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Ceara Salazar
Professor Connelly
English 1
12 December 2016
History of Racism
There has been a powerful issue that has lived among side the history of humans way
before it was even documented about. Many believe that racism has strengthened throughout the
years while others believe that it is no longer a topic that needs to continue being brought up.
This topic has become an outburst worldwide and many say that they still have experiences with
racism as they travel or even go out to run some errands. Others say that racism has not grown
throughout the years and it has remained the same; the only thing that has changed is the media
and how racial acts are being shown to the world. In the earlier years racism was not about the
color of peoples skin, it was more about tribal and group differences. The Egyptians, Indians,
Africans, Chinese, Mexicans and the Jewish were all affected by this racial act, but one of the
historical events that tends to keep coming up and has made a great impact on the world till this
day is slavery among the Africans. It seems as if people believe that this historical event is the
only racial act that has happened among humans. I want to explore deeper into racism not
focusing on Africans even though this generation of humans are all focused on how AfricanAmerican people are not receiving the respect they deserve. I believe that the Indians, Egyptians,
Chinese, Mexicans and the Jewish need to have their stories be heard, but I will only be
addressing the racist acts among Indians because many have not heard their story and their
journey among racism and sadly I am one of many people who do not know how much
Indians/Native Americans struggled with racism.

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Wrong, Wrong, Wrong
Given that I want to bring up the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,
written by Sherman Alexie who actually is Indian and tells the story of an Indian boy who wants
more in life but goes through great struggle to achieve it. This book is the reason that I have an
idea of how Indians have been mistreated by other races. There is a part in the book that states,
So what was I doing in racist Rearden...Rearden was the opposite of the rez. It was the opposite
of my family. It was the opposite of me. I didnt deserve to be there, I knew it; all those kids
knew it. Indians dont deserve shit. (Page 56) Now even though there is no mistreatment among
different races in this part, it stood out to me the most. The ending statement, Indians dont
deserve shit (page 56) is an example of mistreatment because that kind of thought does not
come to one's mind without someone constantly repeating it. In this case, white people being
racist among Indians. Alexie tells about one Indian boy who pursued better in life because he did
not want to live like the rest of his fellow Indians in the reservation, being poor, hungry, drunk,
and basically repeating the same day over and over. Another part in the book that actually shows
racism lives among Indians is when a certain comment is made, Did you know that Indians are
living proof that niggers fuck buffalo? (Page 64) I did not realize that Indians do struggle with
dirty comments made by other people who are sometimes the same race but mostly a different
race only because these events are not shown on media nor are they being spoken of, but there is
a few people who do speak of this. In an article, What Impact Does Discrimination Have on
Native American Culture? edited by Lynn M. Zott it states that Indians were once referred to as
savages by the early Europeans settlers in North America. It continues to state Tim Giago, in
an article in the Huffington Post, declares that there is racism against Native Americans in much
of America and like the racism against African Americans it needs to be dragged out from under

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the rug and addressed". (web.2012) this article edited by Zott tells us how racism lived strongly
among Indians that many people do not realize has been. Even worse Native Americans have had
their cultures taken from them while others still are allowed to hold onto theirs. The article
shares, their land was taken from them, those who survived were sent to live on reservations,
and their children were sent to Indian Schools, where they were instructed to reject their heritage,
embrace Christianity, and assimilate into white society. (web.2012) the topic is racism is very
sensitive in this generation, but it is only sensitive for African-Americans and Mexicans. People
do not care that racism is living among EVERYONE and EVERY RACE and is indeed a
powerful issue that is continuing to live with humans.
Request Change
For this reason I decided to write about racism. I want people to see more than just
African-American and Mexican racism; I want the world to see how Humans have been and are
continuing to act towards one another when really we all should be learning from each other's
cultures and past relatives. Reading the article Racism, I did notice there are some who are aware
of racism in different races because this article is focused on racism among every culture and
religion and even though it mentions many important materials, there was one statement that
caught my attention. It said, Systematic discrimination against Native Americans marked the
first 150 years of US history. Even the Declaration of Independence contains language singling
them out as barbariche has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to
bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of
warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. Even though there
is no author provided this sentence shows that the mistreatment among Native Americans is
being known of. Now that racism has made its way to being brought out to public way more

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than it is usually brought up, I believe it is time to focus more on other races, so that those who
feel attacked can see that everyone is being attacked by another race. Whether it be Whites
against Blacks, Chinese against Japanese, Mexicans against Trump, it is everyone against
everyone and I believe that if we all saw this and not just focused on Black Lives Matter or the
whole Trump and Immigrants and actually saw the whole image that there can be change,
because people will realize that it is just not their race and their culture being attacked. There can
be a chance where everyone stands up for everyone even though it will definitely take a lot of
time and determination.
Research Plan
I researched many articles that dealt with racism and even articles that spoke about the past and
how they would show their racism in different ways. I managed to find a lot of helpful
Information that helped me understand different races and their struggles and it also helped me
speak up for other races. What I would have done if I had more time would probably be to ask
others opinions on this topic or even put out a survey in the campus for people to take so I may
get their views and opinions on this situation. Also I would search more for statistics about the
topic explaining how many people do not know about certain races dealing with racism, Maybe
even ask people if there is actually an increase of racism since the early years. There was an
article, Introduction to Is Racism a Serious Problem?: At Issue, edited by Jeff Plunkett that said,
While his election does not herald the end of racism in America, it marks a significant turning
point in the history of race relations in the country. (web.2009) I would have liked to go more in
depth with this statement because as I stated before, racism has been a powerful issue that has
lived among side the history of humans way before it was even documented about. Many
believe that racism has strengthened throughout the years while others believe it is no longer a

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topic that needs to be brought to our attentions; both sides seem to be correct, but the real
question is, what can we all do to help this situation?

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Works Cited
Alexie Sherman: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York. Hachette Book
Group, Inc. Copyright 2007.
Introduction to Is Racism a Serious Problem?: At Issue." Is Racism a Serious Problem?, edited
by Jeff Plunkett, Greenhaven Press, 2009. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,
Preface to 'What Impact Does Discrimination Have on Native American Culture?'." Native
Americans, edited by Lynn M. Zott, Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context,
"Racism." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3010999327/OVIC?
u=cclc_sequoias&xid=210515cf. Accessed 10 Dec. 2016.