Alolayan1

Faisal Alolayan

William Loudermilk

English Composition II

21-July-19

Racism Issues in the United States

Since the establishment of the United States of America, it faced several problems and

issues regarding different diversified population. The race is a symbol to identify the cultural and

ethnical heritage of the people and differentiates them from the other people. The most

significant issue is racism which nourished in the country with the arrival of black slaves from

the country of Africa in the past centuries. Different influential people bought the slaves from

Africa and transferred them to the United States for the labor force. People started to buy the

black slaves for their work primarily related to agriculture. Influential people are the white

people in the United States which are considered as the superior human beings due to their

cultural and ethical heritage which distinguished them from the other people (Causadias &

Kevin). The structure of the society applied many boundaries on women, and she considered as

the property of her husband. Lower class people in the country were also the ones who

considered as poor, and due to their social status, they were mistreated. African Americans,

lower class people and the women in the past centuries of the United States faced numerous

troubles, hardships, hatred, societal boundaries and difficulties for their survival. Even today,

when the African Americans are now considered as nationals of the country they are still facing

hardships and issues. Even in the colleges and the universities of the country, hate speech issues

and the discriminatory measures are spreading. This includes the factor that white ones are
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superior and should have the right to live in America. However, the country is consistently

taking measures and dealing with these issues by making several laws, policies, and measures

(Goldstein & Morning). But that consistent hatred could make the societies and communities

worse with time, so it should be handled and should be resolved for the future peace of the

country. Even after several decades of struggle and the sacrifices of heroes, African Americans

are facing issues today. Racial issues and discrimination factors are persisting in the US societies

even after the numerous hardships of African Americans and sacrifices of national heroes. These

should be reduced from the US societies because these are creating disturbances in the societies

as these are spreading hatred for the minorities, increasing conflicts between the white and non-

white population, raising institutional discrimination incidents, and even the public places are not

safe for the minorities due to the racial factors and hatred spread against them.

In the past centuries, powerful white people bought black slaves and used them for their

work. Black slaves treated as servants and most people treated them like animals. Their masters

were allowed to beat them and punished them with or without any specific reason. The black
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slaves served their masters for many centuries and accepted their status in the society of the

United States. The masters of the slaves abused their slaves and used them for anything like they

tortured the kids of the slaves and abused their wives. It was the darkest era of the country where

no one was able to fight for the black slaves. The slaves were responsible for any task their

master assigned them, and they had to do it. Most people used their slaves for agricultural and

labor purposes. Most slaves were responsible for the fieldwork at the farms and grew the fields

for their masters. In return, they received average food and some clothes to wear. The clothes

were designed in a manner that distinguishes them from their masters. They were not allowed to

make any decisions, and their masters treated them as animals which make the black slaves

vulnerable and miserable. The rape of female Negros was not considered an ‘issue’ because it

was considered the right of their white master. It was one of the pathetic realities of American

society that female slaves were found only a body to be used or assault not a soul or a person.

Thousands of children born in that period have never known their fathers and spent their lives

without any father name. Children of slaves were separated inhumanly from their mothers at a

very early age (1-4 years of age). In 5-6 years, the child is in absolute need of his/her mother and

her care. But the fierce wind of racism and bondage covered everything around. It is even more

barbaric than child slaves were preferred as compared to adult slaves. It was because of the

reason that children are more comfortable to be tamed, trained and agreed to do whatever the

master wants ("Slavery In America"). On the other hand, adults are more prone to show

resistance. Numerous slaves fought for their rights and started to demand the states about their

national citizenship. The white people never wanted to grant the United States citizenship to the

black slaves, so they started to give them some rights such as allowed to get married legally. But

the black slaves deserved more and never stop their fight for their rights. Numerous movements
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initiated in the era of industrial development by the slaves and affected by the international war

scenarios which impacted the country in the 18th and 19th-century era.

