To answer the first question, yes, of course there is still racism among individuals and communities in the US. However, the government is no longer discriminating, and I believe that the US has come a long way as a whole. One example of racism is segregation in the deep south. I was just talking with my aunt who spent several years in Birmingham, Alabama, and she told me of how there were black neighborhoods and white neighborhoods, black hair shops and white hair shops. Interestingly enough, if a black person were to walk into a white hair shop, for example, they were much more likely to be treated courteously than a white person would be if they walked into a black hair shop. So, obviously, racism is not simply white people discriminating against black people.
Another significant example of racism in the US is how we expect Hispanics and specifically Mexicans to be. We expect that any given Mexican got into the country illegally, that they likely don't speak English, and that they are willing to (and probably do) work a manual labor job for low pay. If we have these preconceived notions (prejudice) against Mexicans we will not treat them fairly.
Similarly, we have some serious issues of racism against Middle-Eastern (particularly Muslim) people. I have heard stories from multiple Islamic women who have been ignored or treated badly by strangers just because they wore a hijab.
Anyhow, like I said before, I don't think that it's the government's fault, necessarily, but that as people and communities, we have a responsibility to treat each other with fairness and equality. That brings me to the next question, "What can we do?" Well, first off, as individuals, we can do our best to treat each of our fellow beings with the respect and kindness they deserve. Secondly, I think minority races need to stop taking advantage of white people being scared they're being racist. People in minority races can get away with inexcusable behavior at work and in social situations because they pull the card, "You just think I'm inferior because I'm black," or whatever as the situation demands. This sets them at odds with their friends and coworkers, and makes it more likely that they will be more racist in the future.
The number one rule is universal kindness. If everyone was simply kind to each other, we could solve a lot of problems.
"If everyone was simply kind to each other, we could solve a lot of problems." So true! Sometimes such simple answers are so impossibly hard because we can't MAKE people do that. It's still the only thing that really would work though.
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