There are many areas that need to be addressed, but I'll hit on a few. Probably number 1 with a bullet is police reform. I hate the term 'defunding the police', but we've seen police reform work in Camden, where the entire police force was terminated and the department modified to reflect more community outreach. Dallas is another example of a city that focused on working with the community and de-escalation techniques instead of just standing guard over the city. And we need to get the white supremacists rooted out of police departments all over the country.
Tougher sanctions for banks and mortgage companies that practice redlining. It''s still happening, and Trumps policies and rhetoric obviously perpetuate that. What he's signaling is obviously 'we're going to keep the black thugs away from you'. The vast majority of black people I know want to do the same things that everyone wants to do, work, raise a family, own a home. We are segregating minorities.
We need to legalize marijuana, and stop using it as way of putting black men in for profit prisons. Interestingly, of all the things Trump has done, that's the area he deserves credit for.
Many of the rest of the reforms really address economic inequalities, which disproportionately impact minorities, especially blacks. Tax policy reform. Healthcare reform. Reforming public education to focus on preparing students for the jobs that will be integral to our economy. College has become a scam. We should be sending our best and our brightest, and make it affordable for them, instead of colleges using the dream of a degree as a way of swindling money. Ultimately though, the overall attitude of 'us' and 'them' has to change. I think it will. I look at my kids, and they don't get racism, or homophobia, it simply doesn't make sense to them. They're puzzled by it. That's a hopeful sign. But it is absolutely true that whites have generally felt the role of the police was to protect them from black people. That attitude HAS to change.
Bottom line, there needs to be reform in most of our institutions to address the fact that the starting line for a black person in America is way back of the one for whites, and we've put up hurdles that make it even harder. When we accept that as a reality, we'll all be better off, and we can start to roll up our sleeves and fix it.
I am a practical guy. I think there are practical solutions to these problems. But acknowledging them has to be the first step. I think we're at that point. Final point, I don't agree with a lot of the approaches that are being taken, but I understand them.
