Post Racial America Dbq

1182 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on african american history

Andrea Bjazevich
Ms. Booker
History 148
11/23/16

At no other time in our modern history has an event sparked the idea of a post racial society such as the election of our first African American President, Barack Obama. Many Americans believed this historic event would transcend race in America and that attitudes towards races would undergo a foundational change. Despite these high hopes and expectations, changes in societal views regarding race has not changed much at all, and our country continues to live in a racial era. Doc 1: Balkaran, Stephan. "Post Racial America in the Age of Obama." The Huffington Post 1 Apr. 2015. Accessed 25 Nov. 2016.

First, any discussion of race among Americans illicit a very cautious and
complicated …show more content…

If we want to resolve racism in American society, we need to admit that our country still holds roots of racism. We ended slavery and segregation years and years ago, but the damage created by our past still seeps into our future. As a country we need to admit that this problem of racism in our society still exist, and trying to burry it in the past will only set us back further. We need to be able to openly discuss racism and diversity in America, ending the taboo that currently surrounds …show more content…

It doesn’t work that way.

In this excerpt, written by Juan Santos during the time president Barack Obama was elected, is a strong opinion explaining that our country will not enter a post racial era during his presidency. Juan explains that obama isn't going to bring the new way of life that people are hoping for, but rather continuing by the old ways of life that bring oppression and negativity. In saying this he is trying to explain that if America wants to see the dream it has fought for, a new system must come into place, replacing the current, racist one we live by.
Doc 3: Fierro, Carlos. "Obama and the End of Racism?." Counter Punch 20 Nov. 2008. Accessed 25 Nov. 2016.

Many in the news media point to Obama’s win as evidence that there has been a drastic change in the racial landscape. To a degree this is true, especially when one considers the history of the US. For a country founded on genocide, slavery, and theft to elect a black man president is an astounding moment. Considering that the US was one of the last nations to have in place an institutionalized system of apartheid the symbolic significance of the election of Obama cannot be

Show More
Related

  • Racial Segregation and Prejudice in ZZ Packer's Brownies

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wilkins, Roger. “Racism.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 572 (2000): 159. Sage Publications, Inc. Web. 25 Mar. 2014

    Read More

  • Barack Obama Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Barack Obama ran for presidency, there were a lot of questions about his race, color, and whether he was born in the U.S.. The comments from his pastor Jeremiah Wright put him in an awkward situation, so he decided to give this speech to prove the point that we are all the same and live in the same country, so there shouldn’t be any discrimination among anyone. In his speech, Obama uses rhetorical devices to explain how race discrimination is affecting our country and us in every way possible. The use of rhetorical devices in this speech has strong effects on the audience. The use of allusion, symbolism, optimistic tone, and repetition of words gives the speech a strong argumentative tone. He argues the fact that to be able to achieve such big goals and how out country was supposed to be from the beginning, we need to stay united and rely on younger

    Read More

  • Demise of the Second Reconstruction

    2219 Words  | 5 Pages

    ... middle of paper ... ... Throughout the process of attempting to achieve these goals, the battle for racial equality was continuously lost and left with it a legacy of social sentiment that would manifest itself through several socio-cultural movements in the forthcoming years. Works Cited: Marable, Manning, et al.

    Read More

  • Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness By Michelle Alexander

    2147 Words  | 5 Pages

    Since the election of President Barrack Obama in 2008, many people have started to believe that America is beyond racial inequalities - this is not the reality. Rather, we, as a society, chose to see only what we want to see. Discrimination is still rampant in our nation. Michelle Alexander explains that since the Jim Crow laws were abolished, new forms of racial caste systems have taken their place. Our society and criminal justice system claim to be colorblind, but this is not the actuality. Michelle Alexander explains:

    Read More

  • How Race Survived Us History Summary

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    When speaking about the topic of race even today, it is a sore subject among all Americans. The history of race in America has been a long and trying road, one that most Americans tend to ignore and attempt to gloss over. The book, How Race Survived U.S. History by David Roediger, goes into great detail about how discrimination towards others that we deem different than us has always been in American history, and shows no sign of going away anytime soon. In fact, Roediger states that, “race-thinking will survive and in new destructive permutations” (230). The main points of the book include that: race was gradual, discrimination was not only against those of African descent, and that progress has only

    Read More

  • Description of Racial Microaggressions

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wise, T. (2012). Dear white America: Letter to a new minority. San Francisco, CA: City

    Read More

  • The Racial Contract, by Charles W. Mills

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    PDF. See the full text of the document. Omi, Michael, and Howard Winant. The "Racial Formation in the United States." 1994.

