Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Ignorance is no excuse for racism

Wow, so much to digest; but let’s talk about the first email in which a racially charged description of a Black man was sent by former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden.

Gruden, emphatically, professes that he “does not have a racist bone in his body” and claims that “ignorance,” not “race,” led to these words. He did not think his words had a racial undertone.

This suggests to me that the tightly woven cloth of systemic racism in our language, laws and perceptions have persisted as an accepted social norm. We must stop our piecework attitude in fighting racism. The Jon Grudens of our society are the opportunity to create a better narrative in understanding and combating racism.

We cannot accept ignorance as a viable defense any longer.