You're completely missing the point and I'm not comparing the 60s to today...yes there has been progress but racism is still prevalent in our society and it has real effects on people in real ways. Whats pathetic is that you are trotting out the same tired argument that people have made in the past even when things were markedly horrible.
There are articles and Op Ed pieces dating back to early 1900s of people both black and white saying that things weren't as bad as they were (cuz they were living IN it so many either couldn't or refused to see it) and the example they used to counter the people who were speaking out was the fact that there were rich and well to do blacks at that time.
There were rich black people during the height of Jim Crow and lynching..and because of that I'm sure there were people then who rattle off names like Jack Johnson and Madam CJ Walker Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters Marian Anderson and Eubie Blake etc..and because these individual made it its proof positive that those blacks speaking out are just playing victims!
You want to talk about a lack of nuance..you use the condition of Black America and the black individual interchangeably. You can talk about black individuals who have done well but that doesn't negate that black AMERICA still have to deal with a racially skewed justice system or housing system or banking system, educational system, health system etc etc. all studied facts.
Are things AS bad as they were in 1960..no but then things in 1960 weren't AS BAD as they were in 1900 either but that doesn't mean there weren't real issues. So a generation in 2060 looking back at 2016 is going to say how did you guys from that time NOT see the issues then? And larry elder will be regarded at that future time just as that young black man (who grew up seeing jim crow signs and laws mind you yet says the crap he said) in the Malcolm X vid is regarded TODAY. Out of touch.
It's not the same old argument, and here's why: You're confusing institutional racism with social racism. Of course racism still exists, and there is social conduct that needs to be addressed because it is racist. The issue is a lot of people are shouting racism saying America is a racist country, the police (as an
institution, important distinction) are racist, companies are racist, etc, etc. That's clearly not the case because as far as I'm aware there is no more racist
legislation or explicitly racist
laws. Therefore it is markedly different from the times you're referencing.
So, if a white cop shoots a black man wrongfully and it's because the man was black, is that because the police as an institution are racist, or is it because certain individuals in that profession are racist? It's not institutional racism just because it happens in a professional capacity. If a white guy works at a bank and he's an ***hole to a black guy because the guy is black when he comes to deposit money it's not the bank (
institution) that's racist, it's that one ***hole.
When you're talking about the racist healthcare, housing, etc what exactly are you referring to? Are you referring to letters on a bill, or is this a perception? Since this appears to go lost on people often, I'm not being facetious, I'm asking genuinely, because it's important to this distinction. Additionally, would you agree the black community in America has any personal responsibility, with things like out of proportion violence in the black communities, or is it the monolith of "America" that needs to change and then the problems in those communities will all disappear?
How is it that a statistic like single motherhood can rise from 20 something percent to sixty something percent from a more racist period in the 60s to a less racist period like now? The problem I'm seeing is there's no way to distinguish between where personal responsibility starts and prevalent institutional practices begin, and we'd need observable proof of them.
Again, for your aspersions about Elder to be true we'd need to be talking about a time when there was legislated racism, it isn't so they're not the same contexts. There's a lot of negativity from the black community towards any other black American who seems to not allow his race to dictate his circumstances, which is interesting.