Many black heroes arise for the black slaves and consistently devoted their lives for

ending the slavery era for the slave people. Several efforts and devotion of numerous people won

one day when Abraham Lincoln became the President of the United States. He was a true hero

for the black people and took several initiatives for the rights of the black slaves. He faced so

much trouble when he started the initiative to grant certain rights to the black people. He faced

problems and issues but consistently fought for his people. He was the initiator of the movement

which ended the slavery era from the United States. Many states of the country accepted the law

that ended the slavery system and no one was allowed to make the black people their slaves. The

ending of slavery-era was the greatest achievement for black people. But the issues and problems

between the white and black people were not resolved. White people never wanted to accept the

status of black people, and they never wanted to give them equality. This raised numerous issues

within the country and the equality movement’s raised by the black people. The United States

Constitution granted the right of citizenship to the black people, and it was another huge

accomplishment of the black people. The black slaves became African Americans and had

gained all the rights of the national citizens of the country. The African Americans were now

free from their miserable and painful life, but most national white citizens of the country never

accepted them as equal to them. In the 19th century, the discrimination, ethnical disparity, and

the racial distinctions were common and black people were suffering from several issues which

were created by the white people. In the 19th century, due to the high level of issues, problems,

and disputes more than 70,000 African slaves escaped to the Northside of the United States and

they used the method to cross the Underground Railroad. In the year of 1846, Frederick
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Douglass was the one who started another movement named as an anti-slavery movement in the

form of North Star newspaper in the country.

In the year of 1849, Harriet Tubman was the one who escaped to the Underground

Railroad with the other slaves. But later on, he became the effective leader of the slaves moved

to Underground Railroad. He was also a great contributor who fought for the slaves and their

rights. Moreover, in the year of 1850, the issues and problems regarding the ethnic history of the

slaves increased, and Congress started to plan an activity. It named as Fugitive Slave Act, which

was also a great step towards the issue of black people racial inequalities ("African American

History Timeline"). According to the act, the government was allowed to capture the people who

were escaped, but it results in something else. The citizens of the Boston city form a group in

which the wealthy people were included, and they joined together for the purpose to free the

slave named Anthony Burns. Until that time, the slaves were not considered as the citizens of the

country, the Congress of the United States was unable to ban the slavery in all the states of the

country ("African American History Timeline"). After the mid of 19th century, the great

Abraham Lincoln was the one who put his own best efforts for the black people support and

help. He was selected as the US President, but many states with the majority of white people

were become angry due to the history of President that he was the supporter of black people. But

in the year of 1961, the civil war was started in the country and impacted negatively to all the

movements which were created for the support and help of the black people. Later on, in the year

of 1963, Abraham Lincoln initiated a great step of the American history that he announced that

the slaves present in the country are free and they are free forever. This announcement was

named the Emancipation Proclamation which was a great step in the history of black people. In

the year of 1865, the civil war was ended, but it impacted the black people negatively ("African
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American History Timeline"). Lincoln was killed which was the biggest shock and sad part of

the black people’s lives in the country. The lives of black people become terrible, and the crime

rates increased in the country at that time due to the anger of black people. But later on, the

Constitution of the United States added an amendment that slavery was prohibited in the country.

It was one of the great achievements of black people. It was the time the era and regime of

Reconstruction started in the country.

The all public spheres, movement, efforts of great leaders that discussed above showed

that many times the movements ended with no results. The support of the leaders and their

efforts for the black people were effective but similarly at the same time limited in their

effectiveness. Some leaders accomplish the goals and targets which were created only to support,

help and resolve the issues of the black people so that they could live with unity with the white

people. The problems and issues were not ended for the African Americans, and they gained no

respect from most citizens of the country. The white people never accepted black people as equal

to them due to their cultural and ethnical heritage. The white people wanted to dominate the

country but unable to succeed and started to dominate the African Americans. The African

Americans were successful to accomplish the goal of equal rights and opportunities but unable to

remove hatred from the hearts of the people. Numerous historians wrote about the history of

women in the past including the boundaries that placed on women.

