So much struggle and still racism prevails

I wish I could publish a blank column today. As a 75-year-old white guy, it is hard to know what to say in response to racism and police violence toward black men and women.

All my adult years, I have watched people struggle for justice and equality for black America, and yet racism prevails. I remember the civil rights movement and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. I remember marches, demonstrations and riots. I read commission reports and watched civil rights legislation be enacted. Every time something bad happened, we were promised, “Solutions are coming. Things will get better.”

And yet there is still great poverty and unemployment in the black neighborhoods. Black men are at risk when confronted by police. Schools for black children are inferior. Health care is lacking, and housing is substandard. Even decent grocery stores are rare. In some neighborhoods, it is easier to find a gun than fresh fruit. Meanwhile, blacks have been the victims of disease, addictions and crime.

No wonder people are frustrated and angry.

Certainly, improvements have occurred, but it has been limited and slow. When you start at the 1-yard line, a 20yard pass does not get you across the field for a touchdown.

Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh always hoped he’d get a job writing about celebrities and memes. His wish was granted. Sort of. Instead of writing about the Kardashians and TikTok challenges for an online publication like BuzzFeed, however, the 21-year-old student journalist and internet-culture obsessive is assigning writers to interview comedian Ramy Youssef, creator of the first major Muslim American sitcom, and cover the theory that rapper Drake wore a Nike hijab in his latest music video.

Al-Khatahtbeh is the founder and editor-in-chief of Muslim.co, a new digital publication for Muslim youth. He says the publication is meant for all teens and young adults within the ummah, or community of Muslims, regardless of their race, gender, sect or how they do or don’t practice their faith.

“I want Muslim to be the community for all Muslims,” he told Religion News Service. “A lot of people are talking about how we’re all one ummah, we’re all together, we’re all brothers and sisters. But I feel like no one’s really acting upon it. I think we’re growing so fast because we’re trying to actualize that by building the community.”

Within a week of launching the publication on April 20, with Youssef as its first cover star, the site received about 56,000 visits and featured articles on young environmental activists, the loneliness Muslim converts can face during Ramadan, tips for hosting the perfect digital iftar — and, of course, rapid coverage of memes that have made their way through Muslim communities on Twitter and TikTok.

The publication grew out of a social media presence (more than 135,000 Instagram followers)