Kaleem,
You probably live in an upper startum of Amercian society with I wonder how much contacts with natives and blacks. I am enclosing links and brief descriptions to the events that happend in the last 5 years. http://usliberals.about.com/b/a/2004_01.htm
http://www.crf-usa.org/brown50th/color_of_justice.htm
Victims of recent hate crimes are James Byrd, Jr., Ricky Byrdsong, and Won Joon Yoon. James Byrd, Jr., of Jasper, Texas was dragged to his death on June 6, 1998 while chained behind a pickup truck driven by three white men. Ricky Byrdsong and Won Joon Yoon were targeted and shot to death in July 1999 by white supremacist Benjamin Smith because they were members of minority groups.
All these event happened in 2000.
Week ofApr 8 2000 The prison population in the United States exceeded 2 million last year, the Justice Department announced, and it was estimated that 12 percent of black men between the ages of 20 and 34 are incarcerated. »
Week ofDec 5 2000 New Jersey confirmed that 80 percent of the searches performed by state troopers over the last decade were of cars driven by blacks or Hispanics but pointed out that the federal government’s Drug Enforcement Agency had encouraged racial profiling in the name of the War on Drugs.»
Week ofMay 1 2000 New York City police commissioner Bernard B. Kerik decided not to punish the police officers who killed Amadou Diallo two years ago. The officers, who fired 41 shots at the unarmed black man but only hit him 19 times, will undergo retraining.»
Week ofJun 12 2000 The United States Commission on Civil Rights released its report on the Florida election, concluding that blacks were widely disenfranchised by the actions of state officials and calling for an investigation by the Justice Department.»
Week ofJul 23 2000 A family sued a Virginia Pizza Hut for $2 million, claiming that they were refused service because they are black; the restaurant insists that it had run out of cheese and could not produce any more pizzas. »