An important story discusses the status of the African Americans named, “A Raisin in the

Sun” written by Lorraine Hansberry. The story revolves around an African American family

consists of one mother with a son and his wife also a daughter (Ross). The four family members

loved each other very much. They received a huge amount of money by the insurance company

regarding the life insurance policy of the father. Everyone started to saw a dream regarding their
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wishes. Mother wanted to spend the money to buy a house, but the house she chose was in the

society of white people. White people offer them more money to stay away from their society.

The son of the mother wanted to spend the money to buy a liquor store with his friend, but his

friend cheated him and lost with the cash. It shows the American society filled with trouble for

African Americans.

White people never wanted the black family in their regions. The attitude of white

citizens towards African Americans makes them depressed, and they considered themselves less

superior than white people. The problems and issues faced by the African Americans made them

depressed, and most often they involved in the crimes and criminal activities to reduce their

depression and return the hatred and ignorance of the white people. The criminal activities of the

black people made them worse in front of the white people, and they never trust the African

Americans just due to the high rates of their criminal activities. The main issue is not the

criminal nature of the African Americans but the ignorance, hatred, and pain received by the

white people.

Another story named, “Recitatif” written by Toni Morrison based on the story of two

friends. One was black and other was white, and both loved each other. The story revolves

around the problems and issues of the lower class people who had to fight for their survival in

the societies. The story shows the inequality and ignorance faced by the lower class people and

their place in society. There were numerous problems for African Americans, lower-class

people, and women. The powerful people were always considered as the most reputable ones in

the society whereas the lower class people made efforts and fight for their survival throughout

their lives. The African Americans, lower-class people, and the women status in the past

histories were mostly based on misery and vulnerability. African Americans, lower-class people
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and the women in the past centuries of the United States faced numerous troubles, hardships,

hatred, societal boundaries and difficulties for their survival.

Even today, after gaining the status of the national citizens African Americans are

suffering from the issues. The most important thing is that the educational institutions and the

public places become the one that are spreading discrimination factors. The alt-tight movements

are targeting the youth as they are spreading hatred in the educational institutes by visiting

different campuses and openly showing their hatred against the multiculturalism ("The Alt-Right

On Campus: What Students Need To Know"). For example, when President Donald Trump was

elected as the President of the United States, several new hate groups emerged in the college

campuses with the logo that the white people are superior to any other diversified nation and

nonwhite people or immigrants from different countries are creating a threat to their existence.

Their primary targets are Muslims as according to the hatred groups of white people they should

never exist in the country. These scenarios and cultural problems could lead to unfortunate

circumstances for the country. Since the year 2010, the reports of criminal justice system

revealed that more than 6000 crimes are occurring per year in the country due to the hatred

although the government provided figures are much higher than this figure. According to the FBI

(Federal Bureau Investigation), “hate crimes in the US rose by 17% in 2017, the third straight

year that incidents of bias-motivated attacks have grown” ("Spike In US Hate Crimes Third Year

In A Row"). The hate should be stopped. Otherwise, the educational institutions will become the

signs of hatred and no one will be able to focus on their studies. Government is not only

responsible for taking appropriate actions against the problems and the movements, but the

communities are also needed to take actions that could solve the issues so that no worse

outcomes could be faced in the future. Every person of the society could help and could have the
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ability to make a change but just need the courage to take the first step towards the peace of the

nation.

There are several incidents occurred recently that shows the persistence of racism in the

country. According to a recent poll “NBC News| Survey Monkey poll” most people of the

United States consider that racism is an issue of the US society. A recent event occurred at

Starbucks (a famous international brand) represented how much difficult it is now for the African

Americans to save themselves from racism. Two black men were arrested at Starbucks who

suffered from the incident of racism and discrimination while waiting for someone. It developed

and increased a whole new pattern of movements in order to protest. In result, almost 8000

chains of Starbucks closed and the administration started a whole new “racial bias training

program” for employees. This event activated whole racially profiled people across the country

and they are now highlighting different discrimination related events (Arenge et al.). It does not

matter which public place African Americans are using, for example, while sitting in a coffee

shop, enjoying in a park, or taking nap in a common room of Yale University they are facing the

issues of discrimination (Arenge et al.). These examples are the real incidents that highlighted a

new debate on social media and most people are now talking about the solutions to these issues.

