Racism has eroded confidence in US society

Cai Meng/China Daily

As an axiom goes, confidence is more precious than gold. The same confidence is needed in society, for if a society is getting better it shows in people's perception.

A Washington Post and Ipsos survey on June 16 found that 51 percent of Black respondents believe racism is getting worse in the United States, 37 percent believe it has not changed while only 11 percent said it has diminished. In short, African Americans don't think their society or their situation are improving.

This lack of confidence is a result of the worsening condition of Blacks and other people of color in the US. On May 23, the Centers for Disease Control found that 14 percent of all Black Americans and 10 percent of white Americans had Alzheimer's; of the 4 million children in the country who have asthma, 5.5 percent are white and 12 percent are Black. The figures follow the same pattern when it comes to education, the job market and police violence.

Three years after George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, gasped for breath and died when a policeman knelt on his neck for almost 10 minutes, Black lives still don't matter in the country that claims to be a beacon of human rights.

US politicians merely make a show of concern for Black lives when seeking votes. Otherwise, there is so much inequality that Black Americans do not believe racism is ever going to end in the US.

Further, at a time of economic recession in the US, Black Americans are suffering more than their white compatriots.

Instead of kneeling before the public for votes, US politicians need to talk to Black people, find out what they need and push for fairer policies that can benefit them and other people of color. Only when the people of color see hope will there be hope in the US nation.