Overcome racism and achieve success

The outrage and protests over the senseless murder of George Floyd, coupled with the brutality and callousness often displayed by the police against black men, have caused the general public to stop and consider racism a serious problem in this country. It has been a problem for many, many years. Overcoming racism will not be easy, but it is a worthy goal.

Thirty years have passed since Rodney King was beaten up by the police in Los Angeles. The treatment was captured on camera and shown to the nation. This caused outrage at the time, resulting in riots in Los Angeles for many days. The violence, looting and deaths that resulted did not help the message that the police were treating black men unfairly, but the public knew why. The white police officers who participated were acquitted, although a civil trial later found two of them guilty. Not much has changed.

Colin Kaerpernick decided to try to bring the issue of police brutality against black men to the fore when he was a professional football quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers. After being convinced to kneel instead of sitting during the National Anthem, other players joined him in the protest. He wasn’t doing it for himself, but for the sake of black men across the country. He was severely criticized and was rewarded for losing his job and career. Nothing else changed.

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife left a professional football game in Indianapolis when several players knelt during the National Anthem. He was sending his own message that they weren’t respected. They were accused of being disrespectful to the American flag or to the military. That was not the case. Protests aimed at drawing attention to the problem of racism in the United States fell on deaf ears.

Finally, after the tragic murder of George Floyd and pressure from several black professional football players, the NFL made a statement that they are against racism and that Black Lives Matter. These players have obviously “made it”, but they are concerned about other black men who have not been given a chance. The NFL made no mention of Colin Kaerpernick and the fact that he had tried to bring it up years earlier by kneeling. The NFL had the platform to help bring about the change, but they chose not to listen and punished Kaerpernick instead.

Asian Americans and other ethnic minorities have also faced racism and discrimination. Racism and hatred of people other than the majority were the main reasons why Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated in camps during World War II. Racism is the reason Vincent Chin, a young Chinese-American about to get married, was brutally beaten to death by unemployed auto workers in Detroit. Asian Americans face hatred from racists again during the coronavirus pandemic.

Asian American groups stand in solidarity with blacks in the fight against racism in the United States. For the most part, white people appear to be in many of the anti-racism protests that take place across the country. It is time to change.

Many African Americans have achieved great success. They have overcome the problems of racism and discrimination. They were given the opportunity to succeed. They took up the challenge and they succeeded.

Racism is one of the main reasons that many people do not achieve success. If racism is eradicated, more black people will have a better chance of success. If young black men do not face racism at all times, it will be easier for them to believe in themselves and overcome the difficulties they face.

It is time for successful people of all races to give back and be willing to help others. Some of the wealthiest people among us are doing it by providing money, scholarships, and support. It is rewarding to watch and can have far-reaching benefits if everyone is given a fair chance in life to be successful regardless of their skin color. Overcoming racism will give a large group of people a more equal chance of success.