Emory University Acting Prof.: Trump Is a Symptom of Racism

EXCERPT:

GROSS: "I think he’s doing some really reckless, dangerous kinds of behaviors by delaying this and stoking these divisions. But at the same time, I think that Trump is ultimately a symptom of what’s been going on in the country for centuries. Racism and anti-black racism are basically United States' original sin. And what we have learned through this election is how much of a virulent threat to democracy and basic civil liberties that actually is. So in some respects, the things that we have seen today aren't entirely new. We have been here before in history in terms of this level of vitriol and hatred and division, the threat of white violence, voter suppression, intimidation at polls. It's not new, but it definitely is having a resurgence in some unprecedented ways. But at the same time, I think the resistance that it's met, particularly through the activism of black people and black women especially, is also both endemic of that history and also unique to this moment in that they’ll also manage to wring out something pretty incredible and historic."