I don't get this article: it feels to me like a member of the older generation saying "I had to walk fifteen miles to school in the snow! Barefoot! Uphill! Both ways!".
To me it's a bit like whataboutmanship: "you think it's bad now? what about the 1970s, eh?".
Just because things were bad back then doesn't mean they're not _also bad_ now. Just because things are better it doesn't mean we shouldn't try to improve.
My reading of the article was that it sought to point out that how "bad" it is today isn't unusual or an anomaly. Today's divisions are more par for course in America than a new development. That perspective is relevant when we try to improve the current situation.
To me it's a bit like whataboutmanship: "you think it's bad now? what about the 1970s, eh?".
Just because things were bad back then doesn't mean they're not _also bad_ now. Just because things are better it doesn't mean we shouldn't try to improve.