Even Martin Luther King's dream that his children be judged by the "content of their character," and not "the color of their skin" was co-opted to insist that affirmative action violates the spirit of King's "dream," and that true followers of King would advocate color-blindness.
The reconciliation forged and advocated was a color-blind reconciliation which enacted anti-racist laws while failing to fundamentally change or transform the social structures that maintain and sustain racism. The more radical demands of the Civil Rights movement (i.e. equitable distribution of wealth, resources, and opportunities) were sacrificed in favor of limited economic, political and cultural access to some power and privilege for a minority of middle-class people of color.
De La Torre has a lot to say. Too much for a single short essay. I hope Miguel will write a series of essays or a book and fill in some details.
1 comment:
De La Torre, who is a friend of mine from seminary, has now written several books--some directly on such topics. Miguel is both a passionate and insightful writer.
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