The History of Discrimination in America

Introduction

According to Google, discrimination is, “The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.” It involves treating other people badly for not having characteristics similar to you. We were outcasted due to our skin color and treated like animals, even though the only thing different from us was our skin pigment.

The History of Discrimination in America

Because we were discriminated against, we were beaten, enslaved, and killed. We reached a point where we had enough and knew we had to fight back. We had to either fight with our hands and guns like the Black Panthers and Malcolm X or try and reason with them like Martin Luther King Jr. and Booker T. Washington. Discrimination was not just a time for separation, it was also a time for our races to unite and to combine our hearts and minds into courage—a time for the people of America.

The Road to Freedom

In the past, slavery to the White man was money. Slavery to the Black man, however, was a death sentence or a living hell. We were forced to work until we dropped, and then some. If you rejected it, you were killed in ways including lynching, shooting, and cremation. But that would not last for long, because some of us who were enslaved had courage and weren’t about to stay alive with our bodies in the grave. People like Harriet Tubman rose to the challenge and became heroes of history. We made ourselves an exit to freedom and cherished it with open arms. According to the Underground Railroad website, “Injury and illness were dangers on the Underground Railroad, as well as wild animals. Despite such risks and dangers, the journeys were braved by fugitives to escape from a life of slavery” (Underground Railroad, n.d.).

Leaving slavery forcefully, however, wouldn’t cut it. They would just get new slaves or find the ones who did escape. No, we had to take more political action. We can see this from the example of the Black Panthers, Malcolm X, and even Barack Obama. The most iconic of these people, however, isn’t these three, but Martin Luther King Jr.

Discrimination and A Dream

One of the most iconic time periods of discrimination was the era of Martin Luther King Jr. As we all know, Martin Luther King fought to end discrimination. He wanted all of us, Black and White, as a whole, to find a way to love one another and to be in unity with one another. In his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, Martin Luther King states, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood” (King, 1963). This evidence shows how much he wanted peace with all of our brothers and sisters, all of our races, all people. But did it really happen?

The Ongoing Struggle

Now picture discrimination is over. Laws have been passed and we, as a race, are united. Now, with that in mind, picture a prosperous town with double everything. You have two grocery stores, two fire departments, and even two water fountains. Both items being of equal importance and value. The only problem is the sign in the front. In big bold letters, you see the words, “WHITE ONLY” and on the other item you see “BLACK ONLY.” That’s right, discrimination is still here. An article titled "Separate Is Not Equal" states, “Although some white Americans welcomed them, others used people’s ignorance, racism, and self-interest to sustain and spread racial divisions” (Smithsonian Institution, n.d.). We see here that although there were laws that freed us, we were still hated upon. They even made Jim Crow Laws to stop us from voting. If that isn’t a lot of hate, then I don’t know what is.

If we look at our world today, it looks like we are as equal as two Nutty Butty Bars, but we are not. We can take schools, for example. Schools in today’s world are getting full of segregation. We see that if you go to any school, you will see a majority of only one skin pigment and a small percentage of the other pigment. According to The Atlantic, school segregation is getting worse. It states, “The percentage of children of color attending such a school rose from 59 to 66 percent. For black students, the percentage in segregated schools rose even faster, from 59 to 71 percent” (Klein, 2014). Segregation in schools has increased at a large rate, it seems. How are we going to fix this problem? What can we do to address this, and if it continues, will this lead to another racist dispute? We will never know until the future reveals itself.

Conclusion

Throughout history, we have had dispute after dispute with segregation. We have overcome trial after trial and have faced problem after problem, but it seems segregation is sneaky and conniving. We have found out that it is still here in secret. Although it hasn't caused any significant problems, we must keep on the watch. We must protect America from another fate of racism. This is the outcome of this evil—the evil known as Discrimination.

References

King, M. L. Jr. (1963). I Have a Dream [Speech]. Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/files/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf

Klein, R. (2014). School Segregation Is Getting Worse. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/04/school-segregation-is-getting-worse/361563/

Smithsonian Institution. (n.d.). Separate Is Not Equal. Retrieved from https://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1-segregated/separate-but-equal.html

Underground Railroad. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/underground-railroad/