Has Racism in America Changed

By: Michelle Nuno

The way home

Sadly, racism has been a problem in America since it’s beginning in the 17th century. Have people changed for the better and learned that everyone is equal or are they still stubborn and too prideful in themselves?

Around 1619, racism started to become more common when slave trade started to happen. African Americans were traded to America and The United Kingdom just because of their skin color. They were bought in slave markets or by Vikings who captured slaves and sold them. Once they were bought, they had to work for ten hours every day, from sunrise to sunset working in fields. The Europeans saw them as a better way to replace servants. “A lot of people don’t think of how the person might feel, they’ll just think of themselves,” Sofia Mercado a seventh grade student at Northwest Middle School said. Not until 1865 did slavery end and become illegal in America.

Because segregation began, there were a lot of protesters against it and hate organizations began. The most well-known is the Ku Klux Klan, a group that wanted to prove whites were supreme over all. Their main target were African Americans; they would cover their identity with white mask and robes, while holding burning crosses and torturing them in the most inhumane ways. In 1877 Segregation was made legal and groups like the Ku Klux Klan disbanded momentarily. It was because of the Jim Crow laws, a law that enforced segregation between African Americans and white. Now almost everything was segregated. There were separated, restaurants, stores, buses, schools, restrooms, and even the water fountains were different. “I would say, put yourself in their shoes and let them think why they are even doing this in the first place,” said Sofia. In 1954, segregation ended in public schools, when it was outlawed by the Supreme Court, and in 1964, all sorts of segregation were gone thanks to the Civil Rights Act.

Today, things like racism might not be seen as a major problem “I think it is better now, even if there is still a lot of hate towards skin-colored people, it’s nothing close to how much hate there was in the early 1900’s”, said Sofia. Policemen are one of the problems that people face today, many cases of the police shooting innocent people, mostly African American because the police claim they have weapons. In a place where people cannot even trust police and things like Black Lives Matter is something people are still protesting and fighting for, then, is racism really gone? Racism is not just a problem African Americans face. All races especially if they’re not Americans get discriminated. Not so long ago, immigration laws for education, also known as D.A.C.A were taken away, and because of this, deportation has happened.

Age does not matter in these situations but how you are taught to believe them. Nobody is born racist and if you are taught right you will think things that will later affect your life in a positive way. Racism might not go away just like that, but with everyone’s help it could disappear little by little.