There are many examples to dispel mistaken notion that prejudices are dead | Opinion

I am a straight, white, lifelong Republican woman, and I am furious. Kentucky State Representative Steve Rawlings supports banning education on diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. He suggests that racism hasn’t been a problem for a long time. Apparently, Rawlings doesn’t read newspapers, watch news on TV, or discuss current events with others. He also has a narrow view of diversity, as he discussed only the issue of Black and white people. There are many examples to dispel his mistaken notion that prejudices are dead.

Let’s take a look at hate crimes against Blacks. Dylann Roof, a young white man, entered a church in Charleston, South Carolina, and opened fire on Blacks who were studying the Bible, killing nine and injuring one.

George Floyd, a Black man, used a $20 counterfeit bill at a convenience store, something any one of us could have unknowingly done. Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer, pushed him to the ground, handcuffed him, and knelt on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Floyd repeatedly told the officer he couldn’t breathe. Others realized Floyd was in danger and warned Chauvin to dismount him. Chauvin didn’t listen and is now serving 22 ½ years in prison.

Andre Hill, also Black, was killed by a police officer as he innocently emerged from his garage in Ohio. Atatiana Jefferson, a Black woman, was shot through the window of her home by a Texas police officer responding to a nonemergency call. That officer was indicted on murder charges. Stephon Clark, another Black man, was shot and killed by Sacramento police officers while standing in his grandmother’s backyard holding a cell phone. Police claimed they shot Clark because officers believed he was holding a gun.

This accounting could go on ad infinitum, but we have other types of targeting to explore. Attacks on LGBTQ people, Hispanics, Jews and women are rising, too.

O’Shae Sibley was stabbed to death in Massachusetts because he challenged individuals speaking poorly of LGBTQ folks. Lauri Carleton was killed in California for her refusal to remove a pride flag from her store. Anderson Lee Aldrich killed five gender-diverse people and injured 18 in Colorado Springs at a gay club.Patrick Crusius shot and killed 23 Hispanic people and injured 12 at the Cielo Vista Walmart in El Paso. He’s serving 90 life sentences. In California, Mario Gonzalez Arenales died in police custody in Alameda, California, after being restrained for about five minutes at a local park. An officer in Vallejo, California, shot and killed Sean Monterrosa. Monterrosa was kneeling with his hands raised. The officer shot him because he thought he saw "something" in Monterrosa's sweatshirt pocket. It was a hammer.

Members of The Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, saw Robert Bowers kill 11 people because they were Jewish. Bowers was sentenced to death. John Earnest walked into a Chabad synagogue near San Diego and opened fire, killing 60-year-old Lori Kaye and injuring three others. After the attack, the shooter said, "I’m defending my nation against the Jewish people, who are trying to destroy all white people." He is serving a life sentence. Neo-Nazi Buford O’Neal Furrow wounded five people at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles. He later killed Joseph Illeto, a Filipino-American mail worker. When surrendering, he expressed the hope that his attack would inspire others to target Jews. He’s serving a life sentence.

One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape (14.8% completed, 2.8% attempted). One in four women have been victims of severe physical violence (e.g. beating, burning, strangling) by an intimate partner in their lifetime. According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, 42% of U.S. women claim they have faced some type of gender discrimination in the workplace.

Other groups are being targeted now, too. Some judges involved in certain high-profile cases are being targeted, as are their family members. Lawmakers are at risk as well.

I became aware of prejudices in 1964 as a freshman in college. I was assigned to room with two Black women, Wilinda and Danya. Unbeknownst to me, my father had written a letter to the university president protesting any white student being placed as a roommate with two Black students. My dorm mother called me to chat; that’s when I learned about my father’s letter. She gave me a choice to move to a different room. I declined.

Dayna and Wilinda were great roommates. We joked regularly. We laughed at the fact that Blacks ran quickly into the dormitory so their skin wouldn’t get darker while whites lay out in the sun to get a tan. We chuckled at Black women straightening their hair while white women curled theirs. We ate many meals together and discussed politics, classes and parties. They invited me to join their Harlem Club. Dayna, Wilinda and their friends made me feel that I belonged.

Sadly, that semester was not perfect. Some of the white girls in the dorm spat at me in the hallways because I was living with Black girls. One white girl tried to fight me in the communal bathroom for the same reason. Sometimes, a racial epithet was thrown my way. A friend’s parents visited her, and she invited me to talk with them, presumably at her parents’ suggestion. Her parents told me I should move out, that Blacks aren’t clean. These parents used leftover bath water as proof that Blacks are "dirty." Of course, the residue from a Black person’s skin is going to be darker than the beige-colored dead skin from us so-called whites.

Sixty years have passed since my first year at college. And, yes, race relations have improved a great deal. Do we still have prejudices? Yes, we do. As seen here, the consequences of those prejudices can be worse than a spit in the face or a challenge to a fight. The consequence can be death.

We are one nation, one people. We all deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity. We need diversity, equity and inclusion education. Representative Rawlings, you might consider a diversity, equity and inclusion program for our legislators.

Kathy King lives in Hebron, Ky.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kentucky legislators have a narrow view of DEI programs | Opinion