If America has made enormous progress in racial equality, why does race still occupy such a prominent place in our politics and everyday conversations?

In 2009, I wrote an article called Racism in America.

Barack Obama had just become the first Black president of the United States, and there was a widespread feeling that America had finally crossed some enormous racial threshold.

I wasn’t convinced.

Not because I believed America hadn’t made progress. Quite the opposite. We had come an incredibly long way from the America of segregation, KKK, Jim Crow laws and openly sanctioned racial discrimination.

But I couldn’t help asking the question:

If racism was supposedly becoming a thing of the past, why were we still talking about race all the time?

Sixteen years later, I’m asking the same question.

And perhaps it’s even a bit more complicated now.

We no longer have restaurants putting “Whites Only” signs in their windows. We don’t have laws openly requiring racial segregation. An employer can’t legally put a sign on a job posting saying, “Black applicants need not apply.”

But somewhere along the way, our conversation about race became incredibly complicated.

We tell people that race shouldn’t matter.

Then we argue about racial representation.

We say people shouldn’t be judged by the color of their skin.

Then we debate whether schools and employers should consider race when making decisions.

We say racism is wrong.

Then we sometimes seem to disagree about whether treating different racial groups differently can itself be justified if the intended goal is equality.

So what exactly does equality mean?

I don’t believe someone’s race determines their intelligence, character, work ethic or potential.

Or that a person is destined to struggle just because they’re Black.

I don’t believe a White person is automatically privileged, racist or responsible for something someone who looked like them did 150 years ago.

And I don’t believe an Asian, Hispanic, Native American or any other person of another race should have their accomplishments reduced to the color of their skin.

But it’s a mistake to be so racially focused that we begin to inject race everywhere.

A difference in outcome doesn’t automatically prove discrimination.

A disparity between two groups doesn’t automatically tell us why the disparity exists. And disagreement about race doesn’t automatically make someone racist.

Sometimes the explanation is discrimination. Other times it’s economics or education.

In other cases, it’s geography, family structure, culture, opportunity, individual choices—or a combination of dozens of factors.

Sure, you may still come across an employment opportunity, an educational institution, or a policy where race plays a role. But we are no longer living in a 1926 United States. And this isn’t the 1966 United States either.

In 2026, openly declaring that an entire race of people is inferior is socially unacceptable and, in many circumstances, discriminatory conduct is prohibited by law. Federal employment law prohibits discrimination based on race and color in hiring, firing, pay, promotion and other employment decisions.

Today you actually have recourse.

So, the claim that the United States is fundamentally defined by racism today is not supported by the reality of the country we actually live in.

That doesn’t mean that racism has disappeared or that you won’t still come across discrimination. People are still capable of judging other people because of their race.

Racial slurs still exist.

Racial harassment still exists.

People still make assumptions about others based on skin color, ethnicity, accent, cultural background or appearance. And occasionally those attitudes manifest themselves in conduct that is not just offensive but discriminatory.

So I am not ignoring the reality of the world that some people live in.

The new battle over race

In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Harvard and University of North Carolina admissions cases that the schools’ use of race in their admissions processes violated the Equal Protection Clause. The decision fundamentally changed the legal landscape surrounding race-conscious college admissions.

The argument surrounding affirmative action didn’t disappear.

It simply changed.

One side has argued that race-conscious policies are necessary because historical and present-day inequalities can affect people’s opportunities.

Another side argues that the government and institutions should judge individuals as individuals rather than assigning advantages or disadvantages according to racial categories.

There is a legitimate argument to be made on both sides. But we should not replace one form of racial stereotyping with another.

If we tell a young Black student that they are disadvantaged because they are Black, we may be acknowledging a real historical context based on the opportunities the Black race has had in a world of segregation and discrimination.

But if we tell that same student that their race determines what they can accomplish, we have made the exact same mistake we supposedly want to eliminate. 

A person’s race does not determine their individual performance or ability to excel. Ultimately, what you do with your opportunities is on YOU.

And so with that, the discussion about race and it’s impact on society continues…

Copyright©2026 Jacob C. Larson All Rights Reserved

***If you talk about the advantages “White” people have had simply because they were White to a “White” person they’ll give you this blank stare and mumble to themselves about how they didn’t get any advantages. But if you ask them whether their life would have been different if they had inherited substantial wealth, attended an elite university, had access to better financing to get a business loan, or lived in a neighborhood with dramatically better opportunities, they will most emphatically say, “Yes!” So they do understand the concept of having those things as an advantage. They just can’t always connect the dots on how not having those opportunities based on race and how that can be discriminated on similar to a persons socio-economic status. You always gotta spell it out for the dumb ones in the back. 

****No, I’ve never been a fan of this discussion and my thoughts on it haven’t changed. I still think it’s an incredibly stupid topic and I find it boring. No, not because I have never experienced racism personally, I have. But because I consider the arguments supporting racism, discrimination, and segregation to be of low I.Q. and the people making the arguments in favor of such things tend to suffer from it. 

……and that is the nicest way I have of saying, don’t text me on this. Don’t message me on this. I have zero interest in the conversation and could care less of what you think about this topic. And for the love of God, no videos. I’m not watching them. 

YES! I will 100% laugh at the well timed racists joke. Cause sometimes that shit is just damn funny!