The Patriot Post® · America Is Not Awash in 'Systemic Racism'

After a year of protesting and rioting across the nation after George Floyd’s death, coupled with the near-ubiquitous narrative of “systemic racism” promulgated by Democrats and their Leftmedia cohorts, one might be surprised to learn that race relations in America are actually better than ever.

According to a new report from the Manhattan Institute by Eric Kaufman, the hard data indicates that racism in America has been steadily and significantly declining. For example, the report notes, “The share of white Americans who agree that it is permissible to racially discriminate when selling a home declined from 60% as late as 1980 to 28% by 2012.” Furthermore, the “approval of black-white intermarriage rose among whites from around 4% in 1958 to 45% in 1995 and 84% in 2013. … In 2017, fewer than 10% of whites in a major Pew survey said that interracial marriage was a ‘bad thing,’” while “intermarried newlyweds rose from 3% in 1967 to 17% in 2015.”

What explains the popular perception of racism being a major problem in America? There are several factors, one of which happens to be social media. Of black Americans surveyed regarding their perception of racism within the country, those on social media believe there is a significantly higher rate of racism than those not on social media. Kaufman observes, “My survey results indicate that as much as half of reported racism may be ideologically or psychologically conditioned, and the rise in the proportion of Americans claiming racism to be an important problem is largely socially constructed.” In short, it’s political propaganda and indoctrination.

With mainstream media, social media, and leftist politicians all touting a similar yet bogus narrative, is it any wonder vast swaths of Americans believe the nation is hopelessly racist? The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Riley notes, “It’s becoming clearer by the day that journalism’s cavalier disregard for providing the necessary context in its coverage of racial controversies, and the willingness of so many in the media to play down or ignore the truth about America’s racial progress, is not simply wrong but also dangerous.”

It’s almost as if the Left is seeking to divide and bait Americans into hating and fighting against each other, even as the country has made such impressive advances against racist attitudes and beliefs. As we have often observed, the party actually promoting racism — as has seemingly always been the case — is the Democrat Party with its commitment to identity politics.