As we move toward Election Day, the racial tension and bitter rhetoric is building to a fever pitch. It seems as though spouting stereotypic and bias notions and taking racist actions, then denying the obvious racism displayed, is becoming more commonplace than at any time since the Jim Crow era.
Republicans are racist. They’re uncaring about the poor and they’re greedy. If you read enough blogs, email forwards and biased news reports it’s easy to come away with this perception about the Grand Old Party of Abe Lincoln. But the rule of thumb is to be careful about generalizations.
Racism and prejudice flourish whenever we lump all people of a certain race, religion, or political bent under one banner. There are variations in every arena. It’s just that sometimes the worst element of a demographic often speaks for the whole.
On April 16, 2012, Colorado Governor, John Hickenlooper signed a law that allowing the teaching of Native American language and culture in public schools. It is part of a larger global effort toward saving Native American and other languages, which have traditionally been lost through cultural assimilation. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a language vanishes every 14 days worldwide and, “if nothing is done, half of the 6000 plus languages spoken today will disappear by the end of this century.”
Traditionally, African Americans and Latinos worked and lived alongside each other in urban areas, and despite some tensions in the past, those old beefs have given way to more political unions. Nowadays, you will likely see a Civil Rights leader such as Rev. Al Sharpton, marching in an immigrants' rights demonstration, as well as protesting police brutality. And in the Deep South, black leaders collaborate with Latino activists to protest harsh immigration laws.
