Slavery and Racism Today and Yesterday

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"...a civilization gone with the wind..." the American Civil War did just that, it ended the American way of life forever. Imagine, if you will, a slave auction, human chattel being stripped of their dignity and sold like cattle. This issue divided an entire nation; it divided families, fathers fought against sons, brothers against brothers, cousins against cousins for these beliefs. The negative impact of slavery on American society and America's psyche today is mostly generational; older whites and blacks that grew up in an era of segregation are damaged for life. Today, the bigger issue is the media. All you have to do is listen to the radio or watch T.V. to see how African Americans are depicted in the media. Even secure African Americans are regularly disrespected by the damaging view and hidden stereotypical messages that are constantly being given by the media.

Anyone who visits any K through 12 schools, in most parts of the country today, will notice the friendly disposition with students of all races, class, cultural and religious upbringing. Most kids are ignorant to the differences between people. Racism has to be taught and it is being taught in the home.

To understand the impact of slavery on America’s society today, we first have to understand the after effects of slavery and suppression on any society. The motivation of slavery comes from a belief of supremacy. It also comes from the belief that the "other race" is lesser and therefore, less than a human. I raise this point only to explain how the slave owner rationalized and created this very inhumane institution called slavery. Because, how else can anyone explain the institution of slavery?

As humans, our families, schools, churches, neighborhoods, and commu...

... middle of paper ...

...nce, so it is no surprise that the majority group does not appreciate what it is like to be judged merely due to the color of your skin because they have never experienced it.

Effective and open communication amongst the races will help in easing a lot of the after effects of slavery. Change has begun and will continue; one thing we can count on is the consistency of change. All through America, we can observe the positive inter-racial changes, for some people inter-racial change is happening too slowly, my personal experience leads me to believe that racial intolerance is on a sluggish decline.

Works Cited

United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Press Office. Employment Situation News Release. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Feb. 2012. Web. Feb. 2012.

Mitchell, Margaret, and Sidney Howard, writ. Gone With the Wind. 1939. MGM-Lowe's Inc., 1989. Videocassette.

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