we're in a post-racial era, but all too often they also help promote the racial divide.

And if we're a post-racial society, how did we get there? When did white privilege, black victimization, educational apartheid, institutional racism, structural inequality, mass incarceration of black and brown people and all forms of marginalization and oppression cease to exist?

America has not embarked upon a post-racial course. This country is still racist, and racism is more then a disease, it's an industry that profits the ruling class and disadvantages others.

Many white liberals, along with their black apologist counterparts, are trying to make the post-racial case in light of the Obama election. But these same white folks often hide their racism behind their liberalism.

As 100 days have passed in the Obama administration, 100 years will pass and we still won't be post-racial. The truth is, the nation has a long way to go before declaring that it's gone beyond race. Many Americans would like to say that the transgressions of the past are just that, past.

And with the Obama victory, they're trying to convince themselves of that, while some black Americans know the true story. And recent incidents - up to and including the arrest of Henry Louis Gates - bear that out.

Obama's election wasn't a referendum on race, but an affirmation of America's need to survive the economic downturn of the Bush administration. Obama's lead in the polls began with the collapse of the financial markets, and the belief that John McCain was too closely associated with failed Bush economic policies.

In short, Americans were voting their pocketbooks and wallets, not transcending race. Millions were out of work and feared the worst under McCain.

But many Americans seized on the election as a way to compensate for the egregious wrongs that have been heaped on black people since they were brought here against their will. They now suggest that the playing field is level and all is well in America with regards to race relations. Such a sophomoric approach insults the intelligence.

To suggest we've achieved parity is ridiculous when confronted with the hard-core reality of the failures that are deeply rooted in the black experience. The recent report from Homeland Security on "Right-Wing Extremism" says that the "consequences of a prolonged economic downturn - including real estate foreclosures, unemployment and inability to obtain credit - could create a fertile recruiting environment" for racial hate groups.

We also saw the media spin close up when it came to the coverage of Michael Jackson death.

Jackson was a musical genius with a profound message - with flaws like everyone else. The focus should have been more on his body of work, the way in which he tried to bridge the racial divide, and the affect that songs like "Black or White," "We Are the World," "Man in the Mirror," "Gone Too Soon," "Keep the Faith," "The Lost Children" and many, many more had on millions.

More attention should have been paid to his philanthropies and the way he embraced the oppressed all over the world in the very same way that Princess Di and Mother Teresa did.

Critiques of his lifestyle no doubt should have been provided but in a more appropriate and helpful way. But as brother Marc Lamont Hill suggested, the likes of Bill O'Reilly wanted to allow time for positively mourning the death of the Rev. Jerry Farwell, while so many, from pols to judgmental news stations, were quick to focus on Michael's sins.

Michael Jackson's song "Black or White" could be the theme for the Valley Swim Club's Jim and Jane Crow policies. It does matter in America if you're black or white. Just ask those campers, their parents and the brave director of Creative Steps.

That this can even happen post-Obama is a symbol of the condition of our nation, and how much we are still brainwashed by political incorrectness.

Our affluence is starting to fade, and crime, disease and poverty will consume us even more in the days to come. All great empires crumble, and our modern-day Babylon is no different, no matter how much we love her - and I love her even with all her faults.

BUT A POST-racial America can emerge only when white racial consciousness, white supremacy, black victimization, black internalized oppression and equality for all emerge. Until then, any suggestion of post-racialism merely serves the purposes of the racists and apologists in society, not the victims of racism.

Chad Dion Lassiter is president of the Black Men at Penn School of Social Work (www.blackmenatpenn.org). E-mail him at lassiterII@aol.com.