Kerwicks Corner: A Racism Industry in Overdrive

Less than two weeks after president-elect Barack Obama's victory, reports of racism began to go through the roof ... allegedly.

About.com guest writer Jack Kerwick doesn't buy into it.

Kerwick believes that racism has now become industrialized and, like all industries, it must find ways to sustain itself. The very same forces that fan the flames of racism, feed the culture of fear that surrounds it. These forces need Americans to buy into racism, because they understand that the only way for racism to survive is if it is glorified. Without racism, an entire industry is brought to its knees.

Kerwick takes a look at allegations made in a particularly inflammatory Associated Press report from Nov. 15, 2008 and draws some interesting conclusions based on its findings.

From the column:

If the "Racism Industrial Complex" (RIC) had a face, it would be the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC exists to “monitor hate crimes.” Without the ever-present threat of “racism,” it would lose its purpose and, thus, its life.

Of course, the SPLC is but one organ of the RIC. Another organ that could just as easily symbolize it is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.