Ignorance comes in many different
forms, most of which is directly related to the level of education attained by
the individual. In regards to racism, many people believe that it died a long
time ago along with the conclusion of the civil rights movement. They may argue
that everyone in our country is now equal and since we have a black president,
that all is well and racism isn’t as pressing of an issue as some make it out
to be. However, in today’s society, racial tensions are extremely high and they
are increasingly becoming more and more prominent.
Racists have existed from the
beginning in our country. We often only hear about racial tensions during
slavery and the civil rights movements. History classes have conditioned us to
not think much about what happened racially in between and after those periods.
This is why it is so easy for some to draw the conclusion that racism and
inequality is dead and no longer an issue. It is this kind of ignorance that
promotes and encourages the racism that is so prevalent in our society today.
Inequality is engrained into our
system as a whole. It is frequently mentioned how our founding document, the
Constitution, has allusions to slavery. From the beginning of our nation, we
have had the notion of inequality engrained into our minds. After the 13th
amendment was passed and slavery was abolished, racial tensions were still
high. This was common for nearly a hundred years until the next notable moment
in African American History, the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Act
ended segregation, but even so inequality remained. This is often overlooked by
Americans, since few famous events took place from then until now. One can
argue that life for African Americans has gotten significantly better since
those times, but all in all racism and discrimination still exists. With movements
like Black Lives Matter, which fights against police brutality, we can see how
serious this matter actually is. For those who say that racism is dead because
a black man was elected president, how can they say that when innocent citizens
are being targeted and killed by police. The numbers don’t lie here, and the
numbers show that racism is still alive and well. There is an underlying prejudice
toward African Americans in our country whether people want to admit it or not.
I agree with you, and I think I would even push it further. I'd argue that the underlying prejudice in our country against black people actually conditions young black men and women. Take the violence between young black men and police these days. From a young age, black parents must teach their children to keep their heads down and to always cooperate. My parents have certainly never told me to be careful around police officers, and I think that is a prejudice that really shapes black lives.
ReplyDeleteComing from a black home, I can validate Cole’s claim about the fear my parents have for me being pulled over by police officers. My parents fear for me being harassed by police officers more then getting in an accident. This is why many blacks believe there has not ben a resurgence of racism; it has always been a part of their reality in America. Now that almost all Americans have the capability to document police brutality all people can see racism first hand.
ReplyDelete