Racism Vs Reconstruction

In 1865, the U. S. officially abolished slavery with the 13th amendment. However free blacks in the south were not safe after the war. During the Reconstruction period, 1865 to 1877, blacks became recognized as citizens and were given “equal protection” in the 14th Amendment. In 1870, blacks were legally eligible to vote. The reconstruction period was a very difficult transitional period, because many southerners disregarded blacks’ rights. Furthermore, largely due to sharecropping and restrictive black codes, black citizens had a difficult time merging into the post-war economy. In the short term, besides giving black citizens a little hope for their futures, the Reconstruction did little good. Whites quickly regained their supremacy and pride over the African Americans. Furthermore, racist groups such as the Klu Klux Klan continued to mistreat blacks for years. Not until the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s did the remaining discrimination and racism decrease greatly. These final political achievements helped blacks politically and socially. Though the majority of discrimination against African Americans has ceased, some racism continues to linger on.
America’s ever-present struggle with racism is never completely behind us. Furthermore, it is

difficult to recall a time after the civil rights movements in the 1960’s, in which racism was so present in the news. Whether or not the rulings of the Supreme Court condemn blacks as they would condemn white Americans, the issue of present racism remains. In the recent case, Plessy vs. Ferguson, a young man was killed by shots fired from a St. Louis police officer. While the public’s response does vary from group to group, the remnants of racism or at least discrimination show through the chaos.
Recently, a black 18 year old Michael Brown received a fatal shot from a white 28 year old Ferguson policeman named Darren Wilson. The shooting happened on August 9, 2014, in the city of Ferguson in Missouri. The disagreements regarding the killing and the numbers of protesting citizens and general social discomfort received much attention in the United States and over seas. These aftereffects have caused people to question the police departments treatment of black Americans and policeman’s general use of common sense.
Micheal Brown and his buddy Dorian Johnson were up late one evening, walking in the road when a policeman, Darren Wilson, drove his car up beside them and demanded they walk on the sidewalk rather than the street. The three began arguing, leading to a violent struggle between Brown and Wilson and eventually Wilson fired his weapon. The two boys ran in opposite directions, and Wilson pursued brown, firing his weapon several more times. In total, Wilson shot of twelve bullets, seven of which hit Brown and the seventh is guessed to have caused his death. Eyewitnesses are not sure if Brown tried to turn himself in before the fatal shot, but the angle of the bullets suggests he was shot from the front at least once.
This event continues to cause general unrest worldwide, primarily due to the idea that Brown may have attempted to surrender.

This controversy over this case reflects the racial tensions between the african american population and the white city government and law enforcement. In the week following the shooting, local citizens led protests and even violent riots. Both the media and many politicians question the reaction of the Ferguson government and law enforcement. Recently, Jay Nixon the Governor of Missouri requested local police departments to let the Missouri State Highway Patrol serve temporally as local law enforcement. Many, primarily civil protests continued several weeks after the

event.
Eventually, the grand jury investigated the shooting. After which they announced Darren Wilson would not be indicted for his actions.[8] Some legal analysts raised concerns over McCulloch's unorthodox approach, asserting that this process could have influenced the grand jury to decide not to indict.[9][10] One commentator said that it was "not unusual in a police-involved shooting case for a prosecutor to lay out all the evidence and not ask a grand jury for a specific criminal charge",[9] while others highlighted significant differences between a typical grand jury proceeding in Missouri and Wilson's case.[11]
In September, Eric Holder, the U.S. Attorney General, launched a federal investigation of the Missouri city's police force to examine whether officers routinely engaged in racial profiling or showed a pattern of excessive force.[12] On December 1, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that the federal government will spend US$75 million on body cameras for law enforcement officers, as one of the measures taken in response to the shooting.