How we cite our quotes: (Sentence)
Quote #1
Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country—a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America. (40)
We've already established how important it is to talk about race and issues of discrimination because that's the only way we will ever solve the problem. That said, we have to talk about it in the right way. Focusing on how pervasive race is, as if it can never be fixed, leaves a taste in your mouth as bad as sour milk or expired cheese. Yeah, we have a long way to go, but we will get there because we want it badly enough.
Quote #2
Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. (90)
Have you ever traveled to a foreign country where English isn't the primary language? And you know that when you try to order a meal, you either look like an idiot gesticulating to your item of choice or you sound like an idiot trying to communicate using a few unconjugated verbs?
That's the reality for minority populations who face racism and discrimination—even when they "make it," when they beat the odds, they still feel as if there is something to prove, as if they don't really belong. Those feelings are just one of the many legacies of racism, and one of the many reasons we need to start changing things.
Quote #3
We can tackle race only as spectacle—as we did in the O.J. trial—or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina—or as fodder for the nightly news. (136)
Did you watch The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story? If you did, you would've seen a highly dramatized version of the "trial of the century," where people were literally selling T-shirts outside the courthouse with various slogans all related to race.
Unfortunately, that part was not made-up—race became such a huge part of that trial, for better or worse, that it defined the entire country. Those white people who thought O.J. was guilty must be racist, and the Black people who thought he was innocent were heartless to not consider the suffering of the victims.
But race shouldn't be a sideshow when it becomes convenient. It should be a civilized conversation we are constantly having because that's the only way to avoid antagonizing one another and making the damage worse.