I'm gonna have to see receipts that race relations were better...
Between that time span I can think of numerous racialized incidents... the worst one being the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the shyt surrounding that, vigilantes, cops murdering black ppl, the media referring to American born citizens as "refugees" etc...
U need to see receipts that race relations were better 10 years ago than they are today, when they are probably the worst they've been in 50-60 years? I never said everything was ok, but compared to a history of slavery, lynchings, and segregation, yes race relations at the end of the 90s and early to mid 2000s were probably the best this nation has ever seen.
Jay-Z is one of the biggest (financially speaking) and by far the highest profile supporter of the BLM movement, and a relatively outspoken critic of racism and racial injustice..in 09 he said "this aint black vs white, we off that, please tell Bill Oreilly to fall back..." I know that's a frivolous example, but when someone who has so much influence and speaks for pretty much an entire generation says that, it means something. That was the sentiment at that time, that the worst was behind us (not due to Jay saying that, he said it because of that). In 2016 there's not a person in this country that could agree with that statement with a straight face.
As for a receipt for race relations being the best they've ever been from 2000-08, Obama was elected in 08. That couldn't have happened at anytime in this country's history but that year. It couldn't happen today. It couldn't happen in 2000 or 2004. If the Republicans had even a half decent candidate in 2012 he may have lost his bid for re-election. None of that is criticism against Obama.