General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Wanna Know Who Made Racism ''Acceptable Again'' in the good ol' USA? [View all]Solly Mack
(90,762 posts)There are times when racists are less bold, less outspoken in a public forum. But that never means racism has stopped. Just means racists don't feel as emboldened to express themselves publicly - but they didn't hold back otherwise.
Look at all the attacks and murders during the Kennedy years of black leaders and civil rights activists. Integrating the Secret Service didn't stop that. No reason to believe it would either. It's just not that simple. We have an African-American President - the WH was finally (& truly) integrated when Obama was elected - and that didn't stop racism. Quite the contrary, in desperation to preserve their cherished hate, racists acted out even more. Obama was and is a threat to everything they believe.
Your own example shows an African-American man experiencing racism and hate from his supervisor - because no matter how the occupant of the WH thinks - racism is a force greater than the office of the President.
Doesn't matter what Kennedy or Johnson thought - all across America, racism was still acceptable.
Even as some "good" white people watched on their televisions what was happening in the south, regardless of how shocked and appalled they were by what they saw, they, themselves, still lived in segregated neighborhoods, they still crossed the street when an African-American man was approaching, they still told each other racists jokes, and they still would have disowned a child for dating a black man or woman.
African-American men and women were still followed in department stores. They still knew which neighborhoods would jump them if they crossed the block. They still experienced racist slights and insults every day of their lives.
And they still do in 2015.