The sad truth is that in the year 2012, we still have a race problem in America. Stories like the Trayvon Martin case happen almost everyday in America; these hateful actions are motivated by nothing more than hatred. I feel like hatred and racism is an easily curable disease, if Americans of all races work together to find the cure. Too many Americans are influenced by social pressures that inflict discriminatory and hateful judgments on people because of their race and national origins. Too many African Americans learn to hate themselves and disrespect others because of social pressures that oppress the black community today. I look back in my history books and I read stories about strong, determined black people who fought for their rights by any means necessary so we could have freedom and equality in America today. I think proper education and entertainment could positively empower African Americans today. In this essay, I would like to address the cause and effects of racial prejudice in America and what we can do to alleviate the issue in the future.
It is almost as if African Americans have taken ten steps forward and twenty steps back since the 1960’s. Discrimination and prejudice has become a trap for black people. It is as if all bets are stacked against the average black male not only because the color of their skin, but because of the lack of positive examples that surround them. It is probably accurate to conclude that most black people have to work harder and be stronger to overcome the negative influences that they face every day in order to become successful in life. It is a sad truth that most minorities live in drug infested, violent and poor communities, which causes a lot of reckless and violent behavior. It is now acceptable for blacks to refer to themselves and their peers in insulting terms, which increases low self-respect and value for others as well. In order to end the malicious cycle we must empower more people. African American people need new leaders and educators, who set better standards of living in order to end the impoverishment of the black community, but first I would like to remind you of how it used to be.
In the past, black people had no choice but to form strong communities in order to protect each other from the racist hate crimes and discrimination that were legal to practice in America. For example, once civil rights leaders became aware that Rosa Parks was wrongfully arrested for violating the harsh segregated bus laws in the south they immediately rushed to support her. Martin Luther King Jr. and many of his followers successfully led a year-long bus boycott in Montgomery and inspired many southerners to stand up against the authority that discriminated against them. The southern black community was successful in sticking together and eventually they accomplished great change, starting with this bus boycott. For nearly ten year strong, the African-American community was seen marching and protesting together all over our nation, against all odds. This strength proved to be the main reason Americans seen positive change during this era, yet this story seems to be forgotten in the black community today.
What happened to the respect and sense that blacks used to show towards each other? The honorable Malcolm X once said, “There can be no black-white unity until there is first some black unity…. We cannot think of uniting with others, until after we have first united among ourselves. We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.” These words still remain as true and powerful as they did fifty years ago, yet they are replaced by frequently listened to vulgar rap lyrics that encourage sex, curse words, drugs, and gun violence. I believe that my peers are too worried about being cool or fitting in with what these rappers and there peers are telling them to do that they either don’t care or don’t know what they are doing is causing terrible damage to our communities. And we all know: if you know better, you do better.
Inappropriate behavior is a contagious disease, when a child constantly sees reckless behavior growing up they are more likely to do as they see. This is called social pressure. Social pressure forces a person to act a certain way based on how they see others behave in order to be accepted. I think people in my community should be more aware of the negative damages that are caused by the consistency of negative social pressures, starting in the household. When more people are aware of the consequences of their actions, I believe we can make a difference in America.