The year is 1969 and the United States of America has changed drastically. During the 60’s African Americans fought and struggle to be treated fairly and discriminated against. And though their freed from slavery, they aren’t allowed to vote nor are they allowed to attend the same schools as white or use white folks public facilities. Although back in the 1940’s, President Truman attempted to ambiguity civil right matters; He did however request a closer on ethnic discernment in federal employment practices and commanded the end of exclusion in military forces, which was finalized by President Eisenhower (Congressional Record - U. S. Government Printing Office, 2002). Now during President Eisenhower presidency he reinforced the Civil Rights Act of 1957…
In modern times the thought that black people should continue to be judged by their looks and seen as less of a human being is very real. Black people are seen as a threat by simply existing and are being controlled by the rules and laws that were set into place after slavery “ended.” In order to preserve white privilege and power, black and brown people have been denied the ability, more times than not, to succeed and bring…
If we look back to early American history, African Americans were deemed lesser than and dirty because they were a different skin color. My people, the Native Americans, were also looked down on as savages, despite what societal systems were already in place when…
I believe that the Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws still relate to racial inequality today. Between 1877 and the 1960’s, the Southern states in the U.S. created more than just anti-black laws; they created an ongoing stereotype of racial inequality. Although these laws and codes are no longer in place, I believe that there ideas of racial inequalities are still present in the world we live in today. As a country, we have come a long way from such racial segregation to joining together as one. In the past, schools, prisons, buses and many other places were separated between whites and African Americans. We now attend the same schools, work at the same places, but more importantly have the same opportunities. Although, the Jim Crow laws are…
Martin Luther King Jr was not just an African-American, he was a man against racism. As a kid his best friend was taken from him because of his race. Blacks had less authority than the whites. Also in the Declaration of Independence it states that “ We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal”. Blacks obviously were not treated equally.…
African Americans were slaves for an extended period of time. They were beaten, tortured, and were forced to do strenuous work instead of gaining the freedom that they deserved. They weren’t paid to do the tasks that they did for the community and their owners that “bought” them. Contradictory to the freedom that they had earned through the civil war, they had to do…
Racism against African Americans has been an issue throughout history for a very long time, especially during the Great Depression. There have been movements, protests, boycotts, and unforgettable speeches that have marked black history and the world today. Thankfully, society isn't the way it was back in 1877 when segregation of blacks and whites was required in southern states, but sadly society hasn't changed the way most people look at “colored” people. All throughout history there have been important moments that have changed the way we live today, but even though the Civil Rights Act of 1866 broadened civil rights to all persons born in the United States, it didn't necessarily put an end to racism then and there.…
I believe that America is one of greatest countries on the earth and it is a land of opportunity for everyone. The American dream is alive and well and many people of all races have had tremendous success. With these positives in place, it is no wonder why there have been so many incredible achievements by African Americans in the 21st century to include the obvious - the first black president. Over the years there has been much success in trying to dismantle discrimination against different races. By the time the modern civil rights movement arose during the mid-20th…
In the book “The Mis-Education of The Negro”, Carter G. Woodson discussed the only way he feels socialization can be promoted in today’s society. Woodson discusses how we were taught as African Americans to think of ourselves. We were taught to think of ourselves as people without any background, no culture or foundation so we feel we have no type of self worth. He talks about race superiority. Leading back to the days of slavery, the white race was privileged over the African American race. African Americans can never be reprimanded for the days of slavery no matter how much it is tried to. It is not to say the white race did not have its trials and tribulations but what happened years ago still affects us today.…
One of the issue racism has created among both the Native and African American communities is the concept colorism. The ideology behind racism, that there is a superior class, is often being practiced within racial groups. While colorism is not an official term, it is a concept rooted in racism and slavery. Slaveowners often used it as a way to create a rift between slaves by separating them based on complexion. The slaves with lighter complexions where often seen in the house while those with a darker complexion performed manual labor.…
African Americans had to face many hardships in the past and in the present. First of all, African Americans had to face the horrors of police brutality. For example, King states, "We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of unspeakable horrors of police brutality". All around the world African Americans still face the wrath of the police. They have been gunned down and killed because they have looked suspicious walking around the neighborhood. African Americans still hasn't gotten justice in the past and in the present as long as there are Caucasian cops that are doing the shooting. Second of all, African Americans had to face the hardships of not being seen as equals. For example, King states, "We hold these truths…
In the beginning of the twentieth century the African Americans of the United States were treated unfairly, to inhumane extremes, with acts so cruel that they would scar Americans for decades to come. During these years, Americans were almost a different culture than the Americans of today. With years of oppression, government sponsored segregation, corruption in most all of the systems of government, and large groups of crazy racist, the America for African Americans then, was hardly even a real taste of what America should be to every citizen.…
African American children born after the 1950s social movement have had the privilege of being able to have a life with the opportunity to a better future. A better future then the many generations before the social movement happened. The whites have always been the dominate race in the United States. People of color were mistreated badly and discriminated against by the whites prior to the Civil Right Era, such mistreatments included lynching, slavery, and many other horrible treatments from the whites to the people of color.…
Color blindness or also referred to as race blindness is the exclusion of race in the assessment of a human being. Color blindness is a new concept that strives to mineralize racial discrimination. Our society has strived to find a state of colorblindness but has yet to succeed. Past discriminations have hindered the progress of colorblindness in society. Due to racism in the past many hurdles were created for minorities to overcome in the present. Hurdles such as poverty and negative stereotypes. These hurdles in turn have made it hard for our society to truly become color blind. The racism from the past has made our society unable to truly practice colorblindness because it has caused individual, institutional, and systemic discrimination in the present.…
From being influenced by an outside organization such as the Ku Klux Klan. To using imprisonment as a form to keep African Americans as slaves indeed. This has come to show how the system isn’t truly colorblind. From detaining blacks for drug offenses than whites who are proven to sell and use drugs more than blacks. To even have a higher chance of being sentenced to prison than whites for similar crimes. It just doesn't stop there, being sentenced to prison does not seem to be enough for them but now they face longer sentences than whites for the same crime. This comes to show that yeah, they will send whites to prison, but their punishment will never be as harsh as the ones African Americans face today. If living in an area where crime seems to be everywhere that doesn’t seem to be enough of an issue that African Americans face in today’s world. They have to live in fear that they will be stopped for what is commonly known as “DWB” driving while black as an example this is a phrase that many have come to know. It now just has become a social norm that African Americans have become accustomed to avoiding police confrontation because they are scared of being accused of a crime and face similar fates to those that have been imprisoned. At the end of it, all African Americans are just a plain old target for the…