Kenosha has become the latest focal point of anger over police brutality and severe racial discrimination issues in the US, after the shooting of African American Jacob Blake who was walking away from police when officers followed him with weapons drawn, and shot him.

The accident sparked racial tensions anew, and left trauma for Blake, for Black Americans, and for the country. Massive protests calling for racial equality and defunding the police broke out in many cities across the nation.

It was merely months away from the death of another Black man, George Floyd, who died after being pinned down by a Minneapolis police officer with his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes.

Yet, US President Donald Trump decried the violence at recent racial justice protests as "domestic terror”, and denied there was systemic racism within US law enforcement when he paid a visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday. He even offered support to law enforcement officers and toured shops damaged by protesters. But he never mentioned Blake’s name, nor spoke to his family.

The overt lack of respect for the black community who deserve to be treated with dignity, partly led to those tragedies.

The mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Trump administration further exposed the deep-rooted racial injustice. Data showed that the share of African Americans among all people with the novel coronavirus was almost twice as high as their population share due to limited access to medical resources and protective equipment.

What’s worse, the racism issue has been used as a tool by US politicians to gain interests rather than to strive for the rights of minority groups. Some senior Democrats, for example, vowed to press legislation to undo systemic racism, but they haven't brought about anything pragmatic.

More concrete work than slogans is needed to resolve racial justice issues, as they cannot be dismissed any longer, and are vital to the US.

Policy steps need to be race-conscious to pay a lot more attention to the systematic issues that lead to greater deaths among African Americans. The government should stop criticizing, and take real action.

It is important for the US government to keep in mind that keeping its people safe and treating minorities equally should always come first. The accusations of the president as “inciting hatred and creating divisions in society” are alarming reminders to the government to push forward real changes to racial injustice.