FDJ,
Yes they have been through very difficult times and yes predominantly at the hands of the white man. The question is How Long? How long do we give them a leg up, or more correctly how much do we lower the bar for them because they have been disadvantaged in the past.
Let's start by accepting the general principle that all men are created equal. Some might be brighter, taller, have more hair, etc. , but as a whole, no one race is superior to another. If you accept that, then it should stand to pass that there should be no marked differences between levels of education, employment, infant mortality, poverty, etc.
Your statement suggests that the bar needs to be lowered, to accomodate African Americans. Why is that, why does the bar need to be lowered, are African Americans generally less qualified? If in your mind they are, then why? Is it because of their race, or because of 400 years of bigotry and abuse.
We have just recently begone to address the legacy of discrimination and prejudice, which by the way still exists, but maybe to lesser extent than before. So to answer your question about how long, I would suggest that the answer is until the disparities in education, employment, poverty etc. are narrowed to the point of statistical insignificance.
Lets face it the African American man who has "made it" is probably sick and tired of now being told he only made it because he had a far from level playing field.
I think the playing field was firmly levelled against him from the beginning. If he "made it", he made it despite the color of his skin, not because of it. Again, just a generality.
This is to nobody's benefit including theirs. How long before a man is "judged on the content of their character and not on the color of their skin" If not now when an African American man holds the highest office in the land. When?
Food for thought.
OB
