To me it seems clear that the reason Americans believe race relations are getting worse is almost completely the result of sensationalized national news stories and almost never about anyone’s personal negative interactions. We are all too quick to use one person or a handful of people to smear an entire nation, because the media drums it into our minds day in and day out that America is a hopelessly racist country.
Take just one example of how this happens: The Skeptic Research Center asked Americans of different political persuasions how many unarmed Black men they believed were killed by the police in 2019. Over 80 percent of liberals guessed that at least 100 Black men were killed, while 22 percent of very liberal participants believed that 10,000 unarmed Black men were killed by the police in 2019.
The actual number? 13.
The narrative around the danger posed to Black men by the police has simply overshadowed the truth.
We each have a choice about whether or not to believe what we’re being told by those who wish to divide us. And when it comes to race relations in America, choose to be part of the forces bringing us together, rather than those seeking to rend us apart.