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The Obama Era Has Made A New Image Of America

Decent Essays

The Obama-era has come with a new image of America. The United States has branded itself a post-racial society. This rebranding of the nation has made the task of defining racism an extremely difficult one; some may even argue that it is impossible. Many people make the assertion that they do not see race and that it does not matter; but this raises the question of whether or not their actions support their words. Policies like “Stop and Frisk” and “Stand Your Ground” illustrate that there is, at the very least, differential treatment among races. ***() Some may ask why racial double standards are not considered racism. The answer to that question lies in who gets to decide what racism is and the definition that they impose upon the …show more content…

They won’t even admit the knife is there.” –Malcom X As things like mass incarceration, police brutality, and gentrification plague the Black community, it becomes increasingly necessary for a clear and fair definition of racism to be adopted.
Merriam-Webster defines racism as “poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race” and “the belief that some races of people are better than others.” ***() However, if one were to google racism, the first thing he/she would see is the Oxford English Dictionary definition: “the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.” ***() This incongruence between the definitions allows for people to capitalize on confusion. People choose whichever definition best suits them at the time and then begin to dissect the definition to prove their innocence. Conversations are misdirected from the actions that bring racism into the equation; people are not forced to defend their actions. They simply dissect the definition of racism and show that their actions do not fit the description. The misalignment of these definitions leaves an opening for many counterproductive distractions. To conduct this research, I will first look at how the definitions of words have been established historically. I will discuss the first formal appearance of the term racism. I will then move on to

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