If racism has ended

A week ago the Republican National Committee sent out a tweet praising Rosa Parks for "her role in ending racism." How sweet. They, of course, received a ton of scorn. Wait! they said. We meant to praise her for "her role in fighting to end racism." Hardly better.

The problem, as Terrence Heath delves into, is that racism has not ended. I've heard of Driving While Black, the situation in which a black person is stopped by police for something that would be ignored if a white person did it. Heath, who is black, also lists, Flying While Black, Seeking Help While Black, Biking While Black, Working While Black, and Walking While Black.

Heath explores the latest: Standing While Black. Three black youth were told by their coach to stand at a particular corner and he would come by on the team bus and pick them up. A cop appeared and told them to disperse. They had a dilemma -- stay and annoy the cop or leave and annoy the coach. They stayed. The cop started slapping on handcuffs. The bus pulled up and the coach, who is black, tried to intervene. The cop told him to leave or be arrested as well.

Ancient history, right? Nope, it happened the week before the RNC tweet.

Heath goes on to list the everyday racism that many blacks encounter, such as not getting hired because the applicant's name is too black.

No, racism has not ended. It may be a lot more subtle, but it is still psychologically damaging. So why is the RNC so eager to declare that it has?

Because they want to get off the hook.

If racism has ended, then it isn't racist to be a member of a whites-only organization.

If racism has ended, it isn't racist to pass a voting law that "hurts a bunch of lazy blacks."

If racism has ended, then using racial slurs is just fine.

If racism has ended, the Confederate flag can make a comeback.

Heath lists a lot more examples.

If racism had ended then we don't need to talk about it anymore. That means racist policies and ideology will go unchallenged. But those policies won't have ended.

For another perspective Australian comedian Aamer Rahman does a three-minute video on reverse racism.