By Danielle Chung

Racism is running rampant in the beliefs, values and attitudes of American government officials and representatives. If we thought Donald J. Trump was enough, the people under his reign are equally as brazen and opinionated as the current republican candidate. This past week, Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois), made a racist attack on Representative Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), questioning the validity of her family’s service to the Revolutionary War because of her mixed ethnic background. How much longer will assumptions with clearly no substantial base be tolerated and unaddressed by America?

Senator Kirk is a prime example of how racism has been instilled in the mindset of Americans. While government officials, of all people, should have a heightened awareness of such issues and refrain from making offensive comments, situations like this leave minorities speechless and distressed. Are we really trusting these people to “make America great again?” Institutionalized racism must be confronted more aggressively and the importance of multi-ethnic diversity in political settings — especially those of Asian Americans, who are largely underrepresented in U.S. politics to this day.

We challenge Kirk’s shameless comments such as when he told Duckworth, “I forgot that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington.” Kirk’s passive aggressive comment sheds light on the multitude of racist attacks that has gone unchecked. Institutionalized racism shows that old habits die hard and that people who do not abuse white privilege or people who are not white.

“Old habits die hard,” comes to mind when I think about Senator Kirk’s history of biased attitude. According to NBC News, it is not the first time that this Republican representative blatantly made a racist remark in front of national media. A few months ago, he controversially claimed that President Obama was “acting like the drug dealer in chief” when the $400 million debt to Iran was paid off. If Senator Kirk has the audacity to make such statements in public, with his reputation on the line, it is evident that his racially-charged comments, whether said intentionally or not, reflect his genuine beliefs.

Addressing institutionalized racism starts with educating people, and urging them to be more sensitive about the things they say. Calling our country’s commander-in-chief a drug dealer, because he paid off a debt and he is a man of color, revels that people are quick to place judgments on people. By the same token, attacking Duckworth and doubting her family’s service and loyalty to the country, was a baseless and prejudiced belief voiced because she is Asian-American. Duckworth is a Purple Heart and an Iraq veteran who has lost both her legs as a result of her military service in the U.S.

Many Americans who grow up in homogeneous environments may not be aware of their institutional racism, and so it is crucial that such matters are addressed from an early childhood. As a small seed of subtle racism left unattended only begins to grow and grow if the person does not confront it in a straightforward matter and continues to live in his or her own bubble, where colors outside their own are anomalous. For a future that honors a globalized society, America — as one of the most heterogeneous nations in the world — must initiate the need for a filter, respect and sensitivity to eliminate institutionalized racism.

Danielle Chung, GSB ’19, is a finance major from Edgewater, New Jersey.