Unmasking America's Enduring Racial Divide

“E pluribus unum”- Out of many,one. This motto is stamped on the Great Seal, and it symbolizes a united country with united people. However, it seems as though there are still divisions between citizens. Being the melting pot of the world, throughout time, there has been tensions between people of all color in America. Although progression has been made to appeal to all parties, is racism actually over yet? Some argue yes, racial segregation is basically non-existent; however, others believe that there still remains a fine line between the equalities of minorities and the dominating group. People need to realize that there is still blatant racism in this country, and because the trend of incidental racism exists today, many people object the

Since the beginning of time, skin color has been an important symbol of class, nobility, and even worth. Before America was even discovered, slave trade was heavy in European countries. Indigenous Africans were conquered and plucked away from their own land and were stripped of their culture and identities to work for the rich and light-skinned. These times mark the beginning of recognizing black skin as a demeaning trait. If you were not fair-skinned, you were automatically exempt from being a full human being. While that has all changed today, where in most countries conspicuous racism is frowned upon, it took centuries for people to accept black people as even people. In the making of the US Constitution, it even states that a slave is merely “3/5” of a person, and that was in 1788 (13th Amendment). Fast forward to 1870: the 15th amendment was made in order to prevent African Americans from exercising their

For example, some children as young as toddlers can be bullied for their skin color and adults can face offensive comments or unfair treatment in their work places. The only reason why these scenarios are not really recognized is because some of these types of comments have been internalized- the system that is embedded in our society supports and allows discrimination. This means that it has been so ingrained into our society that calling black people something as ‘innocent’ as “sassy” or even as offensive as calling Latinos “lazy” have been completely normalized because people have been so used to hearing these types of statements. Institutional racism involves policies of institutions that have a disproportionately negative effect on racial minorities. Even saying, “black people are all fast runners” is a stereotype. Now, some people might think: what’s bad about that? It is not the comment itself; rather, the assumption and generalization that a single race is the same instead of recognizing individualism. This is called micro-aggression, where verbal or nonverbal snubs are targeted at people in a marginalized group, whether it is intentionally offensive or not. Often, these cases are mostly found in school environments but “they’re just being kids” is no longer an excuse, because it is not about the generation or age of a person when