Combatting Racial Hostility: Opening ReMARCs
It’s never easy to confront evidence of the dark undercurrent of racial hostility that still flows through the landscape of modern-day America.
But the pain inflicted by the video of Oklahoma fraternity brothers gleefully joining in a racist chant is particularly acute, knowing that it was recorded at the same moment tens of thousands of us were gathered in Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the brutal assault on civil rights known as Bloody Sunday.
One encouraging element of the ugly incident has been the leadership shown by University President David Boren. A former Governor and U.S. Senator, President Boren’s swift and unequivocal response showed the moral courage the University and the nation need to confront this issue.
How could young men on post-Civil Rights Era college campuses revel in such racist antics without compunction? The answer is complex, but part of it may be connected to the destructive re-segregation of our schools and communities.
Studies have shown that interaction with people of diverse backgrounds and race has a powerful effect on racial attitudes. Because of lax enforcement or outright removal of federal desegregation decrees, the vast majority of children attend schools where 90 percent of their peers look like them.
We need to recommit to the principle of equality of opportunity for our children – not just for our children’s sake, but for the future of the nation. So that when young people hear their peers expressing racial hostility, it won’t take a viral video to make it stop.
