I’m STILL proud to be an American. No matter what’s happening, I love this country. I’m a Black woman. I went to my first MLB game in the 70s at the age of 8 and was spit on and called a nigger. So, I’ve never felt that “closeness”, but things were manageable and the hate was less prevalent.
My sister! This black man was raised in Louisiana and Mississippi and have gone through my share of sundown towns and I too have been spat on and called a nigger. I will never forget, but I’ve met some truly wonderful and beautiful Americans! Now that America was great!
I’ve lived in Louisiana too and graduated from a predominantly white college in Missouri, the only Blk English major. I have met beautiful Americans of all walks of life, even living overseas. I’m not pessimistic, but my reality is different from yours. No two people are the same. I respect that.