You are on page 1of 3

Gracie Bihun

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

to use force against a white person (Law Enforcement).

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

all the races not matter who they are.


Works Cited

Law Enforcement and Violence: The Divide between Black and White Americans. Issue Brief

| APNORC.Org | APNORC.Org, The Associated Press and NORC,

.apnorc.org/projects/Pages/HTML%20Reports/law-enforcement-and-violence-the-divide-

between-black-and-white-americans0803-9759.aspx. Accessed 2 Apr. 2017.

Separate but Equal - Separate Is Not Equal. Smithsonian National Museum of American

History Behring Center, americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1-segregated/separate-but-

equal.html. Accessed 2 Apr. 2017.

Staff, History.com. The 1950s. History.com. A+E Publishers. 2010.

http://www.history.com/topics/1950s. 21 April. 2017.

You might also like