"You have to be 50 times smarter." Understanding racism with Roosevelt Ducelus | NYLA Talks

It’s easy to focus on rioting when watching George Floyd protests in the U.S. It’s harder to understand what it means to grow up black in a country with deeply rooted systemic racism. This episode of NYLA podcast is an attempt to do that.

“For us, we have to be so far up to be at the door. But for the white man the door is just right there,” Roosevelt Ducelus, English language officer in Atlanta explains talking with Karolis Vyšniauskas in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Roosevelt managed to reach the door and open it. He works with the US Department of State programs, which is how Karolis met him. He has two master’s degrees and speaks five languages. But he’s spending these days protesting in Atlanta so that other African-Americans would have more equal opportunities.

“I have three kids. If I don’t make it better for them, who’s gonna do it?” he says. 

This conversation discusses the logic of rioting, the legacy of slavery and why Roosevelt believes that discrimination of black people won't end until Africa itself is in a better situation.

Photos and credits: https://nanook.lt/podcast/50-times-smarter-understanding-racism-roosevelt-ducelus

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