4 in 10 African Americans admitted that many times they have faced discrimination issues at

public spaces (Arenge et al.). It represents the clear situation that many of the African Americans

are consistently facing race issues daily and even at the public places. About six-in-ten

Americans (58%) say race relations in the U.S. are bad (Menasce Horowitz, Juliana, et al). It

shows that even for most Americans, the race relations are not good and they admitted that these

are bad in the societies of the country.

A fair observer named Kourosh Ziabari talked with Akil Houston, a filmmaker, social

critic and an associate professor of cultural and media studies at Ohio University. The major goal

of the interview was to discuss the racial inequality of the African-Americans. In his last

question, he asked Houston that, “As a university professor, do you think black students feel

unrestricted and also enthusiastic about engaging and interacting with students of other races,

especially white students, or do racial gaps keep them apart and make their collaboration

challenging?” (Ziabari & Akil). In response, Houston explains that the black students often find

it difficult to interact with students of other races especially the white ones. They feel anxiety but

they always to reduce the boundaries. They are more comfortable when the university

administration allows them to collaborate with other students and generate a healthy learning

environment. Houston further explains that race issues should be targeted and resolved in a way

it could invite peace to the country. White students should never consider that black students are

monolith but the ones with different approaches, worldviews, and goals (Ziabari & Akil). This is

the most important factor that should be considered by everyone in the country. Targeting

minorities and African Americans for violent acts or other discriminatory measures is not a real

solution to the problem. It is not only the governmental authorities that should take actions but

the people need to realize that African Americans are also the national citizens and the ones who

are contributing positively to the economy.

Racial issues and the discriminatory factors are part of the US societies even today when

it becomes one among the most developed nations of the world. The African Americans are the

ones who suffered from several hardships and they sacrificed several things for the achievement

of the status of national citizens. The racial issues should be reduced from the US societies

because these are creating disturbances in the societies as these are spreading hatred for the
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minorities, increasing conflicts between the white and non-white population, raising institutional

discrimination incidents, and even the public places are not safe for the minorities due to the

racial factors and hatred spread against them. This does not reflect a society where diversity

factors could bring justice or peace. The governmental authorities are consistently struggling to

deal with the race issues but this is not the only solution. The solution includes the behavioral

pattern of the people who needs to change and admit that minorities are also an important part of

the country. Only in that way, one could consider bringing peace in the country

.
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Works Cited

"Slavery In America". History.Com, 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery.

"Spike In US Hate Crimes Third Year In A Row". BBC News, 2018,

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46189391.

"The Alt-Right On Campus: What Students Need To Know". Southern Poverty Law Center,

2017, https://www.splcenter.org/20170810/alt-right-campus-what-students-need-know.

Arenge, Andrew et al. "Poll: 64 Percent of Americans Say Racism Remains A Major

Problem". NBC News, 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/poll-64-

percent-americans-say-racism-remains-major-problem-n877536.

Causadias, José M., and Kevin M. Korous. "Racial Discrimination in the United States: A

National Health Crisis That Demands a National Health Solution". Journal of Adolescent

Health, vol 64, no. 2, 2019, pp. 147-148. Elsevier BV,

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.11.001. Accessed 8 July 2019.

Goldstein, J. R., and A. J. Morning. "The Multiple-Race Population ofThe United States: Issues

And Estimates". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol 97, no. 11, 2000,

pp. 6230-6235. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,

doi:10.1073/pnas.100086897.Accessed 8 July 2019.

Menasce Horowitz, Juliana et al. "Views on Race in America 2019". Pew Research Center’S

Social & Demographic Trends Project, 2019,

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/04/09/race-in-america-2019/.
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Ross, Lillian. "Writing “A Raisin In The Sun”". The New Yorker, 1959,

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1959/05/09/playwright.

Ziabari, Kourosh, and Akil Houston."Being Black in America". Fair Observer, 2019,

https://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/racism-america-black-african-

american-culture-news-latest-world-news-today-20126/.