African American Discrimination Essay

The American past, with all its racial discontent-of Native American; of the enslavement of Africans; of segregation based on culture and origins; of anti-Semitism, anti-Africanism and discrimination - underlines every conceivable interpretation of the violent fury periodically seen in our larger cities. To say that we are victimized by history-that is, both by the cards dealt by history and by an ignorance of historical context-means that we are subject to misunderstanding the nature of the disillusionment, anger, and hoplessness that exist in our country. I do not see complete, destructive form of nihilism, (Asante2003)

It is known as the land of the free and home of the brave. It’s the United States of America one of the greatest countries to live in. A country where many other people from around the world wish they lived in. “This country is home to five percent of the world’s population” (13th, Netflix). But I ask is it really the land of the free for everyone? Unfair treatment to African Americans has been around for decades and it’s gone from slavery, to mass incarceration, to police brutality, and to racism that still occurs in the present time. African Americans make up to twelve point three percent of the United States. Through the decades mass incarceration of African Americans has skyrocketed. The dramatic increase in mass incarceration of African Americans has now left more blacks in prison then there was during the time of slavery. Since America started taking more and more prisoners throughout the years a film documentary named 13th illustrates that “the United States now home to twenty five percent of the world’s prisoners” and that “1 and 4 human beings are locked up with their hands on bars in this country they call the land of the free” (Netflix). Millions of dollars were spent building more and more prisons to contain and hold all of the prisoners from over the years of incarcerating so much people. So the United States may be known as the land of the free, but to the African American people it isn’t or hasn’t always been so free for them.

African Americans have always faced prejudice and discrimination based off the color of their skin rather than the content of their character, even after they received “freedom.” However, during reconstruction especially, African Americans were faced with discrimination. To begin with, stated in document 1, the Black Codes, which basically were a set of laws placed to restrict the freedoms of African Americans. In the Black Codes, all basic rights (such as in the Bill of Rights) were revoked. African Americans weren’t allowed to own property, assemble, preach, bear arms, sell or barter, and had to work under white men. As a result of the Black Codes, African Americans basically had one of four options: be a tenant farmer, be a sharecropper, be a homestead farmer, or be homeless.

“Racism is a bad thing, you find it everywhere in the schools, the clubs and also in the streets.”

America is know as the land of opportunity, but on the surface America is a country full of discrimination. Lately there has been a lot of discrimination going on in America. Police have been chastised for discriminating against African Americans. Homosexuals and other members of the LGBT community are being discriminated against for being who they are. As Americas economy stays at a lower status classism seems to rise as well. America seems to be on the verge of an enlightenment period of equality.

As it talks about racial inequality in chapter 10, the definition of racism is the belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior. White people are actually at the top while the others (the minority groups) are at the bottom. Considering that the laws of the USA revolved around white men in the beginning of this country, it’s not surprising to see how little people are not aware that racism still exists. They claim that it’s the 21st century, slavery happened in the past and it should stay in the past where it belongs. No. We’re going to recognize what white people did to African Americans. We are going to see how white supremacy is ugly and not needed.

He was an unarmed African-American male in a high percentage crime city, Los Angeles. An unarmed African-American who did do something to break many laws and even tempt the police into their actions, but it does not excuse the behavior portrayed by them. An unarmed African-American who did have too much to drink that night and he did have a past criminal record, but on what Earth does that justify the injuries he suffered from the beating? He was a man who did not deserve to get beaten just because he was an unarmed African-American. In America, we define justice as a particular treatment, when did justice become beating unarmed citizens? If police wanted more peace in the city, they would have to stop antagonizing these men to resist with

Since the ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, from that moment on amendments and laws have passed that created equality for different races. African were now classified as African Americans and could live in harmony with Caucasians—or so in theory. During the 1950s, the former ways of living were reoccurring there were large increases in hate crimes against primarily African Americans but also against other minority groups. We have the rise in the Ku Klux Klan, we have inequity in schools (where Caucasians and color races could not coincide with one another) and in the workforce. According to the Leadership Conference, The Nation’s Premier Civil and Human Rights Coalition, the civil rights movement has “close association between the struggle for civil rights and the fight against poverty in the United States”. A question that arises is why there is an increase in hate crimes and inequality in society. However, although this time in United States history can be labeled as a

A group that has been oppressed for a long period of time is African Americans. They dealt with so much from history to present that I feel they should benefit from community organizing. Especially with recent events that’s going on with them as a population, they could benefit from it.

During World War II, African Americans helped fight for the United States as soldiers. Many believing that if they did fight for the U.S, maybe the whites would start to like them and accept them as equals (Brwon-Nagin). However that wasn’t very much the case despite fighting side by side with white comrades, they were still not seen as equals. Even back in the 1930’s racial tension stirred after Jim Crow laws were put into place. The apparent “Separate but equal” law that would allow African American’s to have the same things as whites but separated, or rather much worse than the

The United States of America is known to the rest of the world as the country where people are treated as equals and have the same rights despite race, gender, or religion. Yet, life in America during the 1950s and 1960s told a different story, one of hostility and segregation against those who were Black. Life for Blacks could be best explained by understanding that “Nearly 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans in Southern states still inhabited a starkly unequal world of disenfranchisement, segregation and various forms of oppression, including race-inspired violence” (History.com). African Americans were constantly attacked, killed, and discriminated against purely because of the color of their skin. Additionally,

Have 50 Percent of Blacks Been Treated Unfairly by the Police; an AP Study Says: Yes

In my opinion, racism is horrible and no one should have to experience it, but sadly, many do. Black men are mainly targeted when it comes to discrimination. In the article it states, “…Here’s what evidence does strongly suggest: Young black men in America suffer from widespread racism and stereotyping, by all society — including African-Americans themselves.” With that being said, that doesn’t mean that girls can’t be discriminated against, too. Girls are also victims of racism, including myself. For instance, one time I was sitting with some of my friends in class who happened to be black and a boy walks up to our table and called us a racial slur and said that all black people sit together. Also, when I go out in public with my mom, (who

In the United States, companies of all shapes and sizes must adhere to nondiscrimination policies and practices that prohibits against any and all various types of conduct based on certain characteristics when it comes to the hire, fire, and relationship with their employees (Canas & Sondak, 2014). As a member of the workforce, we would hope and assume that we wouldn’t have to deal with discrimination anymore. Don’t get me wrong, our country has grown so much over the years when it comes to tackling discrimination in the workplace. It’s just unfortunate that it’s just not natural for organizations and companies to naturally be ethical and moral when it comes to their treatment of their potential applicants or current employees. There are still cases of discrimination currently in our society. It may not be as severe compared to before the modern civil rights era, but discrimination still does exist. With all due respect, an adequate amount of the laws are simple and are able to be understood easily but at the same time, there are other parts of discrimination and harassment laws that can be more difficult for one to understand and are more open to one’s interpretation (Canas & Sondak, 2014). One example of a recent discrimination case is of Calibuso et al V. Bank of America Corp. et al.