Racial Equality in America in The Past and Nowadays

Racism is a plague of hate spreading throughout our society, infectious of whoever comes in its path. Jim Crow laws had enforced Racial Segregation in the South between the end of Reconstruction in 1877. These laws meant all races were equal, but they had to have separate public facilities. For example, in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, blacks and whites attend separate churches. This has lasted through the slavery era into the modern age. White and black people even had different seating areas in Maycomb County CourtHouse: Whites sat on the ground floor, while blacks sat in the balcony. In my opinion, we will never achieve racial equality but in the future, progression can be achieved. America has divided racism and discrimination inequalities to become a major discussion throughout the years in our society. Inequalities have impacted every level of social class on earth. Education, tolerance, and acceptance can be used to challenge one another in an attempt to change the negative traditions that continue to exist in our culture.

In the early 1960s, white people believed they were more superior and instead of progressing as a society, blacks were treated very poorly.

In particular, the movie “The Help” shows how black maids weren’t even allowed to use the bathrooms of their own employer’s home. Segregation had become so unequal that this was beginning to harm not only the adults but also children. They were starting to feel insecure about their self-images and would view the color white as good and pretty and vice versa; black as bad and ugly.

A majority of white people generally assume black people have committed a crime without providing any evidence or a series of questions. This is called black prejudice. This is shown throughout the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” when Tom Robinson was accused of raping a woman named Mayella. This accusation was false just by the way Mayella was acting. While Tom was very cooperative and calm, Mayella was nervous and wasn't answering Atticus’s questions. In the end, Tom was found guilty and while trying to escape, he was shot seventeen times. This is also seen in the short story “The Scottsboro boys” when the jury decided to prosecute Haywood Patterson guilty for a crime he did not commit. The woman who accused Haywood even admitted that she was lying but the jury had different thoughts.

In our modern society, Donald Trump is someone who is supposed to be a leader and guide his country but his actions tell a very different story. Donald has claimed he is “the least racist person that you’ve encountered”. This statement is coming from a man who has constantly told Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists. He has also proposed to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S. Barack Obama compared to Donald Trump is a whole different story. When Barack Obama was elected for president, people became hopeful. After centuries of exclusion, black Americans have been almost wholly accepted into the public sphere of American life, and they are central to the nation’s definition of itself as a political and social community. While Barack Obama was changing the world, Donald Trump is showing no signs of improving racial equality. When all is said and done, Donald J. Trump is just as hypocritical as the people of Maycomb when it comes to being ignorant of the deep-seated racism in their society.

In conclusion, America will never achieve racial equality. Studies have shown the current state of race relations – and President Donald Trump’s handling of the issue – are negative. About six-in-ten Americans (58%) say race relations in the U.S. are bad, and of those, few see them improving. Some (56%) think the president has made race relations worse. As a society, we need to use our voices and opinions to negate such forces who divide society through racism.