The common notion that racism in America has not changed ignores the immense progress it has made in the past decades, writes Coleman Hughes of Quillette. Lynchings of black people, which occurred three times a week in the beginning of the 20th century, no longer happen. In 1958, only 4% of the country approval of intermarriage between black and white people. Today, that number is 87%, a hugely positive change. Some argue that the suffering of black people in modern America is because of systemic racism. This isn’t true, in particular, poverty and representation in certain jobs are strongly influenced by internal cultural factors.