Garčević Addresses Roots of U.S. Racism in Remaker
Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, published an op-ed in Remarker discussing the issues of racism and higher education in the U.S., comparing it with Southeast Europe.
The op-ed titled Strange Fruit – a story about racism in America, discusses the roots of racism in the U.S., comparing it at the end with the growing nationalism, populism, and xenophobia in Europe. The text opens with the verses of Abel Meeropol’s song “Strange Fruit,” a dark and profound story about the lynching of African Americans in the Southern U.S. during the Jim Crow Era. It examines the historical roots of racism in American society, how the American identity has changed over time, and how racism remains an element of it. For many Americans, it is a dark historical legacy that needs to be thoroughly addressed, explained, and overcome. Garčević points out that, though socially unacceptable, for others it still justifies their views on and the unfavorable treatment of the black population in the country.
The text argues that though the current protests seem similar in some ways with what happened in the U.S. before, they’ve become different as they are massive, taking place in hundreds of cities across all 50 states and in places outside of the U.S. The recent protest are culturally and racially diverse, and they are better politically articulated.
Garčević goes on to argue that, unlike previous American Presidents facing the same or similar challenges in the 90s or during Obama’s era, President Trump is not trying to unite American people but to deepen the existing division to reinforce the support of his, predominantly white, electorate.
The full op-ed can be found here.
During his diplomatic career, Amb. Vesko Garčević dealt with issues pertinent to European security and NATO for almost 14 years. In 2004, he was posted in Vienna to serve as Ambassador to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He had been a Montenegro’s Ambassador to NATO from 2010 until 2014 and served as a Montenegro’s National Coordinator for NATO from 2015 until he joined the faculty at the Pardee School. Learn more about him here.