Genocidal Realities
June 16, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
In speaking to the situation facing Black and Latino people in the U.S.—the mass incarceration and school-to-prison pipeline, the criminalization and demonization of a whole generation of youth, the overt or just-below-the-surface racism prevalent in society, etc.—Carl Dix of the Revolutionary Communist Party has said what is taking place is a slow genocide that could quickly turn into a fast genocide. This new regular feature in Revolution highlights aspects of this slow genocide.
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According to federal government statistics for 2010, Black people were four times as likely to be arrested on charges of marijuana possession as were whites, although the use of marijuana among the two groups is about the same. In some states, including Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois, Black people were eight times as likely to be arrested as whites.
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A recent Cheerios cereal commercial that depicts a family with a white mother, Black father, and a biracial child touched off a huge white supremacist reaction. YouTube comments for the ad had to be turned off because of the flood of racist posts.
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A recent report on "disciplinary" practices in New York City schools for the 2011-2012 school year, compiled by a task force led by a former chief judge of the State of New York, revealed that Black students were 14 times more likely than white students to be arrested for incidents at school. The report said that “the overwhelming majority of school-related suspensions, summonses and arrests are for minor misbehavior, behavior that occurs on a daily basis in most schools.” A New York Times editorial noted that these are things "that would once have been handled by the principal."
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