Racism: The Topic of Decades For decades, racism has been an issue that has sparked numerous conversations. The constitution of the United States of America states that “[…] all men are created equal […]” (U.S., 1786) but equality of all men seems to be untrue in many cases. A large amount of U.S. citizens believe that racism no longer exists. Although racism over the years has reduced greatly, it still exists. Many activists in the past have fought for the social equality of all people, but to no avail. The belief that “racism is dead” or “nobody is racist anymore” is what is killing the advancement of our society. Until we realize that racism does in fact truly exist, our society will never fully reap the fruits of our labor. The change the people of this nation have worked so hard on enforcing will crumble. Citizens of this country seem to forget that segregation was less than 100 years ago, and many of its victims are still alive today. Racism in the United States still exists because I have witnessed it firsthand, police brutality still exists, and many parts of America still seems to have a division amongst races. While my experiences with racism haven’t been as severe as people in the generations ahead of mine, my voice still should be heard.
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My first experience with racism was at the age of eight when a substitute made a joke about my name after seeing it on the attendance sheet. At that age, I wasn’t aware of how serious what she had said was. As I age, I seem to get stereotyped because of the color of my skin or because of the texture of my hair. Jokes that start with “I’m not trying to be racist but...” seem to be thrown around constantly by my peers. No longer should having friends of different ethnicities be a justification for this type of racism. Our society seems to have come a long way but racism still effects our society. Al Sharpton, and American civil rights activist says that “though racism may be less blatant now in many cases, its existence is undeniable” (Sharpton). While I have my own experiences, so do so many other citizens of the United States. One issue that citizens seem to face today is police brutality. Police brutality seems to be one of the most controversial topics of our time. The deaths of African Americans have been broadcasted on the news nearly daily. Sources from the Guardian say “when adjusted to accurately reflect the US population, the totals indicate that black people are being killed by police at more than twice the rate of white and Hispanic or Latino people. Black people killed by police were also significantly more likely to have been unarmed” (Laughland). Deaths of many African Americans such as Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, and Sandra Bland have trigged the anger of many of the African Americans across the country. The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, which started after the death of Trayvon Martin, opened the eyes of many who were unaware of the damage the police had done to the black community. Police seem to be killing innocent people due to the color of their skin and now that people are aware of the things going on, they are angry. The same justices that were being fought for decades ago are still being fought today. African Americans are now fighting for their freedom, and they won’t stop until they get it. The division of races has been a part of Americas past and if we aren’t careful, it will be the future of the United States. Events in the history of the U.S. such as the Trail of Tears seem mark some of the greatest acts of racism in our country. Civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Nina Simone fought for the social justice of all people. Activists started many movements and marches in order The Civil Rights Act of 1964 completely abolished all local and state required segregation in the United States. Many citizens disagreed with the act which in turn caused the de facto segregation. De facto segregation is segregation enforced by the people rather than the government. According to Gary Orfield, a professor of education at University of California Los Angeles states that, "It’s true that segregation for
My first experience with racism was at the age of eight when a substitute made a joke about my name after seeing it on the attendance sheet. At that age, I wasn’t aware of how serious what she had said was. As I age, I seem to get stereotyped because of the color of my skin or because of the texture of my hair. Jokes that start with “I’m not trying to be racist but...” seem to be thrown around constantly by my peers. No longer should having friends of different ethnicities be a justification for this type of racism. Our society seems to have come a long way but racism still effects our society. Al Sharpton, and American civil rights activist says that “though racism may be less blatant now in many cases, its existence is undeniable” (Sharpton). While I have my own experiences, so do so many other citizens of the United States. One issue that citizens seem to face today is police brutality. Police brutality seems to be one of the most controversial topics of our time. The deaths of African Americans have been broadcasted on the news nearly daily. Sources from the Guardian say “when adjusted to accurately reflect the US population, the totals indicate that black people are being killed by police at more than twice the rate of white and Hispanic or Latino people. Black people killed by police were also significantly more likely to have been unarmed” (Laughland). Deaths of many African Americans such as Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, and Sandra Bland have trigged the anger of many of the African Americans across the country. The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, which started after the death of Trayvon Martin, opened the eyes of many who were unaware of the damage the police had done to the black community. Police seem to be killing innocent people due to the color of their skin and now that people are aware of the things going on, they are angry. The same justices that were being fought for decades ago are still being fought today. African Americans are now fighting for their freedom, and they won’t stop until they get it. The division of races has been a part of Americas past and if we aren’t careful, it will be the future of the United States. Events in the history of the U.S. such as the Trail of Tears seem mark some of the greatest acts of racism in our country. Civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Nina Simone fought for the social justice of all people. Activists started many movements and marches in order The Civil Rights Act of 1964 completely abolished all local and state required segregation in the United States. Many citizens disagreed with the act which in turn caused the de facto segregation. De facto segregation is segregation enforced by the people rather than the government. According to Gary Orfield, a professor of education at University of California Los Angeles states that, "It’s true that segregation for