1 00:00:00,460 --> 00:00:06,520 Is racism still a major problem in America? President Barack Obama certainly thinks so. 2 00:00:06,529 --> 00:00:12,589 He said that racism is “in our DNA.” Really? If racism is in our DNA, 3 00:00:12,589 --> 00:00:16,649 doesn’t that mean it’s immutable, unchangeable? 4 00:00:16,649 --> 00:00:23,360 But America has changed -- and dramatically so. In 1960, 60% of Americans said they would 5 00:00:23,369 --> 00:00:29,050 never vote for a black president. Almost 50 years later, the black man who said racism 6 00:00:29,050 --> 00:00:34,850 is in America’s DNA was elected president, and four years later re-elected. 7 00:00:34,850 --> 00:00:40,680 That’s only the most obvious example of racial progress. There are many others. 8 00:00:40,690 --> 00:00:46,350 Take inter-racial marriage. As William H. Frey of the Brookings Institution wrote, “Sociologists 9 00:00:46,350 --> 00:00:53,070 have traditionally viewed multiracial marriage as a benchmark for the ultimate stage of assimilation 10 00:00:53,070 --> 00:00:58,449 of a particular group into society.” Black-white marriages were still illegal in 16 states 11 00:00:58,449 --> 00:01:05,950 until 1967. And a 1958 Gallup poll found that only 4% of Americans approved of black-white 12 00:01:05,950 --> 00:01:15,490 marriages. Today that number is 87%. In 1960, of all marriages by blacks, only 1.7 percent 13 00:01:15,490 --> 00:01:20,510 were black-white. Today, it’s 12 percent and rising. 14 00:01:20,510 --> 00:01:25,439 Now what about “racial profiling” and abuse of blacks by police? Doesn’t that 15 00:01:25,439 --> 00:01:32,259 prove that racism remains a major problem? In the summer of 2014, Ferguson, Missouri 16 00:01:32,259 --> 00:01:38,299 became ground zero for this accusation when a white policeman shot and killed an unarmed 17 00:01:38,299 --> 00:01:43,000 black teenager. While a Department of Justice investigation of the incident cleared the 18 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:49,460 officer of any wrongdoing, it did accuse the city’s police department of racial bias. 19 00:01:49,460 --> 00:01:55,220 But what was the Justice Department report’s most headline grabbing stat? The gap between 20 00:01:55,229 --> 00:02:00,340 the percentage of blacks living in Ferguson -- 67% -- and the percentage of those stopped 21 00:02:00,340 --> 00:02:06,450 by police for traffic violation who are black -- 85%. An 18 point discrepancy. 22 00:02:06,450 --> 00:02:09,410 Racism, right? Not so fast. 23 00:02:09,410 --> 00:02:15,900 Blacks comprise 25% of New York City, but account for 55% of those stopped for traffic 24 00:02:15,910 --> 00:02:23,069 offenses -- a 30-point discrepancy, far bigger than that of Ferguson. Why isn’t the NYPD, 25 00:02:23,069 --> 00:02:28,230 a department that is now majority minority, considered even more institutionally racist 26 00:02:28,230 --> 00:02:34,620 than the Ferguson PD? The answer is you cannot have an honest discussion about police conduct 27 00:02:34,620 --> 00:02:37,880 without an honest discussion of black crime. 28 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:44,480 Though blacks are 13% of the population, they commit 50% of the nation’s homicides, 29 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:50,560 and almost always the victim is another black person, just as most white homicides are against 30 00:02:50,569 --> 00:02:58,880 other whites. In 2012, according to the Center for Disease Control, police killed 123 blacks, 31 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:05,580 while, by the way, killing over twice that many whites. But that same year blacks killed 32 00:03:05,590 --> 00:03:10,750 over 6,000 people -- again, mostly other blacks. 33 00:03:10,750 --> 00:03:17,860 What about traffic stops? Unlike when responding to dispatch calls, police officers exercise 34 00:03:17,870 --> 00:03:24,159 more discretion when it comes to traffic stops. Therefore “racist” cops can have a field 35 00:03:24,159 --> 00:03:27,259 day when it comes to traffic stops, right? 36 00:03:27,260 --> 00:03:29,240 Actually, no. 37 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:35,060 The National Institute of Justice is the research agency of the Department of Justice. 38 00:03:35,060 --> 00:03:43,940 In 2013, the National Institute of Justice published a study called "Race, Trust and Police Legitimacy." 39 00:03:43,940 --> 00:03:49,560 Three out of four black drivers admitted that they were stopped by the police for a "legitimate 40 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:55,010 reason." Blacks, compared to whites, were on average more likely to commit speeding 41 00:03:55,010 --> 00:04:00,939 and other traffic offenses. The Institute wrote, “Seatbelt usage is chronically lower among 42 00:04:00,939 --> 00:04:06,779 black drivers. If a law enforcement agency aggressively enforces seatbelt violations, 43 00:04:06,780 --> 00:04:09,380 police will stop more black drivers." 44 00:04:09,380 --> 00:04:16,140 The NIJ’s conclusion? These numerical disparities result from "differences in offending" 45 00:04:16,140 --> 00:04:19,220 -- in other words, not because of racism. 46 00:04:19,220 --> 00:04:25,480 Similarly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also found that blacks violate 47 00:04:25,490 --> 00:04:32,540 traffic laws at higher rates than whites -- in every offense, whether it’s driving without a license, 48 00:04:32,540 --> 00:04:37,540 not wearing a seat belt, not using a child safety seat or speeding. 49 00:04:37,540 --> 00:04:44,400 Is there still racism in America? Of course, there is. But racism is not in America’s DNA. 50 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:48,000 Recent history and a lot of research and data prove it. 51 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:53,780 As liberal Harvard sociologist Orlando Patterson said, America, “is now the least racist 52 00:04:53,780 --> 00:04:58,880 white-majority society in the world; has a better record of legal protections of minorities 53 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:04,120 than any other society, white or black; offers more opportunities to a greater number of 54 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:09,840 black persons than any other society, including all of those of Africa." 55 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:12,980 Patterson, by the way, is black. 56 00:05:12,980 --> 00:05:15,960 I’m Larry Elder for Prager University.