Civil Rights Movement: Current Racism In The United States

Current Racism in America The Civil Rights movement brought segregation to a general close but many people have the illusion that it ended all racism when in actuality, racism is still very much a problem in this country even though it is kept under wraps and disguised. It only keeps progress from occurring and limits the social progression of a society that is expected to be great. Denial of the issue doesn’t mean it does not exist. While men and women of all colors can now drink from the same fountain, they are not safe from institution discrimination or even dirty looks from their peers. Racism has very much been an issue for the United States since the very beginning as people have always banded together against those of a different

A specific study conducted in January of 2009 helped further promote this idea using groups of nonblack students that believed they were being recruited for a team building program. A white actor and a black actor were placed in a group of students and the white actor made a racist comment regarding the black actor. The majority of students who witnessed the exchange firsthand did not report being offended by the racist comments and chose the caucasian actor as their partner. This supported the study’s claim that racist behavior is still quite prevalent and showed that these attitudes may be “so deeply ingrained that protective legislation and affirmative action programs are required to overcome them (Eben

One example would be the Brown v. Board of Education case in which African Americans were granted the right to get a formal education along with white children. In the years before this change, blacks were seen as inhuman and not worthy of an education but they gained this freedom in 1954. This doesn’t necessarily change the way people feel within themselves, however. Bias still persists throughout everyday life for many citizens of the United States (Dingfelder 1). While the general idea of racism can be dusted over by new legislation and positive advertising, it is hard to erase deep feelings of difference from a person’s psyche. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, racial profiling took off significantly as people had a fear that they would be attacked again. This was taken much too far in several instances and showed that, even though the country is marketed as accepting, not everyone is welcome. Barack Obama became the country’s first African American president but he was met with strong opposition when he became elected. Many anti-Obama protesters picked their way through countless details on the president’s life to make him appear less appealing like his middle name which people believed caused him to sound Muslim. This showed discrimination towards him as he began his presidency. These are