President Barack Obama Discusses Immigration (2009)

 

The United States has a long history of immigration. By the 2000s it became one of the major wedge issues in American politics. President Barack Obama came to office with the intent of immigration reform. When speaking at a rally in 2009, President Obama's positions seemed less liberal. He stated "no one gets a free ride." Then asserts amnesty would not be an option. He talks about earning citizenship, but does not acknowledge that the process is slow and inefficient. The biggest distortion is that President Obama claimed "American appreciate immigration." American xenophobia and racism makes becoming a citizen difficult. Then President Barack Obama did not mention that US military intervention created large numbers of refugees. The Vietnam War, CIA operations in Central America, the 2003 Iraq War, and  the invasion  Afghanistan  displaced many people. The Barack Obama administration ended up deporting more immigrants than the Bush administration. Race relations continued to be tense even with the election of the first African American president. 

Malcolm X Views on Integration, President Kennedy, and Race Relations (1963)

 

Malcolm X was critical of the Kennedy administration's lack of action on civil rights. Only when the violence in Alabama got more intense did the government take notice. Malcolm X did not support racial integration. Black separatism was in his view the only solution in a racist society. Developing a self sustaining community and in the distant future a black nation in North America was the goal. Non-violent resistance was in an ineffective tactic in Malcolm's perspective. Malcolm X was accused of hating whites by the media. His response was that he was not focused on false assertions. Such a question was a disingenuous one. The attempt was to demonize the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X as a threat. Members of the Nation of Islam were subject to police brutality and murder. Malcolm X was being spied on by the FBI. Separatism made sense in a country based on second class citizenship and segregation. Race relations would not be improved by integration. 

O.J. Simpson Verdict (1995)

 

The O.J. Simpson trial captivated the American public. Media sensationalism prior and after the trial reached fanatic heights. O.J. Simpson was accused of the murder of Nicole Brown. His second wife was a victim of domestic violence. The athlete, actor, and sports broadcaster became infamous with the trial. This highlighted racial divisions in the United States. The Los Angeles Police Department's racism interfered with the murder case. That was used to discredit the prosecution. The media's racism depicted O.J. as an animal, who terrorized an innocent white woman. This racist trope was common in Reconstruction era America, but got a late 20th century update. So much focus on Nicole Brown, the media seemed to forget that Ron Goldman was murdered. The prosecution could not prove that O.J. Simpson murdered them and he was found not guilty. While most could deduce that O.J. was the culprit, the arguments were not persuasive enough to convince a jury. The verdict in many ways was vengeance for the Rodney King incident in 1992. King was beaten by a group of police officers and they were not charged. Criminal justice in America has either been biased or used to impose a racial caste system. The O.J. Simpson verdict demonstrated the favoritism that the famous and powerful get in a court of law. White rage about the verdict was a projection of racial animosity, rather than a concern about criminal justice. America lives in the illusion of a fair legal system. The O.J. Simpson trial will remain of interest to scholars of  jurisprudence and criminology.    

James Baldwin ABC News Interview (1979)

 

James Baldwin was interviewed  by ABC News in 1979. What he discusses are the challenges of racism and poverty that never were eliminated from the United States. Through Baldwin's hardship he was able to produce various novels and essays criticizing America's contradictions and abuses. The interview notes that the Church had a major influence on his literary works. One of his novels Giovanni's Room had to be published in England, because the publishers in America were uncomfortable with a novel discussing homosexuality. During the 1950s discussions  of sex and sexuality were taboo. James Baldwin was not afraid to speak of America's institutionalized anti-black racism. As Baldwin explained "you cannot swear by the freedom of all mankind and put me in chains." Enslavement, discrimination, and prejudice tarnished the United States. This interview from 1979 does what most news program rarely do. Telling  the truth and information the public does not want to acknowledge.