By Tiffanie Drayton | Originally Published at Clutch Magazine. July 29, 2014
Since the post Civil Rights Era, the Black community has largely abandoned its collective struggle against continued racism and discrimination. Gone are the demands for justice and an end to inequality. They have been replaced by narratives of meritocracy, “colorblindness” and the bootstrapping individual negro who can single-handedly rise above his circumstance to beat the odds stacked against him. As Pharrell recently explained, today’s Black is a “new Black”– a Black blind to racism and the everyday struggles of its community. Blackness should evolve as we continue to redefine it for ourselves but not at the cost of dismissing the challenges we still face.
The “New Black” should be both forward thinking and informed. Regardless of the amazing feats accomplished by single individuals, a system of racism still exists in free America that is currently waging a war on the Black community. Millions are being taken prisoner. Through legislation, discriminatory legal practices and segregation, the clock of Black progress has been ticking backwards in recent history.
Here’s what you should know:

1. It hurts to admit, but racism is alive and well.

Many Black people fear that admitting or accepting the prevalence of racism will negatively impact their sense of autonomy. While we are all individuals with our own struggles who should not allow anything or anyone to hold us down, it is important that as a community we fight the many forces that threaten our collective physical and psychological well-being.

2. Morgan Freeman was wrong, race has everything to do with income inequality today.

Intergenerational poverty has crippled the Black community, limiting access to education, healthcare and employment. If Morgan Freeman believes the history of slavery and Jim Crow plus present-day discrimination in the form of unfair sentencing practices, predatory banking practices and school segregation has no effects on income inequality, he is either willfully ignorant or simply–yes it must be said– a sell out.

3. The Black church has been both a friend and frenemy.

Historically, the church was a powerhouse center for activism, Black advancement and cultural empathyeducates – 19 Things Black People Need to Know About Racism Today: