While segments of the black community have seemingly made significant strides since the days of Jim Crow, there is still a great deal of inequality when it comes to the entirety of the black community, said Utz McKnight, the keynote speaker at the University of Alabama Black Student Union’s annual State of the Black Union address held Tuesday night in ten Hoor Hall.

“The only thing we have done in the past 50 years is left behind 90 percent of the black community,” Utz said. “Yes, we have our black president, but we are confused that we have truly made progress.”

McKnight said there is a substantial amount of pressure on the “talented 10 percent” who have made something of themselves. McKnight actively engaged his listeners, both black and white, about the issues facing the black community and said he wants to see people take action to integrate the other 90 percent into one community.

(See also “Black Student Union not an ‘isolated black group’“)

“The typical viewer should learn about where we are as a black community on campus,” Reava Vaughters, president of the Black Student Union, said. “We need to have a self-realization of where we are currently.”

The address included appearances and short speeches by others, such as a member of the NAACP, but the main guest speaker of the event was McKnight, a professor in the political science department.

“What made me choose Dr. McKnight was … his knowledge of the black community on campus and also throughout the world,” Alvin Lockett, vice president of the Black Student Union, said.

McKnight said society believes the black community has made significant progress because a select few of the community have become wealthy and successful but that this view is wrong. He said the “fear of whites” still exists today.

Alabama is a state in which racism has played a large role in both the state’s past and present, and McKnight said the black students at the University who are committed to becoming somebody feel as if they have to prove themselves whenever they walk into a classroom. Whether it is by introducing his or herself to their professor or taking charge of a group assignment, Utz said those in this 10 percent are devoted to succeeding and to going above and beyond what should be expected of them, with all the stereotypes that come with it.

(See also “State of the Black Union addresses racial dynamics on campus“)

“What do you think Trayvon Martin is?” McKnight asked the audience. “It is a reminder that we are not supposed to step outside our bounds. It is like someone said, ‘Here is your money and your nice suburb. Now don’t step outside the boundaries.’”

McKnight told stories about being interrogated by Tuscaloosa police in the driveway of his own home because he was driving with his kids at 4 a.m. He also discussed the recently publicized case of Michael Dunn, who was on trial for shooting at a car full of black teenagers. Members of the audience said they agreed that they feel pressure when they go to traditionally white restaurants, as if they are being judged for their every move.

“There is a study that says when a white person sees one black person, in their mind they actually see three,” McKnight said. “I am not encouraging a movement, but go walk around the city to places you are told you are not supposed to be and notice how you feel like you do not belong.”

“If you have put in the work and deserve entrance into law school, I do not care what color you are,” McKnight said.

(See also “Black Student Union hosts screening of CNN documentary series“)