Racial Injustice Ends Now

 Blog Post                                                          

Racial Injustice Ends Now 

The world today is a world divided for many reasons such as politics, sports teams, and religion, all things chosen based on opinions. What people should not be divided on are things out of our hands like the color of our skin. 

There is so much hate and injustice over civil rights for people who are all of equal value. Communities are crumbling and burning from silenced voices and it needs to be changed. Racial injustice is the largest issue in our world today. In unity people should be working to fix this problem by spreading awareness and protesting for the rights of all races. 

Awareness and Conversation:

Racism has been around forever and has remained persistent but not looked the same. It started as slavery and then complete separation and discrimination from white people and now mass incarceration (figure 1). 

 

(figure 1 Rudolph)

"Overt racial discrimination, as evidenced by the “white ladies only” sign on the women’s restroom door, was common in the South until Supreme Court decisions and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal (Library of Congress)" (Rudolph)

Everyone knows it's happening, but many don’t have a conversation about it due to the fear of offending people or because it’s a stigmatized topic. It is important to change this because with the conversation and making it a topic at the dinner table will shape actions and mindsets on making a change. As soon as people talked about it and acted things changed.

 “For many, the 2008 election of President Barack Obama as the first African American US president seemed to usher in a new era of inclusion. However, increasing attention in the 2010s to issues such as the mass incarceration of black males and the unequal treatment of people of color at the hands of law enforcement ensured that racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States remained a topic of heated social and political debate, including with the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement” (Rudolph).  

Although, this discusses how it made light of the heated topics addressing it is the first step to change. Just the start of the conversation can lead to the attention this movement needs to remain involved in the news so people will form an opinion and help. Having a black president in office made many feel allowed to use their voice to speak up against all the hate going on.  

Protesting :

The Black Lives Matter movement has been beneficial to raising awareness to stop police brutality and overall discrimination against African Americans. For this reason, people should continue this hard conversation to start taking action against racial injustice. 

As discussed earlier another way the world is fighting back is by protesting. Joining together to spread awareness through practicing the first amendment right; to help people gain the use of all their civil liberties.  

“Black Lives Matter had become a powerful rallying cry for a new generation of civil-rights activists, and, for some in the movement, the affirmation was ‘as much a reminder directed at black people as it is a revelation aimed at whites,’ Cobb wrote” (Remnick). Currently, the Black Lives Matter movement has gained the strongest following in their protests following the killing of George Floyd and all the police brutality cases recently (figure 2). 

(figure 2 Remnick) 

 Many disagree with these protests because of how violent some of them ended with getting into fights when the police show up to end it. Which is a fair argument but, protesting is the best way to spread awareness and enact change in the communities. 

Peaceful protesting is important to learn and many only get violent when they are told to shut it down when it is a complete legal act. Protesting is a helpful way to get involved in this movement the quote “there is power in numbers” clearly explains why this assists BLM.  

Showing the aligning of black and white people spending their time rallying together and walking the streets to reach others to join them and discuss ways of fixing this issue is the best way of making the changes necessary for creating a safe world for everyone. 

“In 2020, the phrase and movement took on new life as millions of people from all different backgrounds mobilized across the globe to protest the killing of George Floyd” (Remnick). Why should more people need to die for there to be change?

Conclusion:

As expressed, racism is a major part of what the world is struggling with and it must be handled. Without making some serious changes the world will continue to separate and people will keep feeling unsafe and not valuable to society. People should not feel threatened by the community, police, or walking down the street to their house because they have darker skin.  

Together people can change this appalling issue by spreading awareness through having the hard conversations discussing race and discrimination. Secondly, protesting this helps by taking action against racism and making plans for future change. Overall, together having the tough conversations and standing by each other racial injustice can be stopped.