http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/18/politics/jeff-sessions-racism-allegations/
There are many who
would cast Jeff Sessions as a racist – and this is because he is, plain and
simple. In Alabama he could get away with it as a Judge and Senator but once he
was taken out of this context and into the national spotlight by his early
endorsement for Trump and his nomination to be Attorney General. America,
described as a “post-racial” country has an openly racist Attorney General.
Of course, there
was never any credence to the idea that the United States is a post-racial
government and society. But even were it to have any level of truth to it, the
nomination of Sessions as Attorney General would symbolize the last nail in the
coffin of a post-racial period. A man who even jokingly referenced the Klu Klux
Klan as beneficial is a threat to any chance of achieving any semblance of
equality. Sessions even went as far as calling an African American on his staff
“boy” which is a sign of extreme disrespect.
But aside from Sessions
personal racism, his nomination for any position within federal government is
extremely disturbing for many reasons. It signals an acceptance from parts of
the government for the employment of a clear racist – Sessions was denied a
federal judgeship back in 1986 for the reason that he was judged to be likely a
racist and unable to deliberate fairly by a senate committee. There has been
encouraging resistance to Session’s nomination and the recent nomination of
other government officials who have been accused of racism but the idea that
America could be post-racial under conditions like this is frankly ridiculous.
Things have changed a great deal in the months since this article came out, but
the entire situation reminds me again of a discussion we had in class: This is
not a unique moment in American history because segregation is such an interwoven
factor of our society.
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