RunningHead:AFRICANAMERICANSSEPARATED

CivilRights:WhyAfricanAmericansFeelSeparated

EmilyE.Pearson

HonorsEnglish11.Mrs.Kwiatkowski.2nd

RunningHead:AFRICANAMERICANSSEPARATED

Abstract
Inthisessay,thereasonsforracialinequalitiesareexamined.Thefirsttopiccoveredis
racisminlawenforcement,suchasunarmedAfricanAmericansbeingkilledbywhite
officers.Anothertopicisthestrivescompaniesmaketomakesureacertainpercentage
ofminoritiesarehiredtomaketheircompanyracialandonlywhitetoavoidlawsuits.
Lastly,racisminthemediaisexaminedforwaysmovies,internet,etchelpsfuelthefire
forracismtobealonglastingproblemintheUnitedStates.Americahasmadegreat
stridestomakeeverythingequal,butithasntmadeAmericaaperfectlyjustplace.

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CivilRightshavebeenanissueeversincepeoplediscoveredwedontallhave
thesamecolorskin.SinceColumbuslandedinAmericaandsawthenativeswith
differentclothingandskinasenseofsuperiorityhasremainedinsideofwhitepeople.It
variesinseverityoverthecourseofhistory,butitsstillevidenttodayeventhoughwe
havetakenmanystridestomakeeveryonefeelequal.InAmericasbeginning,itwas
whitesoverpoweringAfricanAmericanswiththeactofslavery.Thenitwasthefact,
whitesandblackscouldntdrinkfromthesamewaterfountain,sitinthesamepartofthe
bus,attendthesameschools,orshopinthesamestores.Whensegregationended
thingsonthesurfaceseemedtoimprove,butunderneaththingscontinuedtobe
strained.Evenaftersegregationlawsandotherattemptstoimproveracialinequality
separationbetweenblacksandwhitecontinueinpoliceshootings,affirmativeaction
requirements,andthemediamagnifyingdifferenceswithjokes.

LAWENFORCEMENTANDRACIALEQUALITY
In2015alone,morethan100unarmedblackpeoplewerekilledbypolice.This
isanalarminglyhighnumber.Subsequently,thismakesAfricanAmericansfeel
threatenedandhascausedseveralriots.Aquotefrom
CookCountyState'sAttorney
AnitaAlvarezstated

"Itismydeterminationthatthisdefendant'sactionsofshooting
LaquanMcDonaldwhenhedidnotposeanimmediatethreatofgreatbodilyharmor
death,andhissubsequentactionsofshootingLaquanMcDonaldwhilehelayonthe
groundafterpreviouslybeingstruckbygunfirewerenotjustifiedandtheywerenota
properuseofdeadlyforcebythispoliceofficer.RulingslikethesehelpedAfrican
Americanpeopletofeelthreatenbypoliceforcebecausetheythinktheyaretargets
becauseofthefrequencyofshootings.Statisticsshowthatunarmedblackswerekilled

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5timesmorethanunarmedwhites.Thus,thisleavesafeelingofdistrustbetween
CaucasiansandAfricanAmericans.
AFFIRMATIVEACTIONS
Affirmativeactionrequirementsalsobringracialinequalityinanewlight,as
companiesstruggletomakesuretheycannothavelawsuitsbroughtagainstthemfor
discriminatingagainstAfricanAmericansandotherminorities.Inatableprovidedbythe
U.S.EqualEmploymentOpportunityCommission(EEOC),itshowedthat63.7%of
whitesthatappliedwerehiredwhileonly9.7%ofAfricanAmericansthatappliedwere
hired.Furthermore,AsiansandIndianshadevenlowerrateswithacombined
percentageof4.5%.TheaffirmativeactionlawputinplacebyPresidentJohnF.
Kennedymadeitalawthatcompaniesneedtomakesuretheyhireminorities.Thisisa
directrepresentationthatracismisevidentinthemodernworld,thatthelawsarestillin
placeto

MEDIAANDRACISM
Inthemedia,racistjokescirculateinmagazines,TVshows,internetposts,and
movies.Inthemodernworld,peoplestillmakejokesaboutAfricanAmericansbeing
slavesoruneducatedordifferent.Anexampleofamoviedeliberatelymakingaracist
jokeisthe2004MeanGirlsdirectedbyMarkWaters,inaparticularsceneagirlfrom
Africaisaskedwhysheswhite.ThegirlisimpliedifshesfromAfricasheshouldbe
black,thisisamildformofracism,butitsstillshowingitsanunderlyingproblemin
today'ssociety.BarackObama,theUnitedStatesfirstAfricanAmericanpresident,is
constantlyunderattackwithracialjokes.Whitepeopleoftenuseslangtorefertocertain
areasasblackneighborhoodsandothercrudejokes.Thismayseemlikeaninnocent

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waytojokearound,butthefactthatitisevenbeingsaidacknowledgesthatracismis
happeninginmodernAmericaeveryday.

DISCUSSION
OverallracismisacontinuingproblemforAmericansofallkinds.
Differencesinskincolorhavebeenaroundsincethebeginningoftimeandstillpeople
arecontinuallyjudgedbecauseoftheirskincolor.Itisseeninpoliceshootings,job
opportunities,andmovies.Americahasmadegreatstridestotreateveryoneequally,
howeverwestillfallshortwhenweregardtocertainplacesasblackneighborhoodsor
openlymakefunofblackpeople.Whenawhitepoliceofficershootsablackperson,it
ignitesriotsandmarches,andbringsblackpeopletobelievethattheyarebeing
mistreated.Furthermore,thefactthataffirmativeactionisevenalawreallyhighlights
howracialinequalityisstillevident,becauseAfricanAmericanpeoplefeelso
discriminatedagainsttheyneedtobecertainaparticularpercentageishired.Inthe
mediaweseeagaininmanywaysthatblacksandwhitesarenottreatedthesamewith
jokesthatimplywearealldifferent.Intoday'sworldweshouldhavethetoleranceto
coexistwithoutfeelinglikeweredifferent.

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References
ChicagoprotestersmarchaspolicereleasevideoCNN.com.(n.d.).RetrievedJanuary
19,2016,from
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/24/us/laquanmcdonaldchicagoshootingvideo/

King,C.(2015,June26).Thekeyreasonwhyracismremainsaliveandwellin
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Policekilledmorethan100unarmedblackpeoplein2015.(n.d.).RetrievedJanuary19,
2016,from
http://mappingpoliceviolence.org/unarmed/

Shoichet,C.(2015,November25).Racismisa'bigproblem'tomoreAmericans,
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UNITEDSTATESEQUALEMPLOYMENTOPPORTUNITYCOMMISSIONREFERRAL
LOCALUNIONINFORMATION(EEO3),2012UNIONMEMBERSHIPBYSEXAND
RACE/ETHNICGROUP.(n.d.).RetrievedJanuary19,2016,from
http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/employment/jobpateeo3/us.cfm

Waters,M.(Director).(2004).Meangirls[MotionpictureonDVD].USA:Paramount.