“I think we’re regressing because we are still struggling with racism, we’re still doing it, and I think that’s getting swept underneath the rug because white people are privileged, and they get away with a lot of things. I think that we are going backwards, because there are a lot of things that are not being discussed, and a lot of things that are being allowed that can change a lot of things. I think we were moving forward because Martin Luther King’s dream has been prevalent, but there are a lot of things that we need to work on, like the racism that is being swept under the rug.”
“No, you know we’re moving forward. I think every era is different, totally different, with a plus. You know, there are some minor things that people just haven’t gotten themselves together on or believe the state of mind that they’re in, and they don’t know how to change that.”
“I think in a sense, yes. We as Black people are more together now, but we’re less united as a front. There’s not as much unity as there was back in the civil rights movement. Now, there’s still all this hate toward Black people and people who have political power, even from Afro-Caribbean and African people; there’s like a division between each of those people. Black people never come together as one on the scene, compared to back then during civil rights. Back then, we had a purpose: to fight for our independence, for our freedom of speech, for our human rights. Now I don’t see that. I feel like we’re still strong, but we’re falling apart.”
“Yes, I do think we’re moving backward, especially for us Black people. First, D.E.I. was revoked by President Donald Trump, and that was just kind of a slap toward Black people, like showing and telling them they’re not worthy enough to be included in everything, because we’re already discriminated against with everything that’s going on in this generation, say work, school, it doesn’t matter, and that was kind of helping us. But now that that program is taken away, it’s kind of just a slap in the face. Also, us seeing Black people, like let’s say President Obama, he was a president where when little kids see him, they are excited, and it was like seeing that that is something they can achieve. But now since we don’t have that figure anymore, it’s kind of hard for Black people to dream and picture themselves on that level.”
“Well, I think with everything that’s going on right now, we are moving backward. There has been a little bit of progress that has been made, but with the whole immigration thing that’s been happening, a lot of Black people are trying to fight, but their rights have been shut down, so I think there has been a delay in how much progress we could have seen by now. So I think, in my opinion, it all stems from money, and so most of these things are being done because big corporations and the people who are in charge are trying to make money for themselves. And so the systems that were made in the past that would retain money for those who were in the system are not being branched out to upcoming new people, and so at the end of the day, it’s about trying to retain money for people who had it in the past.”
“I believe there is a concerted effort to turn back the clock for reasons only those working to change policy know. Yes, we as a community have made great strides, but laws can be changed as we are witnessing. So, yes, I think over the last year, we have gone backwards as it relates to civil rights.”
