I went to segregated schools till we moved to Denver. My parents never thought I was going to grow up in a world without prejudice. But they also told me “that’s somebody else’s problem, not yours, you’re going to overcome it, and you are going to be anything you want to be.” And that’s the message that I think we ought to be sending to kids. //

One of the worries that I have about the way that we’re talking about race is that it either seems so big that somehow white people now have to feel guilty for everything that happened in the past. //

The former secretary of state also said she doesn’t think it’s “very productive” that “black people have to feel disempowered by race.” She continued:

I would like black kids to be completely empowered to know that they are beautiful in their blackness. But in order to do that, I don’t have to make white kids feel bad for being white. So somehow this is a conversation that has gone in the wrong direction. //

If leftists truly wished to diminish the impact of racism, they would focus more on doing what Rice said: Empowering black people. Instead of lowering learning standards so that more black students can graduate, it would make far more sense to focus on improving the quality of education that many black students receive. Despite constantly asking for more funding, they have not done much to provide better education for minority children. Indeed, they oppose measures like school choice, which would empower black parents to ensure their kids attend the best schools. //

During her appearance on “The View,” Rice never pretended racism didn’t exist. She never even downplayed it or pretended that it has no impact. Her contention is that black people can succeed despite the effects of bigotry. It is a sentiment expressed by people like Malcolm X, who routinely chastised black Americans for not focusing on building in their own communities instead of soliciting whites for relief.

Yes, racism does exist. Yes, it has an impact on black Americans and, by extension, the United States. But attempting to villainize nonracist white people is not the way to help black America.