As I watched the GOP Convention last week in Cleveland, and now the Democratic Convention this week in Philadelphia, sometimes when I critique the optics and rhetoric of race in America, I wonder whether I'm living in a parallel universe right here in America. The statements on questions of race and inequality emanating from both Conventions stand miles apart. Recall Rudy Giuliani's castigation of the Black Lives Matter Movement as a violent subversive organization. Flash forward to Democratic spotlighting of issues of social justice, like having an undocumented person speak at the opening night of the Convention, and some speakers openly talking about police killings and brutality. Rhetorically and optically, are we living in the same nation? Judging by the GOP and Democratic Conventions, you'd think you left one nation to cross over into another nation.
Americans truly are divided on questions of race and inequality. The gulf between whites and blacks on a number of questions is wide. Blacks view race and inequality through one lense, while whites view the same issues through another lense. The Pew Research Center recently conducted a national survey of 3,769 US adults (1,799 whites and 1,004 blacks) from February 29 through May 8, 2016. Views on race relations and inequality were all over the map. On a number of issues, the full report of the survey is worth digesting. Here's a link to the full Pew Research Center study for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/interactives/state-of-race-in-america/
I'll tease you a little bit, here's a snapshot of the survey on a range of questions posed to whites and blacks on issues of fairness in a diversity of areas:
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