This can sometimes feel like a strange moment for Black Americans. We have lived and witnessed tremendous progress, but there is clearly much more work to do. We can recognize that we’ve come such a long way, and acknowledge that we have a long way to go.
There are freedoms we cherish now that were just dreams years ago. Yet, there are aspects of Black American life that require immediate attention and action.
Looking at the changes of the last year, this could be the big “I told you so” moment. Some of us knew this moment was coming. There was a reckoning on the way; the pendulum that swings forward must come back.
While some are wondering how this could be America, others in the Black community say this is the America we have known all along. There have always been, at the very least, two Americas.
One version of America worked the way it said it did, where hard work was rewarded with a relatively safe and prosperous life. This was a country where you could start with $200 in your pocket and make all your dreams come true.
And there is another America, where nothing was what it seemed, and threats could come from any direction at any time, where systems designated to protect us didn’t live up to their mandates. It could be in the courtroom where sentencing for the same infraction has been much harsher for Black Americans. The threats could be in the hospital room, where Black people who have falsely been ascribed a higher tolerance for pain can endure a lack of urgency in medical care.
We’re not post-racial yet
Many had claimed that Barack Obama’s ascendence to the presidency was proof of a post-racial America. Last week’s sharing of images depicting the Obamas as apes, from the sitting president no less, should clearly show that is not true.
The nationwide rollback of DEI initiatives in 2025 left many feeling like the years of progress by our predecessors were abruptly being reversed. So did the dismissal of more than 300,000 Black women from the workforce. Add to that the removal and minimization of Black history in educational materials, and the picture becomes clearer.
In “The Souls of Black Folk,” way back in 1903, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote, “the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line…”
We are more than a century past this declaration, but the words still ring true. Despite what some believe, and what others hope, our country is often divided along the color line. There are too many examples to recount, but anyone can clearly see the discrepancies.
It may not be a truth people want to accept, but race and color have still been effective tools to separate communities in a multitude of sectors. Schools, neighborhoods and professions are largely segregated.
But we already know all this. What can we do now?
Vigilance and action
What we know now is that any comfort we hold must be protected vigilantly, every day, all year long, year after year. We must keep watch. Complacency is never an option.
We cannot rely on the goodhearted nature of others to do what’s right for our community, especially when their lives are not immediately affected by policies that continue to disenfranchise us.
As long as the power is left in someone else’s hands, that is where it will remain. As individuals, we are powerful. As a collective, we are an undeniable force. Our intentional forward progress.
In this moment, we hold steady. We build. We create infrastructure. We collaborate. We focus. We take care of one another. We get to work. We don’t all have to get along, but we must get going.
I am reminded of the lyrics from “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson. He wrote, “Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us; Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.”
The past gives us faith that change can happen and we can make it happen. At present we live hopefully, knowing that with intentional and consistent action, like the song says, “we shall overcome some day.”
Contact Editor-in-Chief Camike Jones at 317-726-7850.
Camike Jones is the Editor-in-Chief of the Indianapolis Recorder. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Jones has a lifelong commitment to advocacy and telling stories that represent the community.