    Read More

  • Discrimination of Minorities in America

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is hard to believe that after electing a minority president, the United States of America can still be seen as a vastly discriminatory society. A question was posed recently after a viewing of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream…” speech of whether his dream has become a reality. After consideration, a majority of the viewers said no. Although many steps have been taken to improve racial equality in America, there is still no way to legislate tolerance. Dr. King’s message of equality for all has been lost in a black and white struggle over the taken meaning of his context. Until our society can allow all people to live in peace we will never truly achieve King’s dream. Case in point, referring to President Obama as our "our First Black President" should not be considered a statement of pride over how far we have come. Placing this racial qualifier, even in a positive light, only serves to point out his minority status, not the fact that he is the President of the United States. According to Dr. King's dream, a man or woman, black or white, would be viewed as President without qualifying their differences from mainstream America.

    Read More

  • Racism in Native American Mascots

    1807 Words  | 4 Pages

    Web. 29 Mar. 2014.

King, C. Richard. "Looking Back To A Future End: Reflections On The Symposium On Racist

    Read More

  • Racial Inequality in America

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    Now that we have a black president, some people tend to believe that we can now move forward and forget about the past. Yes, we made ...

    Read More

  • Angela Davis and Feminism

    1570 Words  | 4 Pages

    Center for Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, prod. Angela Y. Davis at the University of Chicago- May 2013. YoutTube. YouTube, 1 May. 2014. Web. 10, May 2013.

    Read More

  • Race and Ethnicity in America

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the country’s beginning, race, gender, and class have been very important factors in a person’s experience in the United States of America. The meaning of race, gender differences, and the separation of class have changed over United States history. For many Americans, their perceptions of class and race and the degree to which gender affect people’s lives, often depends on what their race, gender, and class are, too. There are differences between the reality of America, what is represented as American reality in media, and the perceived reality of America. Americans as well as those looking at America from an outside perspective may have questions and confusions regarding what the real connections are to race, class, and gender are in America. The paper tries to clarify and explore how these issues connect and play out in real life.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Race Relations

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although it would be an injustice to say that one could sum up the entire history of race interrelations in the United States in one essay, a brief overview is always beneficial.

    Read More

  • Racism In Popular Culture

    1346 Words  | 3 Pages

    Laws describe that there is should be no difference between any citizens of America in regards to their race or color. As a country, the United States has seen many presidents in the office and their policies have set a definition of their success in the history; Barack Obama, the current president of the United States and the first African-American to lead the free nation, has been respected and criticized as “Magical Negro”. Obama 's presidency is a sign of post-racial America, but it is not accurate to say that racism has not played a role to elect him as a President? Seitz claims, “ a widespread sense that replacing George W. Bush with [Obama] would send a definitive signal that it was time to rebuild, toward a post-racial [society]. It was an absurd hope… deep down [Obama] wants ‘us [whites]’ to succeed, is happy to help ‘us’ succeed” (Seitz 359). An African-American has the power to lead the most powerful country in the world, but his leadership and success depend on other white people 's success. Obama has the power, but he is portrayed as a servant of whites who needs a mentor. At the end, he will be considered just a slave of whites. Obama 's presidency is constructing a racist and stereotypical popular culture. Although there have been many changes and reforms in the laws, African-Americans have faced many obstacles in America. Omi states, “the United States was a society shaped by

    Read More

  • Racism And Discrimination Essay

    1304 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the world today, racism and discrimination is one of the major issues being faced with. Racism has existed throughout the world for centuries and has been the primary reasons for wars, conflicts, and other human calamities all over the planet. It has been a part of America since the European colonization of North America beginning in the 17th century. Many people are not aware of how much racism still exist in our schools, workforces, and anywhere else that social lives are occurring. It started from slavery in America to caste partiality in India, down to the Holocaust in Europe during World War II.

    Read More

More about Post Racial America Dbq

Open Document