Skin Deep Americ A Free Country Of Freedom, Prosperity, And Opportunity

America may be a young nation compared to those around those around the world and we as a nation have achieved a lot in our years. One battle that we have been fighting since the birth of our nation however is one against our own people. For years we have been divided by the colors of our skin and our heritage. Although Caucasian people may be the majority of our population, individually there are just as diverse of people in their origins as the minorities of this country. It just isn’t as apparent as having a culture branded into a skin tone. America is known as a melting pot of races from all over the globe. A lot of people seem to have forgotten where they came from after generations of searching for the “American Dream,” thus creating a typical “white American”. One instance where the white Americans banded together and discriminated against one race occurred after the bombing at Pearl Harbor. The racism that occurred against Japanese Americans is not as talked about as slavery, but the fact that it is talked about so little just goes to show that Americans are willing to sweep horrendous acts against our own people under the rug.

America is a nation “from many, one” as stated in our country’s original motto. We pride ourselves on the granted equal opportunity and freedom afforded to each citizen. But are these premises held true and adequately carried out? My answer is a resounding no! Our country’s intricate history provides us with the foundation that explains why and how discrimination has infiltrated and given the upper hand to the white race that has dominated the American society, while suppressing races of color. Dating back to the discovery of the new world we know as the contemporary United States, the African American race has been segregated and mistreated as exemplified through

We have all sat through multiple history classes and learned about slavery, segregation, and the Civil War. We have all seen brutal movies and presentations based on racial injustices and the lack of equality. So often, we forget that these issues are still so present in our community. Slavery is illegal in the United States but other forms of racial profiling, insensitivity, and racism continue to be a recurring social barrier. Racism is still very much alive. The United States is “equal” yet somehow segregated. There isn’t quite a quick fix to this problem. Clearly, this has been an ongoing issue and requires major progression in our personal global

Today race in America is a highly controversial topic. It seems that every day we turn on the news, it’s a story about protest or police brutality. Hundreds of black men and women have been killed due to racial discrimination. Thousands of African Americans are incarcerated in Americas prison systems, many of which won’t live to see the light of day. The previous president was African American, yet we can’t escape

The idea of racism has evolved and has become less prevalent throughout the last century. Schools and public areas are unsegregated, voting rights, racial slurs being considered as unacceptable behavior etc. American sociologist and race theorist, Howard Winant states that’s “The ensuing approaches increased recognition of racial injustice and inequality, but did not overcome the discriminatory processes” (Winant,2000)Although the United states has come a long way to try to end racism, one cannot ignore the fact that it still exists. It is something that may seem invisible in society, but everybody knows that it still thrives and that it’s racial attitudes affect the way our society functions. One of these invisible forms of

Racism is still a very prominent issue in America today. Yes, it has improved from the days of slavery, and we do have a black president; but society is nowhere near equal, and that is not acceptable. White Privilege by Paula Rothenberg truly opened my eyes to the extent of the social injustice on African Americans. Just by being white, one is oppressing another race because the privilege and respect that comes with the skin color. Whether intentional or not, the racism is still there and present and that is not acceptable. Being white, I’ve never suffered from the repercussions of racism, but after reading and becoming more aware of the suffering of African American’s, it is significant to write and spread the knowledge about racism and especially implicit racism. Everyone is surrounded by racism on a daily basis, and it’s important to be aware of your actions and the effects they have on society.

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

“Racism still occupies the throne of our nation,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pronounced just before his assassination. Almost fifty years later, we are still faced with the same unchanged threat that makes the words of Dr. King true. As individuals, communities, and a proud nation we have made an everlasting fingerprint for the children of our future, yet we lack the strength of acknowledgment to alter the course of racial discrimination and conquer prejudice. Has the formation of structural discrimination rooted itself too deeply into our subconscious that hope for rehabilitation seems unattainable? As a nation, we voted a man with a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya as the first multiracial President of the United States. Racism has not been eradicated because of the racial background of President Barrack Obama and we have not accomplished victory because of his African decent because prejudice has been too deeply fixed within our society. Social circumstance and the insinuation of race continue to change over time, precisely because race has become a social construct that serves political ends. The prior and present leaders of our nation organize, generate, and endorse the laws and public policy that ensure racism continues to maintain itself against people of color. Our historically racist foundation, the rising effects of structural discrimination, and the view of modernized racism all actively participate in shaping our structural

When you look at the riots happening in North Carolina, you see a complete lack of trust that many in the African American community have for the police and white people as a whole today. It seems to be something that is ingrained into their thought process. That it’s them against the rest of America. The stems of these overpowering feelings many African-Americans harbor today can be traced back to slavery. Even though slavery was abolished in 1862, the horrible conditions and accounts of that time still linger with us today. Stories of what Africans slave ancestors had to endure are still retold today.

