I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is the observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday in the US. Even though the name may vary, all 50 states observe this holiday and that is something of which I am very proud. I know that some argue that Dr. King was only one of many pioneers in the civil rights movement, for me this day mostly represents his ideas and those of the era: equality is possible.

Sometimes, talking about the racial inequalities that exist today make me feel like I’m in a bad nightmare. Polls have shown that Americans of Generation X and Y (Millenial) are much less concerned with racial differences than their parents. One of the main reasons is that they themselves are much more diverse. So I guess my upbringing has sheltered me from places where people aren’t consistently deprived of opportunities because of their race. Not to say that as a minority you don’t face prejudices, but I feel like I had the same chance of success growing up as my white peers – and if Affirmative Action policies helped me get into college because I’m a black woman, I’m all the more grateful.

Living outside of the US and meeting people from all over the world has been a real eye-opener in terms how far we still need to go. There are still “developed” countries out there enforcing unjust policies based on a minority group’s ethnicity. Is it me or is that absolutely crazy?! It’s an exercise in futility to try and “slow” down diversity or multiculturalism.

Of my 9 neighbors where we lived in Florida, 1 was African-American, 7 were from Latin America/Caribbean and 1 was white. This fact had no bearing on us moving there…we just wanted good neighbors who kept their surroundings clean. We found that and we also found there were people in major metropolitan areas who still had a sense of community.Yes, we were different, but that was okay. I think that neighborhoods like that should be the norm, not the exception.

So basically, people/governments who are still hanging on to the notion of homogeneous communities are fighting against the current. It would serve them better to help remove the barriers that have kept minority groups from obtaining the same level of success as the majority. In the words of Dr. King, the time is always right to do what is right.

That’s what a friend of mine said about the recent burqa ban passed in France. As a social liberal, my immediate reaction to this mandate is that it’s not right. But fine, if the French government wants to eliminate religious paraphernalia in public places, then the Star of David and religious crosses should be banned, as well. However, the rationale behind the law is that the French government considers the burqa to be a display of gender inequality as opposed to religious and looks at this as a way of helping to promote gender equality amongst Muslim immigrants. I can agree with the gender inequality aspect, but what religion doesn’t have oppressive practices for females?

The way I see it is that these types of laws are audacious. If government is now intervening to ensure that immigrant women have more of even playing field, it should first make sure that French citizens are leading by example, right? Well, the 2010 Gender Gap study published by the World Economic Forum shows that France has gone from 18th to 46th place, mostly because of the lack of women in high-ranking government positions. So, I think the Sarkozy administration should start promoting gender equality in-house before trying to fix other communities. What’s also tricky about this type of legislation is it can be a slippery slope. Will it stop at the burqa, or will it continue into other aspects of the Muslim religion? Moreover, will the government also look to expand into non-Muslim religions?

What I also find interesting is that while this law has overwhelming support by the French public, a Pew poll found that 2 out of 3 Americans are against it. I think that’s a reflection of Americans’ aversion to letting government dictate too much of their personal lives. Even with all the anti-Muslim rhetoric that’s getting a lot of media time these days, Americans have their limits when it comes to government involvement.

While I can understand where my friend is coming from, until there is more consistency and clarity in France’s decisions regarding religious freedoms, I can’t get behind this. What are your thoughts on the burqa ban?