You cannot remove the racist from the person.
There, I said it.
But you CAN do things to immunize people on the wrong side of the institutional racism equation, many of whom have their demographics under-represented in the halls of academia and the ranks of the college degree-requiring professions, from some of the effects of that racism.
First and foremost is the opportunity for an education, which I believe is the single most important and effective equalizer in America. If you are black or Mexican or Korean or white, and you hold a PhD in whatever, then you have a far greater chance to overcome the racism you experience in your existence. Are you immune? Ask Henry Louis Gates. But even though he wasn’t immune to racial profiling, he appeared to be far more stupefied and shell-shocked by that situation than would have been a black man who hadn’t held a college degree and lived in an expensive neighborhood.
Question:
Why must an 18-year old with no prospect for a college education have to decide whether or not to subject him or herself to killing other people, and/or being killed, in return for a government-sponsored monthly allowance to help pay for college?
I’m referring to the G.I. Bill, of course. But why is it limited to armed forces? Why can’t there be a Social Worker Bill that would help pay for a degree for an aspiring Psychologist in exchange for 4 years of government social work? Why can’t there be an Engineer Bill that would help pay for a Civil Engineering degree in exchange for 3 or 4 years of bridge-building or road construction, or an Electrical Engineering degree in exchange for a few years of service at a solar panel manufacturing plant, all while living in government-sponsored dorms with all meals and health coverage provided, just as is the case with service in the armed forces?
These programs would provide real-world experience, showing young people how it is on the front lines of their chosen field of dreams, and then give them every opportunity to reach the pinnacles of their professions.
