Black History Month Day 15: The Myth of the “Post-Racial” Moment

Black History Fact:
In 1968, just days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., more than 100 U.S. cities erupted in uprisings responding to decades of racial violence and inequality.

America likes neat endings. A speech. A law. A moment we can point to and say, That’s when it got better.

Black history refuses that fantasy.

The Civil Rights Movement did not end racism. It exposed it. It dragged it into the light—and the backlash was immediate. Dr. King was not killed because his work was done. He was killed because it was evolving, because he had begun to challenge economic injustice and militarism alongside racism.

The uprisings that followed his death were not chaos. They were grief with nowhere to go.

Every time America declares itself “post-racial,” Black history asks: Post what, exactly?

We see the same pattern today. Each protest is met with calls for calm. Each demand for justice is met with impatience. Each expression of anger is judged more harshly than the conditions that caused it.

History teaches us this: when people say “enough,” what they often mean is enough disruption — not enough injustice.

There is no post-racial America while racial outcomes remain predictable.

If I had ten dollars for every comment I’ve seen saying there is no more racism in the USA because “we had a black President”! You’ve seen it too. 💩

Thanks for reading sharing and reflecting on Black History Month.

Julie Bolejack, MBA

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