Racism continues in America because President Obama, the media, and Hip Hop entertainment use their power to portray blacks as victims of white maltreatment. Selling a racist lie on poverty, unemployment, drugs, violence, abuse, all these are a product of the sins of the white man. The white man not dare to blame the black race for further failure, instead throughout generations, we have followed policies designed to give blacks compensation for their disadvantaged start in America, including affirmative action policies and a degree of preferential treatment within society. Extenuated circumstances for black society leads us to dance around words and make certain topics off limits in fear that we will offend black sensibilities. We dedicate

The population of the United States of America has been one of mixed race since its very beginning. Boatload upon boatload of enslaved Africans provided a labor force which would fuel the American South’s economy for many years, until national abolition and the subsequent civil rights movement created a primarily biracial population of blacks and whites. The US has come a long way since those days, and today every child born into the US is taught from an early age the evils of racism and the shameful actions committed by slave-owning US citizens in the past. From textbooks to televisions, the modern USA seemingly works tirelessly to teach its population that discrimination by race is wrong and that all races are equal. This has led to a great national complacence among whites, and a widespread belief that the US has mostly eradicated racial prejudices. But it is not so, and despite a population almost entirely composed of people who would not consider themselves racists, racism still pervades in the US. In many cases modern racism occurs at the hands of whites who almost absolutely are completely unaware of their discriminatory actions. In the films “Frozen River” and “The Visitor” racism was touched on repeatedly and played an evident part in the messages they were trying to portray.

Our nation’s history plays an important role in American society, it sets forth the foundation on which our morals and values are based on as Americans. If we truly are one united nation under God, and our morals and values are based on what history tells us, why is it then that there is so much disparity among the American people. One reason is that our history textbooks and what we are taught by educational leaders only emphasize American Exceptionalism. The history of our nation is not fully disclosed, it omits the nasty and ugly parts. It is time that the U.S. let their skeletons out of the closet, the truth needs to be told no matter how ugly or nasty it is. The period in history known as the Nadir of Race relations, 1890 through the1960’s between whites and blacks is a prime example of American Exceptionalism.

The United States is considered a melting pot because of the vast array of different cultures, ethnicities, and religious groups who all live within its borders. Other countries with fewer cultural differences have been torn apart by the conflicts that arise between these differing groups. It is believed by some that the United States has been able to avoid such ethical conflicts as have brought down other nations but looking at American history it is evident that this is not true. America's history is one of ethnic conflict because of religion, nationalistic, and particularly ethnic differences. The two centuries that the United States has existed has been a history of racial marginalization particularly against African Americans which culminated with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In the present, the United States likes to claim that as a nation, we are color blind but evidence exists to the contrary. The Klu Klux Klan (KKK) still exists, hate crimes are committed based on ethnicity, and stereotypes are perpetuated in order to minimize and ostracize. Despite these instances, the country has held strong largely because although these instances occur, they are not approved of by the government or those involved in criminal justice.

Throughout our country’s history one of the most difficult struggles has been between the different races. Racism is the belief in the superiority of one race over another, which often results in discrimination and prejudice towards people based on their race or ethnicity. In today’s society the use of the term "racism" does not easily fall under a single definition. The problem goes all the way back to when white America was much like Plato’s prisoners living in an underground cave. The whites were being taught that there was something very special about them and that they were the center that the earth revolved around. Their white skin made them superior to all other people. Just like in Plato’s story, no one could have gone down into the cave and convinced the caged people that what they were seeing was only mere shadows, until they could actually experience the reality for themselves. No one could even suggest to the whites that what they were taught was not the truth.

Discrimination in society has made America a nation where people are being killed for their skin color, where black people were considered property because they were black, where people that are different get bullied and viewed differently from everyone else. Our nation has always been far from being completely united. Even in today’s society, whites get a bigger advantage than blacks do in some areas. Sometimes, people would use extremely inappropriate remarks to people with a different skin color than them. One huge issue that contributes to the the nation being deeply divided is that discrimination still exists, with people holding opposing views simply because of their race.