The Role Of Racism In America

The United States, born from oppression, has grown a cancer that imitates the very subjugation that the country was birthed from. Racism in America is a lingering narrative that has extended itself to the modern era. The Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s appeared to be the zenith of black suffrage; racism seeming to be finally resolved. However, racism towards the black community is still seen in the 21st century, shown by the rise of police brutality seemingly targeted towards the black community and the Black Lives Matter movement. Racism in America still perseveres after the Civil Rights movement, shown by the unremitting discrimination of black men and women. America has a myriad number of accounts about racism and oppression within
Charles L. Walker, a man old enough to remember segregation, was faced with constant discrimination by his coworkers during the ‘90s. Nooses and racial slurs smeared in the bathroom were common for Walker, as he worked as a mechanic in an airline (Weinstein). Being the only black man where he worked, this was his reality. Walker’s struggle parallels the story of many black men and women in America. The black man finds himself in a conundrum; he is either patronized by those who fear of not wanting to be racist, or he is discriminated against by those who do not recognize their own racism. Either way, he finds himself as an ostracized figure in American society. This is modern racism in America, born in a house made of eggshell floors and raised in walls of
Both segregation and the Jim Crow laws have been completely removed all throughout America. With these barriers gone, racism in America should effectively be gone. Black Americans since the Civil Rights movement have been able to take the same jobs, go to the same schools, and are given the same opportunities to their white counterpart. Also, the government has created organizations such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is the only reason Charles L. Walker was able to be compensated for his discrimination in the work place. Since the Civil Rights movement, America has taken large steps to stop discrimination. But this is not enough. America may have gotten rid of blatant discrimination such as the separation of facilities and gave black suffrage, but systematic racism in America persists. For every dollar that the white man makes, the black man is given 25 percent less for the same job. For every Thomas and Jenna who are given the job, Tyrell and Jasmine of the same qualifications are turned away. For every opportunity that the white individual is given, the black individual must fight and bleed for. Organizations such as the KKK are the face of racism, but we must also consider that the body of racism is the unknowing collective of people that benefits from the system. Racism is not only the scorching fire that sears but is also the rolling water that