History of American Race and Racism

804 Words2 Pages

Racism, and discrimination, remains very predominate in America today. There are many authors who addressed this subject matter but the three chosen to discuss are W.E.B. Du Bois, Richard Wright, and Gunnar Myrdal. Their interpretations of the subject matter in America are similar in some ways and vary in other ways. The first author, Du Bois, indicated how the facts of American history in the last half century have been falsified because the nation was ashamed of its actions. The second, Richard Wright, depicted the interactions between white and black people, and the third, Gunnar Myrdal, discussed the essential points of race relations in America. All of these writers discuss their perspectives on the history of American race. The study of the American race has been ongoing many years. Even though some factors have changed, there is still an underlying division in America. Du Bois’ study of the American race revealed the propaganda about what the American children are being taught today about Reconstruction. This era was two-fold; the entire nation, the North and the South, had to rebuild after the Civil War and the South had to reconstruct the state and society. The facts were falsified in order for the “Southerners” to save face. The three issues taught about the Negroes were that they were ignorant, lazy & dishonest, and responsible for bad government during the Reconstruction process. They were deemed ignorant because they did not know how to read. As slaves, they were not allowed to go to school or even own a book without severe punishment. Because they had no or very low book learning, some Negroes depended on others who took advantage of them. Due to their lack of knowledge, they could not be effective ... ... middle of paper ... ...this matter is not publicly expressed. There are signs in several of the Southern states that this practice is already taking place. This author looked at this situation as an outsider looking in and was not biased with preconceived notions. Racism and discrimination remains evident in some shape, form, or fashion on a daily basis somewhere in America and the World. These three authors tell of the division of the American race. They tell of the struggles of the black in a white people’s world; however, America has become a melting pot of the World and the “black” and “white” people that we know are slowly becoming a dying breed. There is so much that we could all learn from each other. All people bleed red no matter what the color of their skin; what a wonderful place this America and world could be if mankind would live together in peace and harmony.

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