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Today I’m delighted to have as our lecturer David C. Wilson, Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy. Dean Wilson’s research on racial resentment and justice provides a revealing and path-breaking perspective for understanding racism and prejudice. His research on voter identification laws, political rights for felons, sexual harassment, gay marriage, and workplace discrimination could not be more timely and important. His latest book, Racial Resentment in the Political Mind, was just published by the University of Chicago Press.
The questions we’ll be addressing this week are: How have trends in wealth and income inequalities developed across racial groups? How do we remedy systemic racism? What are some examples? What policies can actually eliminate these gaps? What institutions would have to be created, reformed, or eliminated entirely?
Recommended readings (just click on the link):
There are so many laws and protections that can be passed to protect some racial inequality already mentioned here. Here are some other ideas, maybe less practical but desperately needed; 1) educating in elementary school through high school Black History, ALL of it, 2) bring back a first rate, extremely well-funded public school system in every state and break down neighborhood school lines and integrate them ALL. Nothing will dissipate racial hatred faster than when kids really know one another. Outlaw banks and lending institutions from "red lining." The two tiered education system must be eliminated. Get rid of vouchers for schools. Tax religious schools. Eliminate the mediation employment process for ALL people. Increase minimum wage to $23 an hour (that's what it would be with inflation today) and increase every 2 years for cost of living. Bring back affirmative action EVERYWHERE, schools, employment for all people. There is terrible discrimination against Asian Americans now. Vote out every single, breathing Republican for a more just society and a Congress who will do SOMETHING. Racism is the metastasizing tumor on our society and body politic. Them massive loss of intellectual, creative, artistic, athletic human capital to our society is incalculable. I have never seen such utter stupidity and hatred that is so self-inflicting as I have racism in the United States. Of, we're exceptional alright, exceptionally hateful and profoundly ignorant and this racism will destroy us. The metastasis of this racism is the further deterioration of human rights for everyone, Asians, LGBTQ, all different skinned people, everyone, disabled people, everyone.
Racial inequity hurts us all. When Black people don't have the funds to pay for education, health care, safe housing, etc., productivity goes down and social progress stalls. Tax payments are constrained as large numbers of people have low incomes, and government expenditures on unemployment and health care increase. In other words, racial inequity contributes to large government budget deficits. A lack of access to healthy foods (vegetables), clean energy and public transportation for Black people makes it more difficult to address climate change on a large scale. And, low-income people including Black households are effectively shut out of the stock market and housing market so they cannot build wealth on their own, which could be transferred to the next generation. How to fix this? Reparations? What else?