What Does Being An American Mean To Me Essay

492 Words2 Pages

Being an American can mean many different things all depending on the different perspectives of different ethnic or religious groups. So what does being an American mean to me? Being an American to means that everyone can live a happy stress free life where they don’t have to worry about being discriminated against or feeling like they don’t have equal rights. To start with, being an American can range in definition depending on a person 's perspective of America. Personally, I would say being an American is when you can live a happy life where you don 't have to worry about being treated differently because of the color of your skin. Every minority group in the united states should have the same equal rights as a white person. Sadly in America today not everyone can live a happy life some have to deal with hatred towards them every day because of something they can 't change. Each day it’s getting worse, more people are starting to judge you on what you do,what you look like, what you sound like, and things you can 't help, this is happening more teenagers now. I would think that I am “living like an American” because I try not …show more content…

Next, the iconic image I chose is an image is of two African Americans athletes Tommie Smith, John Carlos raise their fists and hang their heads during the national anthem.This photo was taken in 1968 at the Mexico city Olympics during the medal ceremony. These men stood in the black power salute during the national anthem, they did this to show the struggle of civil rights for African Americans. I chose this image because it was taken right after segregation ended so for these men to do this shows that they are strong enough to overcome the hatred of the people who tried to hold them back from their dreams. This relates to my definition because these men were not being treated like an American should be, even though segregation had ended and they stood up for what they believed in to make a change in the way African Americans are