The historical narrative of ‘uneven progress’ in which America has taken
one step back for every two steps forward masks the reality of an
enduring Newtonian dynamic in which for
every achievement in the struggle, there seems to be an equal and
opposite racist reaction. Hence the rise of Jim Crow and the Ku Klux
Klan following the Emancipation of slaves, the rise of mass
incarceration and criminalization of Blacks following the civil rights
victories of the 60s, and the rise of a white supremacy baiting
presidential candidate following the administration of America’s first
Black president.
