Preview

A More Perfect Union: Racism In The United States

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
778 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A More Perfect Union: Racism In The United States
RACISM
Racism is a belief that one person is better than other because of their skin color, language or their birth place. Racism has existed throughout human history and it’s still going on today. I believe it because I am a Muslim and after 9/11 Muslim Americans faced negative stereotypes expressed by society and became objects of suspicion. My dad was one of them. My dad was told to shave his beard in order to work because beard is a symbol of a Muslim man. My father looked for other jobs but everywhere it was the same. So, he shaved it. This example might not be a very big deal, but it was in my family. So that’s why I strongly believe that America is still not making any progress about racism in twenty-first century but I am hopeful about
…show more content…
“A More Perfect Union” by President Barak Obama, delivered many messages about his beliefs concerning racism. He starts off explaining how the founders of our nation made the Constitution creating all men equal, but they did not actually practice that idea. He described that “the document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was by this nation’s original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought convection to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years and to leave any final resolution to future generation” (44). This means even those people who made the constitution, allowed slavery and didn’t try to stop it. Obama is the son of a white woman and a black Kenyan man. That’s why he faced criticism that his supporters are supporting him purely because of his race. We cannot judge someone by their skin color. We have to help and give chances to a person who wants to make better changes. Racist people are putting themselves apart from …show more content…
It stops innocent people to make progress. For example, in Obama’s speech he explains that there are so many black people who have lost their hope and dream because of discrimination. However those black who did reach their goal had to face racism. Even today my mom gets scared if she sees a black man walking beside her. She thinks every black are bad. I try to explain her that there is good and bad in every culture and country. It’s not like Africans are the only one who’s committing crime in the world. They are also human beings and they have the right to live as a normal person. Therefore, I agree with President Obama that we have to take full responsibility for our own lives by “demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny” (52). I am hopeful that our country and our future will be better if we work together. We need to come together as a nation and improve our health care, jobs, and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    While the President is a black man in the most powerful position in the world he is not the first black man with the power to promote change. Obama is the highest ranking American black man ever he is not the only black that has tried to have a positive influence on the racial landscape of America. Before Obama we had Dr. Martin Luther King, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Nelson Mandela all of whom have promoted civil rights, equality and cultural integration. The ability to change is in the hands of each individual person to take responsibility for the change in their circumstances. If things were different just because someone said it should be so, it sure would make all things possible and easy. Unfortunately, not all things come easy and people have to work to achieve their…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The U.S.A. was founded on the idea of racism when it first began. Black people were boated over from Africa and enslaved to help build it to what it is today. Americans used them to do all of their work without giving them anything in return and separated them from everyone else. In history there have been many cases that have made an effort to abolish segregation. Two cases that didn't just make an effort, but did just that were Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education. They were related to each other as well because one changed the precedent established in the other. They also helped the country identify more with freedom than slavery.…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Racism is a touchy subject that has been major issue ever since its initial startup. Racism is the hatred towards a person or population of a certain race. The United States has taken huge leaps in equality, but there is still a long ways away from completion. Racism has always existed in America. When the nation was in its younger years, people owned people. People of the African American descent were considered property under the eyes of the law. How insane is that? Progress was made since then, but racism has only evolved. In the 1950s, whites and blacks were segregated to the point where they could not go to the same schools or even use the same bathrooms. Throughout A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry criticizes the state Of America…

    • 162 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is human nature to regard someone as inferior to yourself. Time and time again, groups of people deemed inferior have risen up to fight for their rights. Sometimes the quarrel was small, but these kinds of injustices can tear countries apart. The American Civil War had over 500,000 casualties, all of them fighting over African American rights. But whites weren’t the only ones acting as agents of change. African Americans had many ways that they fought for their freedom, in combat and out. These methods changed the African American population and the…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The racism was one of the biggest issue of America during the age of slavery, it was one of the most hush and unfair thing for the African Americans. Those African Americans were still traded like slaves even they were free man that time. All of those racism movements started in the late eighteenth century.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hidden Racism In America

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than the opposite.” Nelson Mandela, a leader of the fight to end apartheid in his home country of South Africa helps shed light on how racism can be fought in the United States. Even though America has come a long way from the times of slavery, racism continues to exist all over the country. Americans can learn to love one another, but they must first discover the roots and causes of racism and stop it before it spreads. In order to deal with racism, Americans often: refuse to accept the facts, accept it as a way of life, and do not do enough to stop its practice.…

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racism. The prediction of decisions and policies on consideration of race for the purpose of subordinating a racial group and maintaining control over it (Carmichael & Hamilton, 1967). There are two forms of racism in America: individual and institutional. The first consist of acts that are performed by individuals that which results in injury, destruction of property and maybe even death. The latter, institutional, is less detectable, when it comes to specific individuals executing the acts but is as detrimental to the human life as if it was an act done by an individual. Institutional racism originates from the established, respected and powerful forces and reap less humiliation than individual racism. In the end it is institutional racism that keeps African Americans uneducated, behind bars, and living in…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When asked if racism still exists in the world a common answer is,“No, how could we be racist when we have a black president!”, but even an extremely well educated man such as Barack Obama the President of the United States sees every form of racism on a day to day basis. Racism today is not a concept that just low class uneducated African American 's struggle with, this is a concept that everyone in the world struggles with. Racism will never be truly abolished from the world because it is a part of humanity that is instilled in us at a very young age, racism towards the “different” and the “other”. Society put a certain stereotype of each race into our minds and even if we don 't act on these thoughts.…

