Professional Documents
Culture Documents
College Comp II
Mrs. Marshall
4/02/17
Race in America Society- Then and Now.
Race is a commonly argued as a social and political issue that plagues modern day
society. Realistically not matter the time period, it has always plagued some aspect of society and
its ability to define how one man describes and treats another. America was practically built on
racist ideas of white supremacy, all [white] men created equal. In the 1950s the fight for equal
rights among African-Americans took center stage and over time, equal rights were given to
them. Unfortunately, today many African-Americans still feel discriminated against and that
many aspects of their lives have not changed due to their race.
The Civil Rights movement of the mid 20th century began in the 1950s. African
Americans had been fighting against racial discrimination for centuries; during the 1950s,
however, the struggle against racism and segregation entered the mainstream of American life
(Staff). Court cases such as Brown vs Board were the beginning of the end for Jim Crow Laws in
the south. Jim Crow Laws were sets of laws passed in the south after the Civil War to prevent
African-Americans gaining any type of equality compared to the white men of the time. Plessy
vs Ferguson in 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racially separate facilities, if equal, did
not violate the Constitution (Separate But). However, this provided open ends on any type of
discrimination only if the public institution provided the same basic service. It was not till Brown
vs Board would Plessy vs Ferguson would be overruled and the beginning of integration in the
South would be met by outstanding violence from groups such as the KKK.
Today in America many people believe that there is still a race issue among police
officers and rightfully so. When young, African-American teenagers are shot and killed by white
police officers and trigger extraordinarily intense social commentary about racial tension, as
exampled by the Ferguson riots, one would believe that there is an issue still plaguing our
society. White police officers appear to leave an apparent bias towards their white suspects they
apprehend in custody and are shown to display an overly aggressive stance on African-American
suspects.
Half of black Americans report being treated unfairly by police because of their race,
and their views of law enforcement are shaped by this experience. When asked about
most communities, 49 percent say police are more likely to use deadly force against a
black person, 48 percent say race is not a factor, and 1 percent say police are more likely
There will be a racial divide among Americans no matter what happens and people will
have their opinions. Not many will agree, and the ache for equality among everyone is starting to
seep through the generations. Looking back at history can certainly aide the influence of equality
as many horrendous events have occurred. It can be documented that many legal battles through
the Supreme Court, that racial issues will not be resolved until complete equality is achieved for
Law Enforcement and Violence: The Divide between Black and White Americans. Issue Brief
.apnorc.org/projects/Pages/HTML%20Reports/law-enforcement-and-violence-the-divide-
Separate but Equal - Separate Is Not Equal. Smithsonian National Museum of American