Yeah, you'd think that the systematic degradation and oppression of a people, their exploitation in helping to build a new nation, denying them their basic freedoms and dignity, their rape, murder, mutilation and preventing them from acheiving any semblance of power in the society they helped build would all just vanish after 1865!
Why the 15th amendment was ratified in 1870- a mere 260+ years after their ancestors were kidnapped and enslaved! Hell, in 1968 segregation was officially abolished and Blacks could go to whatever schools they wanted, sit next to me on the bus, and actually have access to the same careers I do! 40 years ago- ancient history! You'd think that after their experiences the descendants of Black slaves would just bounce back and put aside that history. Why would it affect people today?
Here's why:
Disparities between Black and White education
Unemployment rates for Blacks are twice those of Whites
1/3 of Blacks live below the poverty line
Blacks have 10 times the mortality rates of Whites, JAMA reports in '05 that "blacks bear a disproportionate burden of disease, injury, death and disability"
Approximately 12% of Black males are interred in the prison system (a majority for consentual drug related offenses that shouldn't even be crimes)
Blacks are 10 times more likely to serve prison time for drug offenses as opposed to Whites. In some counties in the U.S., the rate was as disproportionately high as 27 times the rate of Whites.
That's just a small taste of why.
