Today is a great day to be in America.
7:55 AMWendy Davis and Texas dems filibustered the horrific senate abortion bill into nonexistence last night- I stayed up, half asleep as the crowd erupted into people yelling "shame!" and endless arguments about time. Even after the senate voted and lied about the date of the vote- they were officially made null and void.
Today, DOMA was struck down in the Supreme Court and I expect a similar ruling on Prop 8.
Even with the striking of Section 4 of the Voter Rights Act- I never trust states with poor racial track records to suddenly become better at it- sue me- I feel like I needed today.
America is beautiful and it is so, so flawed but some days, the legislature, the judiciary and sometimes, even the executive branch of our government come through.
Nothing like a little restored faith in the process of democracy to renew my hope.
Nobody can say I don't adore this place I am so lucky to call home- we have a lot to learn about racial inequality, about the realities of voter suppression, sketchy campaign finance and a million other crises- but one woman can stand in a Texas court and speak for 13 hours to protect the rights of every Texan woman, and that makes me well up with pride and even a few tears.
Some days I'm a bleeding heart liberal- it makes up for the days when I'm overly judgmental, cynical and disappointed in the system- even the liberal side of it. Today, though, I get to hug my co-workers, go out for cupcakes and truly celebrate these steps toward the America I want my kids to be proud citizens of.
Today is about fearlessness and love.
I do wish SCOTUS had put it's foot down and told Abigail Fisher and her wealthy white backer, Edward Blum that their case is based on assumptions that are outright ignorant of the current racial climate in America, but at least they told them that SCOTUS won't be trying to change precedent over an academically mediocre, privileged girl being snubbed for one college admission.
I don't understand the argument that being race neutral is more desirable
than being race conscious in a country that in many, many ways still reeling
from centuries of injustice, systematic discrimination, under representation,
disenfranchisement.
The real kind. Saying that race doesn't matter is wrong,
because we know that it does- we know that african american, hispanic and
native american girls and boys are significantly more likely to drop out of
high school, and it's not because they all don't feel like going - it's often
because America's poorest, unfunded and most written-off communities are those
which these kid's parents and grandparents were relegated to in the 20th
century, when racism was codified in American law and accepted in mainstream
society.
Does it not benefit our nation to bring everyone up to
achieve that American dream of rising to greater heights than our parents? Does
it not also make sense to understand a person as a whole and to understand that I am exponentially more likely to get better grades and be in honor
societies and sports teams because I had time, I had a whole family,a privileged lifestyle- I got to do the things that made me a great applicant. I didn't have to work to make ends meet, and I am statistically- just
because of my race less likely to have to do that.
There are desperately poor, hard working white people, and
black people and latinos and native americans, but if we pretend that being
white had nothing to do with the fact that it was easier for our parents and
grandparents to get ahead while their peers of color were pushed aside, then we
are wrong. If you have an education, your kids are more likely to achieve or
surpass that same education. We have a head start by generations.
And sure, my grandparent's were dirt poor and worked for
everything they had, but they were able to because nobody told them what they
could and couldn't do- they were able to move freely and safely, work wherever
their skills landed them and send their kids for the best education they could
afford, to schools they were able to get to without trials.
It matters how our grandparents had to live because it
directly influences the likelihood of our success and it determines how hard we
have to work for it.
People are people, and that would be relevant if every
person in this country had the same opportunities and predisposed likelihood of
getting to college if they wanted.
But that's not the case.
America is not fair and it sure as heck isn't blind to race-
making our educational system blind to race doesn't make the system more moral,
or even ahead of the rest of the country- it makes it complicit in the problem
by not responding to it.
0 comments