Struggle for Equality: Understanding Black America's Fight

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I Have a Dream” speech states that Blacks were denied their equal rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (I Have a Dream). The Emancipation Proclamation, written by Abraham Lincoln, supposedly freed all slaves, but Blacks were still treated with disrespect. Blacks needed to have equal rights because they were mistreated, criticized, and they wanted their respect. Blacks were mistreated, they were subjected to biased laws and injustice. Blacks were the “victims of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality” according to Kings Speech (I Have a Dream). Police brutality includes, but is not limited to: false arrest, intimidation, racial profiling, surveillance abuse, sexual abuse, and tampering with …show more content…

Blacks and Whites had separate public services and facilities, it was well known that the Blacks always had poorest facilities compared to the Whites. Blacks have long endured the brutality of criticism because of their skin color. The Freedom Riders took on abuse, and a burning bus, to test the Court’s ruling for equal transportation. Non-violent sit-ins were another step towards getting Blacks equal rights. Four African American college students walked up to a Whites-only lunch counter and asked to be served. When the service was refused, the students sat quietly. When the threats came, by the Whites, the students sat quietly and waited to be served. More than often the participants would be threatened by local customers. Sometimes, they would be pelted with food, and when an attack became physical, the student would curl up into a ball and take the punishment. “When the local police came to arrest …show more content…

Blacks were used as slaves throughout the decades and were made to believe they were subordinate to Whites. Blacks could not do the same as Whites until equality rights were passed by Congress. Blacks wanted to be acknowledged as human beings and not animals. Many different forms of discrimination are used against Blacks. People could have been prejudice and overly biased, meaning a person may simply not like you because they have a dislike towards your race. Stereotyping can be used as attributing the same characteristics to all members of a group, regardless of individual differences. Stereotyping is often based on misconceptions, incomplete information and/or false generalizations. In most cases, stereotyping assumes negative characteristics about a group. Racial profiling is a form of stereotyping. This is saying that police and government base specific crimes with specific races rather than on reasonable suspicion or evidence, to single out an individual for greater scrutiny for their different in certain characteristics. These forms of racism made the Black people feel worthless in a White

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