Social Injustice In The United States

Social Injustice Paper

Imagine being an African American in the 1900s. You would not only have to attend a separate school than white children, but drink out of different drinking fountains, sit in the back of the bus, and you don 't have the same rights as those who are white. You are looked down upon, disrespected daily, and can only associate with those that are “colored.” Imagine living in a world where you were not accepted by others, solely because of the color of your skin. Despite how terrible that situation sounds, it was a very real issue many years ago. Racial segregation, by definition, is the enforced separation of different racial groups in a country, community, or establishment (“Segregation”). Acceptance and rights for all individuals,

The Fifteenth Amendment, revised in 1992, reads, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude” (“United States of America 1789”). That amendment was implemented to protect all people’s voting rights, and is just a part of what has been done to protect people of all races. However, despite what was implemented, it took an extensive amount of time to go into effect, partially due to the Jim Crow laws. They were informal laws that enforced racial segregation until 1965. An example of a Jim Crow law is, “It shall be unlawful for a negro and a white person to play together or in company with each other in any game of cards or dice, dominoes or checkers” (“Jim Crow Laws”). These laws were widely accepted and contributed to racial segregation for many years. Because of these laws, it takes a very long time for all races to become equal (“Jim Crow Laws & Racial Segregation”). “An unjust law is no law at all,” was originally stated by St. Augustine (“Entrance Wall”). This statement is true because the laws and authority may influence your thoughts/morals, laws are put in place to keep citizens safe, and conflicts may arise if

The Los Angeles riots began on April 29, 1992. The riots started because four white police officers beat Rodney King, an African American. Rodney had been pulled over by police after an eight-mile chase and then refused to get to the ground. A man had videotaped the scene and it was broadcasted in the United States (Wallenfeldt). Jeff Wallenfeldt, the author of the article published on Britannica, wrote, “Although many Angelenos in the late 20th century prided themselves on their city’s ethnic diversity, there was a strong feeling on Los Angeles’s minority communities that the city’s predominantly white police force practiced racial profiling and engaged in racist brutality against African Americans and Hispanics” (Wallenfeldt). CNN reported that five days after the riots started, over 50 people were dead and approximately 2,000 injured. The damage from the riot was estimated to cost around one billion dollars (“Los Angeles Riots Fast Facts”). Many felt that the authority should not have beat him and that it was not right of them to do so. Because of how they felt, it caused a large violent protest to fight for what they felt was