by Roger Crain

Created on: September 08, 2010

Famed black scholar and intellectual, Dr. W. E. B. Dubois, wrote in the foreword of his classic work, "The Souls of Black Folks," this perennial statement:  "Herein lie buried many things which if read with patience may show the strange meaning of being black in the dawning of the 20th century.  This meaning is not without interest, gentle reader, for the problem of the 20th century is the problem of the colorline."

Dr. W. E. B. Dubois penned those words more than 100 years ago; yet, we not only have witnessed the prophetic utterance of those words, but also have seen that the problem of the 21st century is still the colorline.

Thus, how serious is the problem of racism in America?  The attacks on the World Trade Center in New York left Americans fed up with disgust; consequently, President George W. Bush made the decision to send American troops to Iraq.  We knew who was behind the first attack in 1993, but it took eight years and the killing of over 3,000 Americans to get America riled up to the point in declaring war on Saddam Housein and his terroristic network, Al Queda.

But what did 9/11 teach us about the unguarded racism that had been eating away like a cancer at the moral fiber of our society?  For one thing, as soon as we had word that this was another diabolic act by Saddam Housein, we went into action:  America didn't waste anytime in sending its troops to Baghdad and capturing that city within days of entry.   These moslem jihadists were not going to push us around anymore.

Meanwhile, America began to repeat the mistakes of the past; every muslim in this country and abroad was demonized the same way that Japanese Americans were rounded up and jailed during WWII.  It didn't matter if they were not affiliated with the Al Queda Terroristic Network if they were muslims, then they merit the vindictiveness of America's collective wrath.

That's racism, oh gentle reader, and it has become so serious that we can demonized the president because he has a muslim name.  Have not we said that Barack Obama Jr would take this country too far to the left of center in spite of having been born in Hawaii (American state) and his impressive Harvard credentials?  Still, America is a great country.  Let's keep it great by putting racism in its place once and for all.

Learn more about this author, Roger Crain.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.