Is It Just My Imagination???

Today, the United States prides itself on its multiculturalism. We claim to be a nation that is very tolerable of the differnent races and ethnicities that continually cross our borders each day. If anyone were to take a closer look, they would see the in discrepancies that still plague the black community. Karen Grisby Bates notes many of the racial slights that African-Americans still endure in her essay entitled "Excuse Me, Your Race is Showing." Bates' essay was written in 1997, and today, some of the same racial slights are still happening.
Most black people today can admit to having experienced at least one racial slight in their lifetime. Some have experienced them at school or work while others have experienced them in public places. We have built up a layer of tough skin, but the hardest thing to swallow is the accusation that we are imagining these things. Many white people believe blacks are just walking around with a chip on our shoulders waiting to expel our wrath. That is no where near the truth. Why does everything always have to be chalked up to our imagination when it comes to racism and racial slights? Is it too hard to believe that there are still racist people in America? It shouldn't be. Racism exists everywhere. It's more than just the imagination, and it's not fair to blacks that people assume we are always imagining things. Few black people walk around looking to be discriminated against, but when it happens, it gets noticed. As i stated before, racism exists everywhere. So, when it comes to blacks, why does it always have to be just our imaginations?