Another attempt at the race conversation was executed on March 11th.  John Legend and Donald Trump Jr got into a major spat on Twitter. It all started because of a tweet written by Trump Jr stating “It’s pretty embarrassing. Trump supporters were articulate and the antis could barely speak and had no answers.”  Legend responded  by saying  “I think they were protesting your racist father this isn’t complicated.” (See the tweet here: Legend’s Response.) A war of words would ensue after Legend’s response.

This version of the race conversation went as expected. Trump Jr would respond by stating that Legend’s ideas are the ones keeping the country divided. He states “Here we go again. That can’t be the answer for everything you don’t like. That’s why the country is so divided now.” Legend would state that Donald Trump makes racist statements constantly and he’s endorsed by the KKK. The race conversation seems to always go the same way. The rich white elite don’t ever seem to have empathy when speaking on issues dealing with minorities. The 1 percent live in a fantasy world where racism is no longer prevalent in our society. They believe it’s the minority groups themselves that are dividing the country.

Many journalists and scholars say that the race conversation is something Americans need to have. I agree but in order for this conversation to be a productive one, the side with the most power (Caucasians) needs to practice empathy. They need to visualize the black struggle and put themselves in that place for clarity purposes otherwise it’s  just a waste of time.The narrative that’s portrayed by a lot of right-wing media outlets is that blacks are race baiters. They think that the country moved past race and blacks are keeping it alive for selfish purposes. If whites go into the race conversation with this preconceived notion, we will not get anywhere. Both sides need to leave their biases at the door and have an honest empathetic conversation. The race conversation is possible but everyone needs to know that they will feel uncomfortable. That lack of comfort needs to happen in order for this country to even think about moving past racism.

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