Movies and entertainment outlets speak volumes about the current state of a nation’s culture. Cinematic creations in the United States allow small voices to be heard and controversial issues to be addressed. However, a repetitive and monumental issue continues to be addressed, yet continues to persist in our 21st century culture, racial inequalities. Since the inception of the United States, black men and women alike have been disenfranchised at the hands of the “white man” in America. Instead of continuing the conversation today, the issue is continually silenced referencing the successes and achievements of the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century. Nonetheless, an unfortunate reality looms upon this great land; racially based systems and structures continue to exist in 2015 the in United States. This paper synthesizes three films focused on racial inequalities in different time periods. Separate but Equal (1991), Selma (2015), and Crash (2005) illustrate how influential the Civil War amendments are, while serving as an uncanny reminder of how the racial prejudices during the 20th century continue to exist in our great nation today. Needless to say our nation has made great strides, but still has a long way to go.
The 14th and 15th Amendments of the Constitution were passed after the American Civil war and were designed to enfranchise the African American population and bring the country into a new time of acceptance and equality. The 14th amendment of the Untied
The Civil War and the Great Depression created significant changes to the Constitution. Because of the Civil War the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were created. These Amendments created historical milestone for black in America. The Thirteenth Amendment constitutionalized Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation by abolishing slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment had several very important clauses built. One clause declared that any persons born in American would be natural born citizens because of this all blacks, free men or slaves, were declared citizens. In addition, it granted equal protection, which was meant to end discrimination. Lastly, was the due process clause, which give person the complete benefit if the Bill of Rights.
African Americans lives greatly improved when the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment were added to the Constitution, legally granting them freedom, citizenship, and the right to vote. African Americans also benefited from the establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau and other
After the end of the Civil War, the 13th Amendment was passed out the slave. The 14th Amendment provides citizens with equal protection for all under the law. The 15th Amendment protects all citizens from race discrimination on the grounds of race in the election.
The fourteenth Amendment from the United States Constitution was adopted in July 9,1868 and was premeditated as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. This Amendment was to address citizenship rights and equal protection of laws. It was also proposed in response to problems related to former slaves forming from the Civil War. Mostly the 14th Amendment includes equal rights because the 1st section of the 14th Amendment States that all people are born or naturalized in the United States and are subject to the juridification thereof, are U.S citizens and no State can enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States. The 15th Amendment was addressed for granting African-American men the right to vote.
The purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment was to make citizenship of black individual permanent and secure. The amendment did not entirely universalize citizenship because it left out the right to vote, hence the need for the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments granting the right to vote to blacks and then to women, respectively.
This act occurred during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were the constitutional amendments that gave African Americans a new start in life. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery; the 14th amendment gave former slaves rights of citizenship and equal protection under the U.S. Constitution, and the 15th amendment gave former slaves the right to vote. (Slavery in America, 2012) It would not be for another hundred years after the Civil War until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights of 1965 was passed by the U.S. Congress. These two laws were a direct response to the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and early 1960s. “Such movements have not only secured citizenship right’s for blacks but have also redefined prevailing conceptions of the nature of civil rights and the role of government in protecting these rights. (Civil Rights Movement, 2012) The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 did more for minorities and women by providing them a voice against discrimination.
America struggles with racial inequalities before even its independence in July 4 1776, during the years that transpired many racial issues began to arise as slavery was still in affect during the 18th and mid-19th century. After Lincoln assassination, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery throughout the entire United States and slavery became illegal. However, the racial differences between whites and blacks never ceased to exist up until this
African American has been facing racial inequalities for hundred of centuries now. Blacks were viewed as being less than human for a very long time, as they fought though the harsh years of slavery which began on American soil back in 1619 when the first African American slaves were brought to the colony of Jamestown, Virginia. These people were being starved, they little to no clothing, no shoes, they were ripped from their family, they were beating, many were killing and the women were often raped. Their children were working at very young ages they were all (men and women) uneducated and basically were under all circumstances they were to be kept that way.
What is racial inequality? Racial inequality is discrepancies in the opportunities and treatment of people based solely on their race. Racial inequality is a serious issue that is often discussed in the American criminal justice system. Although racial discrimination is present in the criminal justice system, some people use the words inequality, discrimination, racism, and profiling loosely and do not understand how truly complex it is to prove that there actually is racial inequality present in the criminal justice system. Daniel P Mears, Joshua C. Cochran, and Andrea M. Lindsey article Offending and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Criminal Justice: A Conceptual Framework for Guiding Theory and Research and Informing Policy illustrates
The barriers that separate men have existed for centuries. Race, class, status, these are all ideas that have created a divide among humans. This divide creates competition and tension. Throughout the history of the legal system, justice has been used to validate slavery and other forms of racial inequality. Our system now has changed, but the basic concept has remained the same. According to one study, the judicial system was invented by whites to protect whites and keep people of color at bay (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2017, p1). This idea of preserving a one superior racial system resulted in a bias still existent today.
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” President Obama, then senator Obama, declared these words at a speech to supporters in 2008. If we are ‘the ones that we’ve been waiting for’, why aren’t things changing? Why is there still racism? Why is there still discrimination? These are crucial questions that I anticipate will remain unanswered forever. After Barack Obama secured enough electoral votes during the 2008 Presidential election, Obama became the first African-American president in the history of the United States. On January 20, 2009 Obama was officially sworn into office, commencing an extremely instrumental part of American history becoming the first black male as president. Unfortunately, still to this day many people cannot wrap their heads around the fact that slavery was abolished in the middle 1800s but yet there is still significant amounts of racial inequality and discrimination. Although it might seem far-fetched, we have the power to end racism. Despite our prejudice and disregard, racism can be significantly impacted and possibly even terminated with unity, partnership and cooperation amongst the people. Still to this day people of color are often faced with various disadvantages that can severely impact their quality of life, disadvantages such as poverty, education, and financial decisions.
Racial injustices and inequality have been in place in various areas of operation within the society. The existence of the notion that a given race is more superior to another has been the main source of the constant injustices across different communities. The inequality and racial injustices within the societies are deeply rooted which it makes difficult to develop policies and strategies that can have a significant impact if the past events and actions are anything to buy. Thus, the increasing inequality across the United States is based on wealth and social status where racial consideration is key in many societies. Even though there have been efforts to ensure that there is better engagement among different races within the country, there are no significant steps that have been made as the inequality among races keeps increasing.
In those time, many of the African American people in the U.S. country were slaves before but, later freed. The 14th amendment grant the freed slaves to become a U.S. citizen and receive equal rights as
In this class we have talked a lot about how certain racial and ethnic inequalities and how they are not equal to that of the white population, these include, African Americans, Hispanic, and some other ethnic groups. On average an “African American family makes a median income of about $35,000 compared to that of whites at $55,000”, African Americans are unemployed more often then whites too. (Etizen, 198, 201). These disparities cause many problems and one is for African Americans to not be able to have a decent job, (or any job for that matter), access to healthcare and many other tangible items that whites have. I looked at this specific topic in a conflict perspective because, its is the high power elite that keep racial disparities going
Minorities experience homelessness compared to white counterparts. Minority groups experience countless discrimination in employment, housing and criminal justice system. Those who have a criminal history experience difficulty in finding a job and a home, which leads to homelessness if they fail to do so. African Americans are imprisoned at higher rates than other groups. Their place in education justifies are racial inequality because they have to be put into overcrowded and under-resourced school due to lack of many. This leads to fewer opportunities in the real world. In turn, minorities turn to drug dealing and being part of gangs to uphold their families. “Desperate times call for desperate needs.” To prevent youth and young adults