The Illusion of Progress

How America Made Bigotry Taboo While Keeping Racism Intact

Since the Civil Rights Movement, America has crafted a grand deception: convincing Black Americans that racial progress was being made, not by dismantling systemic racism, but by rendering bigotry socially unacceptable. By erasing overt racial slurs from public discourse, promoting diversity in media, and making discrimination harder to express openly, the nation created the illusion of advancing racial justice. Meanwhile, the underlying structures of racism—laws, policies, and economic barriers that maintain racial inequality—remained largely untouched.

The rise of Trump and the MAGA movement wasn't solely about one man's bigotry -- it was a rallying cry to restore a racial hierarchy that had never truly disappeared.

This deception has been so effective that many now equate rooting out bigotry—punishing individuals for prejudiced words or actions—with dismantling racism. However, true racism is not merely about offensive language; it's about who controls resources, capital, land, and political power. The persistent racial wealth gap, as wide as it was in the 1960s, demonstrates that the foundation of racial inequality remains unchanged, obscured by a focus on personal prejudice rather than systemic oppression.

When America was compelled to acknowledge Black political power—most visibly with the election of Barack Obama—the backlash was swift. The rise of Trump and the MAGA movement wasn't solely about one man's bigotry; it was a rallying cry to restore a racial hierarchy that had never truly disappeared.

Bigotry vs. Racism: The Grand Misdirection

One of America's most significant deceptions was conflating bigotry with racism. They are not the same.

Bigotry is an individual attitude—personal prejudice against a racial group. Racism, however, is an entire system of power that enforces and maintains racial disparities. A bigot might refuse to hire a Black person due to personal dislike. But racism ensures that Black unemployment remains consistently double that of white unemployment, regardless of qualifications. A bigot might not want to sell their home to a Black family. But racism is why Black homeownership rates have barely improved since the 1960s, due to redlining, discriminatory lending practices, and gentrification.

Since the 1970s, America has focused on making bigotry socially unacceptable rather than addressing the systemic racism that upholds racial disparities. Schools teach diversity. Companies issue statements about inclusion. Politicians avoid explicitly racist rhetoric, even when their policies remain discriminatory. The focus has been on eliminating open expressions of racial bias—ensuring white Americans don't say or do the wrong thing in public—rather than dismantling the structures that sustain racial inequality.

Condemning bigotry is easy because it gives the appearance of progress without challenging who holds power

This is why America celebrates gestures like renaming streets after Martin Luther King Jr. or featuring Black faces in commercials while doing little to close the racial wealth gap. It's why corporations flooded social media with Black Lives Matter posts in 2020 while continuing to underpay Black employees. It's why we see Black representation in government, yet no serious efforts toward reparations, wealth redistribution, or dismantling systemic barriers.

Condemning bigotry is easy because it allows racism to remain undisturbed. We see this in policies that focus on symbolic gestures rather than structural change—corporations tout diversity initiatives while continuing to underpay Black workers, school districts remove offensive mascots while maintaining racial disparities in funding, and politicians condemn hate speech while upholding policies that reinforce economic and social segregation. It gives the appearance of progress without challenging who holds power.

Economic Stagnation: The Racist System That Never Changed

While Black Americans were being sold the dream of social inclusion, the actual policies determining economic power remained intact.

The late 1970s marked a turning point when America abandoned even the pretense of addressing racial economic disparities. Neoliberalism—characterized by deregulation, privatization, and tax cuts for the wealthy—became the dominant economic philosophy. Programs that had been lifelines for Black communities were gutted. Unions were weakened, public housing was defunded, and mass incarceration skyrocketed, ensuring Black labor remained disposable.

While America focused on making bigotry politically incorrect, it continued to structure policies that kept wealth and power out of Black hands.

The numbers speak for themselves:

• The racial wealth gap is as wide now as it was in the 1960s. The median Black household has roughly 13 cents for every dollar of wealth held by the median white household.
• Black homeownership remains structurally suppressed. Black families are still disproportionately denied mortgages, displaced by gentrification, and hit hardest by predatory lending practices.
• Higher education does not close the gap. Black college graduates still earn significantly less than white graduates, while carrying disproportionately higher student debt.
• Black business ownership faces institutional barriers. Black entrepreneurs struggle to access capital and face systemic discrimination in banking and lending.

None of this is accidental. While America focused on making bigotry politically incorrect, it continued to structure policies that kept wealth and power out of Black hands. This systemic entrenchment is evident in contemporary policies like Project 2025 and the flurry of executive orders dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. These actions aren’t just political maneuvers; they are deliberate reinforcements of institutional racism, ensuring that access to economic mobility, education, and public safety remains unequal.

Trump’s re-election campaign further exemplified this with his use of overtly racist rhetoric and policy proposals designed to reinforce systemic racism. His campaign doubled down on anti-immigrant sentiments, advocating for stricter border enforcement and policies like the Muslim travel ban, which disproportionately targeted communities of color. Additionally, he pushed for rollbacks on fair housing protections, making it easier for discriminatory practices to persist in real estate and lending.

Contemporary policies like Project 2025 and the flurry of executive orders aren’t just political maneuvers; they are deliberate reinforcements of institutional racism

These strategies weren’t isolated incidents; they were part of a broader effort to sustain racial hierarchies under the guise of 'law and order' and national security. He referred to COVID-19 as the 'Chinese Virus' and 'Kung Flu,' fueling anti-Asian sentiment. He also perpetuated false conspiracy theories about Vice President Kamala Harris’s eligibility, echoing the birtherism attacks previously directed at Barack Obama. These tactics were not just political strategies—they were signals to his base that the racial order needed to be reaffirmed.

The Time for Action is Now

Racism was never just about personal prejudice—it was always about power. And until America stops focusing on individual attitudes and starts dismantling the actual systems that keep Black people in a permanent state of economic disadvantage, nothing will truly change.

Real progress isn’t about representation. It’s about redistribution—redistributing wealth, power, and decision-making authority to those historically denied it. Federal reparations programs, including direct financial compensation, land restoration, and tax relief for descendants of enslaved people, would significantly close the racial wealth gap. Community land trusts can prevent displacement by ensuring long-term, community-controlled housing, stopping gentrification from erasing Black neighborhoods. Expanding access to capital through publicly funded Black-owned financial institutions and enforcing fair lending policies would allow Black entrepreneurs to thrive. These are the policies that turn rhetoric into reality.

Racism was never just about personal prejudice—it was always about power so real progress isn’t about representation. It’s about redistribution

Now is the time to act. Organize. Strategize. Build networks of power that cannot be ignored. Demand policies that close the racial wealth gap—such as federal and state reparations programs, universal basic income for historically disenfranchised communities, and a national community land trust system. Push for community-driven solutions that prioritize equity over profit. Fight for financial regulations that dismantle predatory lending and hold institutions accountable.

The difficulty of the work does not diminish its necessity.

This will not be easy, nor will it be quick. Dismantling centuries of systemic oppression requires sustained effort, resilience, and unwavering commitment. It will demand difficult conversations, the reallocation of resources, and confronting deeply entrenched power structures resistant to change. But the difficulty of the work does not diminish its necessity. Justice has never been convenient, and equity has never been granted without struggle.

The tide is shifting, and we must meet it with defiance, not resignation.