@Olivier5,
Throughout America there is racism happening all around us. This can happen at work, in the class room, and even during weekly grocery shopping. This is why many support groups like Black Lives Matter have come into effect. While there are support groups out there for people being discriminated, there are many groups that are doing the discriminating. These groups include the KKK, white supremacist, and everyday people who hate on African Americans. This shows that more people every day are beginning to discriminate against blacks. “About eight-ten blacks (81%) say racism is a big problem in society, compared with about half of whites (52%) (Neal). The amount of racism that these African Americans are facing is tremendously severe.
Racism that goes on in the United States, or anywhere in fact, should be reputed. Americans who see this racism happening know that it is not okay. Even though they know racism isn’t right, they continue to avoid anything that has to do with it or they get involved in the act itself. As we look back into when Martin Luther King Jr. spoke up against racism happening around him, he states that “Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” (Rivers). When people tend to look at racism, they think that discriminating the people they don’t agree with is the right route to go. These types of actions, such as discrimination, only make matter worse. This is because it can cause African Americans to look at themselves as if they don’t belong. This can also be a problem and can drive these people being called different names and acted differently into depression, or even worse, suicide.
The other side of racism is that it doesn’t happen. As white Americans don’t go through much discrimination, they don’t see it happening around them. This makes them believe that Black Lives Matter and other support groups are just ways to give African Americans attention. They believe that the acts of the Treyvon Martin and the police shootings are ways to get African Americans to be looked up to. They think that these cases are to make cops look like they are bad people for trying to do their job.
While both sides are being presented, “An overwhelming majority of blacks (88%) say the country needs to continue making changes for blacks to have equal rights with whites, but 43% are skeptical that such changes will ever occur” (Center). It is sad to see that these African Americans, the ones who are being discriminated against, believe that their own country will not change. These are the people that have experienced discrimination and are trying to overcome the people that doubt them just because they are black. About “Four-in-ten whites believe the country will eventually make the changes needed for blacks to have equal rights, and about the same share (38%) say enough changes have already been made” (Center). The saddest part is that only 40% of white Americans believe that these changes will occur. In order to make a stand, we have to take action. If the African American population can’t do it by themselves, we can all work together to make an effort.
