This led to the idea of separate but equal” that black and white people should be dealt with as equals but separately. In reality, this only led to the black community being treated as second class citizens. segregation was a system that would endure still for many
This movement opposed the notion of making government larger and handing over rights to blacks that were supposedly hard earned by other citizens (403). Richardson argues that while the government was obliged to provide blacks political equality, “social” equality needed to be earned; social equality was considered the standing an individual achieved through merit and hard work. Although blacks accepted this, those that had prospered to the “better classes” still found that discrimination was still wanton. To battle these discriminations, blacks called for protective legislation (418).
The article “Political Rhetoric, Immigration Attitudes, and Contemporary Prejudice: A Mexican American Dilemma” by Robert Short and Lisa Magana starts by explaining what social construction theory means. They explain that social construction theory is how individuals are perceived and characterized by the large culture. Sometimes the way these individuals perceive comes with stereotypes that either positive or negative. The article talks about those in power receive greater proportion the resource and is perceive in a better light. This only because they have political power, and they are the lawmaker within the society.
Michele Alexander has stated that the marginalization, stigmatization, and the discrimination of people of color who constitutes to the new racial caste is not due to them being black, but rather it is the impact of falling into a “non-racialized “ criminal justice system at the epicenter of what is known is mass incarceration. The mass incarceration of the minorities and more so those involved in non-violent drug offenses and the disproportionate application of capital punishments for those killing whites and other disparities in sentencing all point to a legal system that still treat the minorities more harshly when compared to the whites. At one time, Stevenson went to prison, and he was forced to go back to his car to show that he was indeed an attorney. The correction department officers wanted to strip search him and wanted him to sign a book that he was visiting the prison. Contrastingly, attorneys are not supposed to sign the book.
In chapter one, "Privilege, Oppression, and Difference, Allan Johnson begins his argument that "difference is not the problem"( Johnson, pg 5 ). The author goes on to explain that difference by itself is not the problem, rather difference in conjunction with our ideas that cause fear. That being said, discrimination was a bigger problem in the past and it still is today. We starts with talking about Rodney King and racism he had received from police officers in Los Angeles. Johnson continues on with the idea that people are judged not for who they are or the things they have accomplished, but how they are perceived by others.
This case made the separate but equal doctrine constitutional in all public accommodations (Document 10). This “separate but equal” doctrine trickled into the education system, workforce and etc. From prior knowledge, it is fact that white people were paid more than African American people for doing the same job. Black children received separate educations from white children, in separate school buildings and in separate communities with less funding. Early Jim Crow laws originated in the Era of
The ruling thus lent high judicial support to racial and ethnic discrimination and led to wider spread of the segregation between Whites and Blacks in the Southern United States. The great oppressive consequence from this was discrimination against African American minority from the socio-political opportunity to share the same facilities with the mainstream Whites, which in most of the cases the separate facilities for African Americans were inferior to those for Whites in actuality. The doctrine of “separate but equal” hence encourages two-tiered pluralism in U.S. as it privileged the non-Hispanic Whites over other racial and ethnic minority
Du Bois discussed once the southerners became prejudiced against them, all different injustices started unraveling. Firstly, restaurants, bathrooms, schools, and transportation were isolated for their used only. Secondly, they were denied their civil liberties like their right to vote, free speech, or the right to privacy. Thirdly, their human rights were violated. The black folk and their families of 8 to 10 slept in a 1 or 2 room cabin violating their right to a decent life.
If the law degrades a human, legalizes difference, or imposes on a minority group, it is an unjust law. Segregation is one example given, it affects a group that is unable to change anything due to other regulations. In addition, he explains how
When these laws, also called Jim Crow Laws, were taken to the Supreme Court through the case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). The Supreme Court established the concept of separate but equal, which would not be challenged until the 1950’s. This concept would not be as bad if the facilities and opportunities were actually equal, but this was not the case. (Lecture
Dating back decades ago, racial disputes between different racial groups were very apparent in society in 20th century America. Numerous people of different backgrounds and cultures came to America for the American Dream, hoping to have a clean start and make a notable life. The case Plessy v. Ferguson challenged government officials to pursue a change in segregation and its immorality. The case debated the toleration of segregation in public facilities and provoked an uprising against the false ideology of “separate but equal”. The hearing of Brown v. Board of Education legalized the end of racial segregation in educational provisions.
In the case of Strauder v. West Virginia, an African American man challenged the state’s law that only whites could serve in jury duty, saying that it was unconstitutional to the 14th Amendment, but the court ruled that states could choose to exclude any person from serving on a jury, even if that reason was simply because they were not white (Strauder v. West Virginia). From this decision, it is clear that, even after the passing of the 14th Amendment, many, if not most court judges thought that African Americans were inferior, intellectually and morally, to white men, and still held that equal participation in the government should not be possible. The denial of African Americans from serving their country, through their local courts, in the same capacity as white people was a chief reason for the continual contention that was had with state governments, especially those that were disinclined to allow civil rights to African Americans, and court appeals for violation of rights seemed to be the most effective way to induce the equality of the races, or at least to make people aware of the social injustice. One of the most famous examples of the push against discrimination was the landmark Brown v. the Board of Education, a consolidation of four cases from four states against the state government for the laws against African Americans children from attending “whites only” schools violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (Brown v. Board of Education). The idea of schools that educate students of different races was not a frontrunning issue in America’s sociopolitical eye until the eve of the Civil Rights Movement, and although the Fourteenth Amendment protects the rights of American citizens to enjoy equal institutions, the
Social constructionism Social constructionism places emphasis on the idea that reality is a product of the knowledge and perceptions that a group of people agree upon. It focuses on the construction of reality within groups (Robideau, 2008). For instance the meaning of what constitutes femininity may be similar across different South African cultures. This may serve as a guide for the South African communities, however with the progression of time, it is evident that the notion of femininity has evolved, which shows that reality is constructed through human relationships and interaction, and can change from time to time (Robideau, 2008).
Social oppression in this world is a problem that affects people physically, socially, and emotionally. People physically are left out in this world because of oppression, there has been many battles to have equality for all. Martin Luther King Jr fought during his life for equality yet the battle is ongoing. Socially people struggle to fit it yet they should not be working that hard because everyone should be accepted for who they are. Some people fall into depression because of the emotions caused with
Commonly, in the past, South Africa’s issues was based on the bad relationship between black and white people were the black people’s rights are completely oppressed. During apartheid, the government divided people into four racial groups and moved some of them, so the system was used to deny the black people rights and needs. For instance, non-white people must carry a special permission paper to give them the ability to work and live in specific areas, also people from different color cannot marry each other or even own a land in some areas which it was owned by white people. As the intolerant situation was spread in South Africa against black Africans, black people of the U.S.A in the 1960s faced the same cases. African Americans
