Bridging The Gap

I was thinking today about
the relationship between race and

economic prosperity.

>> [INAUDIBLE] that's interesting, and
what were your thoughts on the matter?

>> Well, I was thinking about how far
we've come in the past hundred years since

the Fourteenth Amendment that just simply
gave everyone protection under the law.

It's almost insane to think that
at one time in our country,

people of color didn't have any rights.

And they were even enslaved.

>> And sadly, so yes, yeah, it is crazy.

But it's also amazing how far we've come.

But the thing is,

there's still work that needs to be
done to weed out the systemic racism.

>> Do you really think systemic
racism still exists in our country?

>> Yeah, 100%,
even if it's not as prevalent,

we are still seeing the lasting
effects of systemic racism.

Just look at the areas where
everyone still lives to this day.

>> What do you mean where
everyone still lives?

>> Well, in the 1930s,
using redlining was a tactic widely

supported by the government to
refuse people of color loans or

financial help when trying to buy a house,

more often than non-predominantly
white neighborhoods.

>> Yeah,
it's like they took all these people, and

they created the poverty and crime-filled
ghettos that we still see today.

>> Yeah, and then what made matters
worse is the divide that was widened

by Richard Nixon with his war
on drugs campaign in the 1970s.

>> Yeah.
>> So people of color were often getting

the maximum sentences for these petty
non-violent crimes, whereas a white person

would often get the minimum
sentence on the same type of crime.

>> Yeah, and some of the non-violent
crimes like the ones involving marijuana,

these people are still serving time today
for offenses that are now decriminalized,

and in some places,
even recreationally legal.

>> Yeah,
people are making money off of it.

So when we think about it, and
what had been done to people of color,

it's really just a sense
of legalized slavery.

>> Yeah, it's like you take
this demographic of people,

you limit them to
impoverished neighborhoods.

You make no effort to properly
fund their education,

then you give them maximum sentencing when
they finally turn into a life of crime.

Because that's the only way they see
themselves actually rising above their

station.

>> Yeah, and then with the level of
mass incarceration against men of color,

specifically African American men,

you have to consider how many families
have been broken and torn apart by it.

And countless kids that no longer
have a father figure, or any parents,

or advice, or guidance, uninevitably,
they lead down that same path.

>> Yeah, I agree,
it's like a never-ending cycle.

And I guess my question is,
how do you think we fix this?

>> Well, I think it starts
with everyone joining and

participating their own civic duty and
voting and

becoming involved in their local
communities and local elections.

For so long, I think there is this
form of cynicism around voting,

making people believe that their
vote really doesn't matter.

>> Yeah, I agree, I will say that
seems like now more people than ever,

especially young people and

people of color, are getting involved
in politics and going out and voting.

And I think social media has a big
role to play in that as well.

>> Yeah, social media has definitely
taken everything by storm.

And I agree, I think we're on the path
to hopefully eliminating these

systemic racism, problems, and
prejudice from future generations.

We just have to keep participating and

educating those that aren't given
a fair shot at having a voice.

>> So what do you think is the first step

to getting to a place where
everyone has their own voice?

>> Having conversations like these.

>> Yeah.