As the Presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama heats up, race and gender have come to the forefront of the discussion. I have heard many people suggest that we stop talking about race and gender and “get back to the real issues.” While I agree that most race and gender based personal attacks do not address real political issues, we should not forget that racial and gender issues are real issues. We should not forget that racism and sexism are still fundamental problems in the US.<\/p>\n
Let’s think about it…<\/p>\n
The race and gender gaps in earnings are real issues.<\/p>\n
The mass incarceration of black men is a real issue.<\/p>\n
Violence against women is a real issue.<\/p>\n
Racially motivated hate crimes are a real issue.<\/p>\n
Gender and race based job discrimination are real issues.<\/p>\n
Race and gender disparities in health care delivery are real issues.<\/p>\n
Affirmative action is a real issue.<\/p>\n
Stereotyping is a real issue.<\/p>\n
The list could go on and on.<\/p>\n
I know many Americans are uncomfortable openly discussing how race and gender influence our political system, but this doesn’t mean that these issues are not “real.” Denial won’t erase social inequality. It’s a shame that many people would rather purge discussion of racism and sexism from the public discourse than actually work to give people an equal shot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As the Presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama heats up, race and gender have come to the forefront of the discussion. I have heard many people suggest that we stop talking about race and gender and “get back … Continue reading