Rosa Parks Discrimination

Rosa Parks and Antigone both stood up to the authority for what they thought was right even though it was against the law. Antigone stood up for her brother when the king Creon said he did not deserve a proper

Racism throughout time has had a powerful negative force in society. There have been many efforts made to relieve racism. Racism is still present in America, although many people are doing their best to put a stop to racism and its somewhat devastating effects on young black males in society. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee) The negative stereotypes and racial profiling that Americans hand down from generation to generation are damaging not only to the minorities but to those perpetuating them as well. The behaviors that are kept alive because of these negative stereotypes and the behaviors associated with them, create an emotional and social struggle as well as presenting obstacles when receiving an education and employment opportunities.

A person I really admire is Rosa Parks. Growing up in Alabama, Rosa came from a black family with poor health. The only education she received was until she was 11, but went on to finish high school later on in life. Rosa was very self conscious growing up and being black in a small Alabama town. She often got bullied by the white kids in her neighbourhood, but she always fought back physically. As Rosa got older, she became well aware of the very less rights black people had. They were forced to enter through the front of the bus, pay their fares, get out, and reenter through the back, where they got their seat in the ‘coloured-section’. In 1945, Rosa entered through the front of the bus, paid her fare, and went straight to her seat, instead

African Americans have been facing racism and prejudice for a long time. Even to this day racism towards African American still happens. It is something that can’t be changed. It can only be

Just fifty years ago, America was a society of segregation and racism. The dictionary defines racism as “the belief that a particular race is superior to another.” Although it is clear times have changed, racism is still seen in modern american society. It’s also clear that relationships between African Americans and whites are generally better than they were in the forties and fifties. Today, it is rare to witness a black man walk down the street and step off the sidewalk to let a white man walk by, or to see a black man sitting on a different section of the bus or train because a white man told him he has too. But superiority of races is still happening. A lot of this has the do with the ignorance of others. Passed down generation to

You give me the uniform, give me the number on my back, I'll give you the guts.- Jackie Robinson in 42” Robinson is famously know for his jersey number 42, and being a player for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Not only taking his team to the World Series but breaking down the color barrier that stood in the way. Robinson and many others where “helping pave the way for the civil right movement”(Tygiel 1). Not only that but “general manager branch Ricky would offer Robinson a lifetime deal to redefine the color line within baseball”(Tygiel 2). Jackie was the prefect man for the job, to change up the game not only in the professional world but also the real world. Jackie Robison over came the odds of segregation, mistreatment and color barrier,

Rosa Parks' refusal to relinquish her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus was a slap in the face to hard line Jim Crow Southerners who thought that blacks are inferior to whites; it also happened to be illegal, and Parks was swiftly and promptly arrested for breaking a Jim Crow law. Little did the police arresting her know that this arrest would lead to the downfall of the very law they felt they needed, and wanted, to enforce. Along with MLK's protests and marches, a Federal Court determined segregation on buses to be unconstitutional. That would not have happened had it not been for Parks' refusal to obey a law that was both ludicrous and morally wrong. Every human on this earth, regardless of skin color or ethnicity, is exactly that: human, and therefore they deserve

Take Rosa Parks, she didn’t go to the authorities with her bus seat problem, she just took it to the black community, and they took it upon themselves to do something about it. She wanted to do something about the racism problem, but didn’t want it to be cruel, but just gentle and subtle. By boycotting buses, that didn’t give the buses much money because mainly blacks road the buses. This showed the government that something needed to be changed in society. So eventually they changed the law about blacks having to give up their seat for a white person, because they weren’t making a profit and the community was causing

A white guy is driving and gets pulled over by a cop. The cop tells the man he has a tail light out and he lets him continue with his drive. Later, a black guy is driving and he got pulled over. The cop then checked his car, made the black guy open his trunk to look through it, the cop also brisked the black man and he was then arrested for no reason but the cop pulled the white man over because a tail light out can mean your in a gang. This is an imaginary story, but this happens way more often than citizens think. Therefore, discrimination still occurs, black people are treated poorly based on their color, gender, and actions, even though people don’t realize it.

Discrimination is alive and well in America. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines discrimination as “the practice of unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from other people or groups of people”. The article “FOBs vs. Twinkies” written by Grace Hsiang discusses intraracial discrimination amongst Asian Americans. It describes the divide between the Asian Americans called “FOBs” (fresh off the boat) that cling to their ethnic heritage, and those called “twinkies” that reject Asian culture and try to be seen as American. The article “Black Men in Public Spaces” by Brent Staples describes discrimination by giving a personal account of walking through public spaces at night and innocently scaring a woman. She silently stereotyped that he was a mugger, murderer, or rapist because he was black. This experience stayed with the author for his entire life. These two

Throughout history, many people have been persecuted for their beliefs or doing what is right. Although most people do not take action, some individuals take the initiative to do what is right, even if that means standing alone against powerful people. For example, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus, which sparked a movement to end segregation in the United States. She knew she would be persecuted for her actions, but that did not prevent her from standing up, or in her case, sitting down, for what is right. In addition to Rosa Parks, Maximilian Kolbe stood up for his beliefs, even though it cost him his life.

Rosa Parks is an amazing example of standing up for the cause. She knew she was supposed to hand over her seat to a white man. She knew that the aftermath of such an act at that time was punishable by jail time. And she did it anyway, for the dream of equal rights to all, no matter the race, color,

“The only tired I was, was tired of giving in” (Parks). I was tired, tired of being oppressed, and tired of being stepped on by the law, and my fellow people. That was the only tired i felt. The Montgomery Bus protest sparked a fire that would be felt throughout the entire country, and it was the spark that ignited the fire of the civil rights movement that shook the world. The boycott was the first of it, once light was shown on the problem, she began travelling cross country spreading information about civil rights, and sparking more peaceful protest. Rosa Parks was an important figure that changed the direction of the United States of America. She was trying to get home from work that day, but she turned into an icon for the civil rights movement, and shined a light on the unfair treatment of african americans.

It is sad to say that those types of racist actions have not totally vanished; they are only subtler. Even as recent as the 90’s we heard about the dragging of a black male in Texas for no apparent reason other than the fact that he was born black. Who would have thought that belonging to a particular race would determine how society will treat you. Though opportunities have undoubtedly improved for blacks in many areas, hatred through racism continues and will continue to show its ugly colors. As an African American, I have accepted that fact, but I don’t allow it to destroy my character as it once would in the time of Jim Crow laws. Today, I have a lot of white friends and associates whom I love dearly, but just a couple years ago I would be deprived of that pleasure.

“I believe discrimination still exists in society and we must fight it in every form,” as stated by Andrew Cuomo the current governor of New York. All throughout history, discrimination has been an underlying issue and is one that must be stopped and fixed. Throughout time African-Americans have been the most notable victims of discrimination. Dating back to the early seventeenth century, blacks have been discriminated and enslaved for absolutely no reason. There have been many attempts to end the discrimination, but as hard as people try this is an issue that seems unconquerable. Despite the fact that the Jim Crow era has passed, it is evident from history and peoples experiences that racial discrimination still does exist today.