As much as we would like to think that racism is an issue of the past, that's far from the reality of things as stories like the Jena Six and lack of response during Hurricane Katrina paint a reality that is still very racially oriented.
While these stories portray a grim reality, there seems to be some light as people are beginning to turn to various forms of citizen media as a means for combating racism.
The Internet has provided a flat landscape of information, making all realms of the world seemingly transparent as people anywhere can access information to anything and everything. So using the Jena Six as an example, we can begin to see how the universalism of the Internet may actually work towards ending racism in a public realm. I say public realm because I'm not sure that racism will ever fully end as an inherent thought process amongst some and while I feel like that's a pessimistic approach, it's somewhat of a present- day realism that I believe is tolerable as long as racially driven public injustices are eliminated.
What I mean by racially driven public injustices are situations of blatant racism that take place in the public sphere through our media, whether it be racial jokes on Mad TV or hearing about a group like the Jena 6 on the news; these are all racially inherent occurrences that effect the public as a whole.
Thanks to thousand of Internet sites and Blogs like Afrospere, public racial injustices are being recognized and criticized, while the international Anti- Racism Movement is getting stronger by the day. As long as racism is still acceptable in mainstream media and the justice system, blogging and Independent media sources will have to work harder than ever to hold institutions promoting racism accountable for their actions.
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