VOA常速英语2019--解决美国种族歧视问题 任重而道远

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up... August 29th, 1963, it was a speech that galvanized a nation, and put civil rights and economic justice at the forefront of the American conversation. Race Media and Communication professor from American University, Sherry Williams, What he was really trying to do was achieving racial equality and not just racial equality but also economic justice. We know that right before he died, he was working on the poor people’s campaign, and he was in Memphis working with sanitation¹ workers who were on strike, who were basically just striving for a living wage... Harvard University’s Greg Carr says while there has been some progress, economic disparities still exist. If we look at black America generally economically, a black family in this country, the median wealth of black households for every dollar that a white household has, a black household in this country has about 10 cents. One tenth of the wealth of average white household is a black household. That’s absurd. But the current relatively² strong US economy has boosted the job market for all races. The unemployment rate for blacks fell below 6 percent last year, the lowest since 1972.

我梦想有一天，这个国家将会奋起……1963年8月29日，这篇演讲引发了全国的轩然大波，并将民权和经济公正的话题推到了风口浪尖之上。美国大学的种族媒体与传播学教授谢里表示，他正在努力实现种族平等，但却不止于此，还有经济公正。我们都知道，他去世前，还在为穷人抗争，当时他在孟菲斯与罢工的环卫工人一起努力。这些环卫工人都是连糊口的工资都拿不到的人。哈佛大学的格雷格表示，虽然取得了一些进展，但经济不平等问题依然存在。环顾美国黑人的经济境况会发现，一个白人家庭拥有一美元，而一个中等黑人家庭只拥有约10美分。平均一个白人家庭财富的1/10才是黑人家庭的财富。这太荒谬了。但现在，美国经济相对强大了，这让所有种族的就业市场有所上扬。黑人的失业率去年降至6%以下，这是自1972年以来的最低值。

Still, according to a recent Harvard University study, half of all black Americans report experiencing discrimination in the workplace. Yonis Michelle Read is a software engineer working in Silicon³ Valley. He says as an African immigrant, he faces the same kind of discrimination as black Americans.

不过，根据哈佛大学最近的一项研究，半数美国黑人在工作中还是会受到歧视。米歇尔是一名软件工程师，在硅谷工作。他表示，作为一名非洲移民，他面临着跟美国黑人一样的歧视。

It’s happened in small ways where, you know, you go to a meeting with an investor⁴ and you can tell that they, they just don’t want to hear what you try to say. And you know maybe it’s your venture, maybe it’s like what you’re working on. But sometimes you can kind of feel that it’s, it’s just because of you and like your color and they’re not even open to it. They just don’t have to deal with people of color on a regular basis. From my perspective, I just brush it off and I’m just like, okay, not for me, let’s move on.

歧视从小处可见一斑，比如你去见投资方，你可以看出，你说的任何事情，他们都不想听。歧视也可能体现在企业投资方面或者任何你所专注的事情上。有时候，你能感觉到，只是因为你的肤色，所以别人不愿意敞开心扉。因为很多人不是经常要跟有色人种交往的。我认为的，我可以不放在心上，我会对自己说：没事，这不是针对我个人的，继续加油干吧。

Police brutality⁵ in predominantly African-American communities is another source of concern. The Black Lives Matter Movement that surfaced in 2014 after the shooting in the state of Missouri of a black man by a white police officer has taken up that cause. They open our eyes to everything. They help us understand that while we may not be seen as human or powerful currently, that fruits of our labor⁶ will soon come. Being black in America has certainly changed since the famous Martin Luther King Junior “I have a dream” speech. America twice voted for an African-American president in 2008 and again in 2012. But improving race relations as evidenced by a recent resurgence⁷ of white supremacy⁸ groups have quite a ways to go.

警察野蛮行为是非裔美籍人担心的另一个问题。“黑人的命也是命”在2014年出现。其导火索是密苏里州发生一起枪杀案，一名白人警察射杀了一名黑人。这项运动就应运而生了。他们让我们看清了一切，并帮助我们明白：虽然现在有些人不把我们当人看，认为我们没有力量，但我们的辛苦付出总会有回报的。美国黑人的境况自马丁·路德·金的演讲——《我有一个梦想》以来有了巨大变化。美国已两次为非遗美国总统投票，一次是2008年，另一次是2012年。但提升种族关系这件事从最近白人至上团体的死灰复燃来看，依然有很长的路要走。

1 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

2 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

4 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

5 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

8 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。