A quick glance at America today, however, will show that while we are by far the greatest and richest nation in the world, we treat some more greatly and richly than others. About one hundred years later, the slaves were freed, but the civil rights act was not passed until 1964, a scant 32 years ago. 32 years ago blacks had to drink out of different water fountains and go into different bathrooms than whites. This was the trap I fell into. What I failed to see were all of the little boosts I had received throughout my education and throughout my life itself due to both my race and my sex.
Teachers treat males differently than females, and blacks differently than whites.
Many store owners will glare suspiciously at a black youth who enters their store while a white one scarcely receives a glance. When a black family moves into a neighborhood, some neighbors begin to worry about the property values going down, and some are even openly hostile toward the family. These are but a few examples of things many minorities have to go through, yet I and many others in positions of power have always been blind to them because we have no reason to see them. It is easy for me to tell a black person or a woman to stop whining and work hard when I have never been treated as an inferior because of a factor beyond my control. The answer will almost always be yes.