As I get a broader view of the world, I see more clearly what's really going on out there. I'm really afraid of what the future may hold for people of color, particularly African Americans, as the various divides economic, digital, educational grow larger. There's been progress over the years, but I've begun to doubt that oppression will ever be totally overcome. My father used to say that it wouldn't end in his lifetime, and I never quite took that seriously. But now I see what he meant.
Oppression is institutional, it's cultural, it's pervasive.
Its systems are strong. I'm not one to espouse conspiracy, but some people have a vested interest in it not changing. It's a power dynamic that extends beyond race, but skin color seems to be a favorite way of drawing distinctions around who gets power and who doesn't. When I drive to my house and go through the black neighborhood that's between two white neighborhoods, I don't see black kids packing books at five o'clock. They have a basketball and they're going down to the courts.