racial injustice

THE CRIES AGAINST RACIAL INJUSTICE

“Racism is a bad thing, you find it everywhere in the schools, the clubs and also in the streets.”

– Rasmus & Casper

The belief that one race by nature stands superior to another defines racism. Racism can be traced back to the beginning of civilization and has always existed as a horrible issue in our society. Many attempts and reforms have occurred in hopes of eliminating racism and much progress has been achieved. Yet, even after the emancipation proclamation, equality laws placed within the constitution, small revolutions and acts taken by people such as Rosa Parks -who refuse to sit in the back of the bus during an era of segregation- racism remains an ominous, undefeatable problem in our society. In fact, the justice system, thought to unit and promote equality in “the land of the free,” actually contributes to the destruction of our national idea of racial harmony. This paper will focus on how the criminal justice system works and how racism plays a major role within the justice

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African Americans have especially experienced and suffered from racism, beginning from the days of slavery and the need for cheap labor during the Industrial Revolution. In an essay entitled Black Americans: Prisoners of Socio-economic Cycles, the author states that “Those first Africans were prisoners of a socio-economic system which by design was purposely incapable of rendering justice and therefore, equal opportunity to Africans as well as other minorities (Ansar 2).” During the years of oppression, in which blacks still experienced limited freedom within the law, many artists spoke against this discrimination through their literature. One such artist, Langston Hughes...

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...rgues: “law enforcement depends on the exploitation of race and class divisions and that’s injust (Cole 37).”

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Therefore, the questions remain: how can we change the unjust ways of the system? Will racism ever end? The only solution that may still provide hope for eliminating racism is by instill values of equality amongst our children. In the song from “South Pacific” it states: “You have to be taught to hate and fear, You have to be taught from year to year, it has to be drummed in your dear little ear.” Therefore, we should instill ideas promoting equality and admiration of the differences among the human race instead of fear and or hate within our children. The children growing up now will grow into future judges, police officers, probation officers, and community members.

Effort from everyone in society may assist in achieve the dream of equality; it has not been easy but many believe that without a struggle no progress will occur. The poet Frederick Douglas once wrote in his poem ”No Struggle, No Progress”: “The whole history of progress of human liberty shows that all concession yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle there is no progress.”