About racism today

John Robbins

I want to call your attention to an article by someone I admire very much - John Robbins. This one is on the continued racism in our country. It's entitled "Is Racism Real?"

It is painful for anyone who appreciates the goals of the civil rights struggles of the 1960s to see that racial disparities still affects the lives of people of color in this country. When you have been taught to believe this nation promises "liberty and justice for all," when you want to see this become a land of equal opportunity, it can be hard to grasp how unfairly people of color in this country are still treated. But despite the efforts and prayers of many people to remedy the injustices, it remains the case that the vast majority of people of color endure not only unequal treatment before the law today, but many other forms of discrimination and injustice, including greatly diminished job opportunities, and far deeper and more intractable levels of poverty.
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- Today, the median annual family income for whites is approximately $47,000, while for African-Americans it's $26,000.
- Black-owned small businesses are more than three times as likely as white-owned firms to have loan applications turned down, despite the same creditworthiness.
- Hispanics are rejected for home mortgages twice as often as whites, regardless of income.
- The poverty rate for Hispanics is 2.5 times greater than than for whites.
- Less than half the households on U.S. Indian reservations have phone service.

Racism is "the elephant in the living room" in our country. We don't like to talk about it. But it's there.

You can read about John Robbins here. Take a look at part of that page:

Considered to be one of the most eloquent and powerful spokespersons in the world for a sane, ethical and sustainable future, John has been a featured and keynote speaker at major conferences sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility, Beyond War, Oxfam, the Sierra Club, the Humane Society of the United States, the United Nations Environmental Program, UNICEF, and many other organizations dedicated to creating a healthy, just, and sustainable way of life. He is the recipient of the Rachel Carson Award, the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award, and the Peace Abbey's Courage of Conscience Award. The widespread media attention he has received has included numerous appearances on national shows including Oprah, Donahue and Geraldo. When John spoke at the United Nations, he received a standing ovation.

His writings influenced me hugely in my decision to become a vegetarian.