The most significant human or civil rights issue in my lifetime is police brutality because it has been going on for decades and because it is a very important situation that needs to be addressed. Police brutality has been going on for decades. Back then, it was mostly aimed African Americans and most people today think it is still directed towards the black population. For example, the shooting of a young black teen by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Witnesses say that the teen was unarmed walking down a street with his hood up when he was shot. The result of this is riots breaking out throughout the entire country. In the earlier years, police demoralized the African Americans by hitting them with nightsticks and spraying them with high power hoses. Back then, almost everyone thought that it was okay because blacks weren 't viewed as human beings, but as savage animals that were unclean and violent. I think that this needs to be addressed because it is a major problem throughout our country and other countries around the world. It may not be as serious in other countries as it is here, but this is still a problem throughout the world. I believe that blacks are still being targeted, but not as obvious as they were back in the day. Most police officers are white males so I think that raises the suspicions of the black community. I …show more content…
The class material has helped me come to this subject because many people feel that police brutality is aimed at the black community, just like Melba was targeted at Central high. Another thing that has helped me come to this subject are the informative videos we watched on Selma and the assassination of Martin Luther King Junior. Police brutality has had an immense impact on our country just like the integration of Central high in Little Rock, Arkansas. Of course there are differences between the two events, the most perhaps being that the protesters are advocates for the African Americans instead of being their