The U.N. just released its report on the treatment of black people in the U.S., and it isn’t pretty
The U.N. just released its report on the treatment of black people in the U.S., and it isn’t pretty
So, here’s the deal: The U.N. (aka the United Nations) created a group to focus on issues faced by people of African descent. Yay, right? But the group recently released a report that argues that, one, we have a HUGE problem with anti-black racism in the U.S., and that the state of that racism is so extreme that it calls for reparations.
The report was released as a part of a study by the United Nations’ Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, which includes leading human rights lawyers from around the world. The report explained links between our history of racism and current issues of anti-blackness, saying,
“In particular, the legacy of colonial history, enslavement, racial subordination and segregation, racial terrorism and racial inequality in the United States remains a serious challenge, as there has been no real commitment to reparations and to truth and reconciliation for people of African descent.”
On current issues of police brutality, it explained,
“Contemporary police killings and the trauma that they create are reminiscent of the past racial terror of lynching.”
Like, woah. This is so, so important.
The report continued, saying,
“Despite substantial changes since the end of the enforcement of Jim Crow and the fight for civil rights, ideology ensuring the domination of one group over another, continues to negatively impact the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of African Americans today,” it said in a statement. “The dangerous ideology of white supremacy inhibits social cohesion amongst the US population.”
Long story short? It doesn’t really matter whether or not the average person thinks that anti-black racism is an issue in the U.S. The freakin’ U.N. says it is, solidifying what activists, educators, and black people across the country have been saying for years: we have a problem with racism in this country. And we need to do something about it.
End of story.
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