Black History Month: white privilege still exists

Laseter

Laseter

February marks the month of Black History, which is a federally recognized celebration about the contributions African Americans have made to our country over time.
A lot of people like to celebrate Black History month with parties and other celebratory events. With all of that, I believe that Black History month should also be a time to reflect on the racial injustices that took place in past generations, as well as the prejudices that are still taking place now. These injustices are not something that should be forgotten about in the midst of celebration.
Racial injustice is something that is still among us. In my opinion, privileges are still given to some people, but not to others. This decision is sometimes based solely on someone’s skin color.
A lot of people in this day in time believe that there is no racial bias taking place, however, there is. People are still missing out on job opportunities because of race. I believe we are still in a time where white privilege exists. This is still a time where black people have to fear for their lives. We are still in the time period where all lives do not matter.
If you happen to be one of those people that believe white privilege does not exist, then take a step back and take a look at your own life. White privilege exists because of racism and biases. Statistics have shown that in 2020, 69.9 percent of African Americans were unemployed, while at the same time only 5.8 percent of white people were unemployed. This can be due to many reasons, although one reason is black people do not have the same job equality opportunities as white people. Even black workers with a college degree are more likely to be unemployed than similarly educated white workers (3.5% vs. 2.2%). Another fact found is during the time of 2017 and 2019, black men earned 87 cents on every dollar that a white man earned.
Education is also limited for black people since they are least likely to receive money to go to school. A white family that needs financial assistance to attend school will be more likely to receive funding compared to a black student in need. This injustice leads to schools and universities lacking diversity. Tarleton, for example, has a student population of approximately 66.2 percent white students and only 8.79 percent of black students.
With Black History month, many schools and restaurants celebrate with Black-History themed meals, quizzes, plays and contests. There are many ways to celebrate Black History month, but it is very important to not forget the reason we have Black history month. It might be easy to get caught up in activities and celebrations and forget the true meaning.
This is still a time where low income black families do not receive government assistance, however, the same low income white families will receive that assistance. This is still a time where white people can walk down the street without a worry in their minds, but black people cannot.
Before the country can move past racial harm, there needs to be truth, then accountability and then reconciliation. It is very important that everyone understand the importance of race and racial injustices still taking place.
This month, Tarleton has hosted a soul food event to kick off Black History month. Sodexo and many other Tarleton State University departments have gotten together to host this event in the dining hall. The menu consisted of a variety of dishes such as hot-water cornbread, cornbread dressing, collard greens, cabbage, pork chops, yams and fried fish. There were deserts like pound cake and sweet potato pie also available to students.
Honoring Black History month, Tarleton also provided students with an online Diversity Kahoot to play via zoom, where they learned about different religions and cultures while competing with others.
There was also a student led Diversity Dialogue on Feb. 3 which was centered around Black History month and its impact on our community.
This year, due to COVID-19, events on Tarleton’s campus are held differently than they have in the past. Masks are required in the Tarleton dining hall in order to enter or once you leave your table. The MLK Speech Contest, will be held online on Feb. 19 this year.
Black History month is a time to celebrate. We as a country have come a long way from where we were centuries ago, but we also still have a long way to go before we are all considered equal. It is important to celebrate how far we have come, but also to not forget events that are still taking place showing us how far we have yet to go.
Tarleton has made many efforts this semester to participate in Black History month activities.
“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them” Ida B. Wells said.
For more information or to view the statictics used in this article you can go to:
www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpsee_e16.htm
datausa.io/profile/university/tarleton-state-university