    • 3308 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Segregation Wrong

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Black students are the most likely racial group to attend what researchers call "apartheid schools," — schools that are virtually all non-white and where poverty, limited resources, social strife and health problems abound. One-sixth of America's black students attend these schools. Segregated schools are still unequal, they have higher concentrations of poverty, much lower test scores, less experienced teachers and fewer advanced placement courses (Segregation today). So, not only is segregation wrong it’s unfair. Some people think that it’ll eventually go away. Reality is that there will always be people against those of other races.…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    As I walked through the O’Hare International airport check-in queue, on a busy festive week, I noticed the queue was moving a lot faster than usual. I felt relieved and thought myself to be lucky. A group of Chicago college graduates ahead of me breezed through the initial security check, then I got through but just then, I saw a little stir in the queue and turned back to see a middle age Muslim gentleman was being cross-questioned. The man was allowed to pass after a brief questioning about his travels. Despite the fact that the man was a resident of Chicago and a frequent flyer, the officer at the security check felt it was more appropriate to frisk him. The only thing that was downside for that gentleman was the growing tension off late in the American society. The incidence brought many concerns and queries to my mind. The sight of an Asian guy being frisked for no good reason made me feel uncomfortable on many ends. The first thing that instantly crossed my mind was that are racial discrepancies still existent? Or, is it the common stereotypes that are holding our society back? Are modern day American society’s social classifications still based on race? Then again, I thought, maybe it is because the American society as a whole has undergone some severe setbacks in the last decade, hence frisking one or two at the airport may be a way of being extra cautious in terms of security. As I was sipping my cup of coffee in the waiting area and was reading a history book, I noticed that historical events do bring a keen observation on this take. Take for example the Jim Crow era in South, where the whole definition of segregation was defined and many faced racial atrocities in name of emancipation. After the incidence and my reading from history, it made me think on the issue of Race in a more detailed perspective. I searched on internet for more evidences to back my understanding. To my surprise, I found out that even in a modern day world, where we advocate…

    • 2425 Words
    • 70 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Today, one of the most pressing issue that the United States is still facing and has still been around is inequality (racism). These few months that have passed, they have been reports of several cases linked with inequality (racism) . Several cases on killings of African American men, maltreating of African American protesters in rallies and many more.…

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Racism In America

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Do you believe racism is still a problem today? Have you ever experienced or witnessed a racist act? Racism is the belief that all members of each race in the world today possess characteristics or abilities that pertain specifically to that race, especially to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. Although, some people do not have any issues at all with the concept of racism; majority of people living in America deal with racism in their everyday lives. Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and even during economic downturns. This is very demoralizing because we are all human beings and of course every one of us…

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the history of the country, America has been considered a fairly racist union. Undoubtedly the greatest injustice in the United States to this day is the whites treatment of African-Americans, specifically slavery. The vast majority of non-black people of that time believed that blacks were not equal to other races. White Americans of the slavery period specifically held this view. It was nearly impossible for a black to live free in America, and it was even more difficult for a black to find a job. As time passed, however, many people began to change their views on race relations in America. After slavery was abolished, fewer and fewer people believed that they were supreme over the African-American race. Not only were blacks free, they were becoming accepted as people in our society. They were even becoming accepted in the workplace. Many employers were no longer bothered by giving a job to an African-American. America seemed to finally be turning around for the better. After all, African-Americans only asked for equality, and they were getting closer and closer to that goal with each passingday. Suddenly, however, some people began to lose sight of the mission they set out to accomplish. Instead of just trying to make America equal, they felt that they should attempt to make up for the times when it was not. Many places in society, such as the workplace, the court system, and the entertainment industry, seem to have shifted to being easier for blacks to advance themselves in than whites. The intent, to improve race relations in America, was good. The problem that comes about, however, is that it begins to enter peoples minds that it is better to be black than it is to be white. African-Americans should certainly feel confident with themselves, but they should not be given a reason to feel superior, either. Nobody should be able to feel superior to another person simply because of race. Everything that this country has worked for in the last century is…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first major horrific issue that is brought up when discussing American history is slavery. It is common knowledge that when the United States was founded, the owning and slavery of African men, women and children was legal. Slavery wasn’t abolished until nearly one hundred years later in 1865, when president Lincoln approved the Joint Resolution of Congress making the 13th amendment. However, racism would live on far past this date with unfair laws, such as Jim Crow laws, meant to take away the rights of the black population. Common racism today can be directly related to slavery and the complications and hatred that fallowed it. Racism is still prevalent in American society today, 52% of Americans found racism against black people is still an extremely serious issue said Michael Bruke of USA Today. While slavery itself may not be in effect, racism in other forms such as police brutality, incarceration rates, and racial profiling are serious problems the American society faces today. Not only do African Americans receive verbal and psychological racism, they also must…

    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    With The election of the first black president of the United States, Barrack Obama people believed it to be the end of racism in the U.S. Although The United States has made tremendous progress and racism and anti-Semitism are discouraged and not tolerated in many U.S. organizations, it is still a wide spread problem facing Americans today. There are large amounts of evidence reguarding racial profiling in our justice systems, schools, and financial institutions. Hate crimes and race inflicted vandalism continue to be a problem in our culture. It is apparent that even though we have made great strides away from racism the United States still continues to struggle with acts racism and Anti-Semitism.…

    • 1454 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays