It shouldn't matter if the group doing it is in the majority or minority. We are supposed to be all equal. But it sounds like once again that it has nothing to do with wanting equality, but wanting superiority and having special rules and treatment for a specific group of people. This will only further divide us. How is it that I'm the one fighting for equality here and you're the one that seems to be against it? "I'd rather challenge the context: why does it matter what other countries do? The US holds itself to its own standard. If the population consider that standard insufficient then it's time to act." Reporters are even fired from there jobs every year on MLK day for accidentally saying a word that sounds racist. That woman walking her dog the other day that was racist? She got her dog taken away and was fired from her job. The cops that were involved in the current situation? They were fired from their jobs and are now being brought up on charges and investigated. The US had an African American president. The highest position of power in the country and the world. Sure, some people didn't agree, but he got enough votes to put him into office. The US really does set the standard.