While racism undoubtedly exists, obsessing over it and treating it as the single defining characteristic of our society and every individual in it is toxic, according to JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin.
This focus on race is not only undermining the enormous progress America has achieved in the 60 years since the triumph of the Civil Rights movement, says Tobin, but is also widening the fissures between groups and making the country a more hostile and dysfunctional place.
The rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and the imposition of woke commissars to enforce diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) rules, along with0 intersectional ideology and the growing influence of critical race theory teachings in academia, the arts and the government represent a revival of the worst aspects of Jim Crow America, in which race was similarly declared to be both crucial and immutable, says Tobin.
This isn’t merely ironic, but is the defining tragedy of America in the third decade of the 21st century, he states.
Tobin is joined by law professor and author David Bernstein to discuss his new book, “Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America.”
Bernstein explains that government classifying people by race has deep roots in American history, but its modern use to enforce civil rights laws has led to arbitrary and often illogical groupings that have little or nothing to do with redressing past racial injustice.
It also ignores the vast increase of people with multi-racial backgrounds, insisting on classifying them as members of specific minority groups in a way that is reminiscent of the worst laws of Jim Crow America, he says. According to Berstein, the hope that America might transcend its past history of racial division is being dimmed by the efforts of critical race theorists and the vast number of people who benefit from efforts to make racial divisions permanent.
Bernstein agrees with Tobin that intersectional ideology and critical race theory teachings also provide a permission slip for antisemitism, in part because they don’t recognize the history of discrimination and violence against Jews, while also falsely branding Jews and the State of Israel as manifestations of white privilege.
He argues that Americans must separate government from race and start treating all Americans as Americans and not only as members of racial and ethnic groups seeking to divide up the pie of government largesse if we are ever to make progress toward genuine equality.
“Top Story” also airs on JBS-TV.
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