On Progress

I want to be careful here, but there's something that needs said, and I'm going to try and stay in my lane, check my privilege and all that sort of thing.  When it comes to the issue of race in this country we have a problem. People all sort of disagree as to what the problem is, and maybe there is no single right answer that truly defines it.  I'm going to talk mostly from my white perspective, because that's all I'm really qualified to do.  But before I get to that I would like to put a quote from Chris Rock before you, because it feels pretty fresh to me, and hopeful maybe:

The advantage my children have is that they are encountering the nicest white people America has ever produced.  Let's hope America keeps producing nicer white people.

Now on the one hand, I'm aware that this is the optimistic opinion of a black man who has done very well for himself in the entertainment industry and thus now occupies a privileged place in society.  But I would like to think that actually what he says is true, we are much better about the race issue than we were fifty years ago, and leaps and bounds better than we were 150 years ago.  That doesn't mean we're done growing though, and it doesn't mean everything is okay.
It does point out, rightly I think, that what improvement we have seen in this regard was largely due to the willingness of those with the power (white people) to let go of the power they once held unconditionally and inescapably over black people.  Did we do this willingly? Did we do this gracefully?  Did we do this completely?  No, no and no, which means we are human beings and certainly a work in progress.
Chris Rock and Barack Obama exist in a world that would have been unimaginable to someone in 1950, white or black.  It is my hope that Rock's kids, the Obama girls, my nieces and nephews, and my own kids will live in a world that is even better still.  For that to happen, I think, a new frontier will need to be crossed, and it doesn't so much have to do with race as with class.  See among the educated and the elite of the world, the dominant pathos is that equality has become normalized.  If you have money, you are equal, regardless of your race.  If you achieve at a high level you are equal.  There would be no outcry about an interracial couple among lawyers and doctors and college professors.  In the society of the polite and powerful, the struggle against racism is about knocking off a few remaining ugly warts, dealing with un-examined privilege, rooting out tacit stereotypes and prejudice.  It's mostly genteel, intellectual stuff like engaging in constructive listening, open dialogue and working towards a more mutual understanding.  At this level, most of the white participants can claim to be "colorblind," due to their friendly rapport with the black people that occupy this segment of society.  In fairness, I think we can honestly say that there is good work being done here.
But out on the street I'm afraid it is not so rosy.  Among the largely segregated populations of poor and lower middle class, animosity and fear still rule.  Let's be honest here too, it is an equal opportunity oppressor.  Black folk are afraid of the police (and they have some reason).  Police are afraid of the restless and crime-riddled population of which they have only the most tenuous control.  Poor whites are angry, resentful and hyper-sensitive about even discussing racism.  It's all "politically correct" nonsense.  Their experience of "interracial dialogue" is mostly being told what they're allowed to say and allowed to think. They can't keep track of whether it's okay to say black or whether they should be still saying African American, and they honestly don't understand why it's such a big deal.  There is a vague feeling that white people are being marginalized, which is true, but it's more economic than racial.
In this sphere, people see riots, assaults on police and other white folk, even the Beyonce halftime show as an assault on the last little toehold they have on the glorious days of the old republic. Here the decision to ban the Rebel flag is taken personally, and they dislike the elite every bit as much as they dislike the "takers." We have indeed produced many "nicer white people," but fear and hatred still hold on tight in some quarters. And mostly their grip is strengthened by feelings of marginalization and persecution (whether real or imagined).
It very well might be the case that the only way to win the last battle for equality is to start seriously waging the fight against poverty and class inequity.  I know that seems dangerous and difficult, but how else are we going to grow?