Alexis de Tocqueville's analysis is especially important because even in the 19th century he warned that America could not forget the problems caused by slavery and eradicate them from its borders. Creating a new nation like Liberia in which one could ship 'Negros' away is no longer seriously suggested, but some Americans do seriously suggest that because there is no more Jim Crow, because Barak Obama can run for president, racism is no longer present within American ideology and culture. This is trying to ignore, to sweep away the 'problem' of racism as well.
Every time someone looks away and says 'he is not one of us,' every time a job is denied, a hand is withdrawn from a shake of friendship, or an individual is criticized for something that would go unnoticed were he or she white, America's true and complex history of 'colors' are revealed that go beyond the hues of the stars and stripes. This is why history must be read, the history of King, Douglass, and de Tocqueville, not simply to remember the past but also not to forget the needs of the present.
Part 2
Given the persistence of racism in American society, it is essential that affirmative action play some part in redressing social inequities caused by slavery. A society does not become a level playing field simply by victims taking responsibility for their own social mobility, no matter what Shelby Steele might say. Racism's subtle effects in the
Board of Education decision. Racism does not excuse any lack of responsibility but striving to create a more socially diverse society is part of the mission of most major educational institutions of learning, and without taking race into a factor diverse networks of mentorship and images of moral leadership can never be established within the American institutional structure of corporate and civic society. It is neither racist nor patronizing to say that discrimination has a material and psychological effect upon the individual, even though many people have overcome this legacy, and should be respected for their achievements. Just because Frederick Douglass taught himself to read as an adult by candlelight in secret does not mean that it was not necessary to take extra steps to educate African-Americans that had been denied literacy as a result of slavery, or to acknowledge former slaves faced additional obstacles through no fault of their own.
Milton and Rose Freidman stress the need for creating equality of opportunities, not outcomes. But by changing outcomes, one can create greater opportunities. An individual from a poor home does not have the same opportunity as someone from a wealthy background, who suffers no historical legacy of oppression. Demonstrating the possibility of a positive outcome through affirmative action acts as an inspiration to those despairing in impoverished conditions, and creates a truly level playing field.
Abstract:Today, mental health in the U.S. has become the focus of a growing body of scholarship as researchers examine the antecedents to the nation�s current political polarization and increasingly violent responses to the multiple existential threats that confront humanity. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, has not only brought to the forefront the critical importance of public health but has also exposed the vulnerabilities in the nation's mental health infrastructure.
African-Americans Activism -- Gaining Civil Rights and Pride "We the understated are students at the Negro college in the city of Greensboro. Time and time again we have gone into Woolworth stories of Greensboro. We have bought thousands of items at hundreds of the counters in your stories. Our money was accepted without rancor or discrimination and with politeness toward us, when at a long counter just three feet away from
African-Americans in the U.S. Armed Forces This research paper proposes to discuss the importance of African-American soldiers in the United States military. It will do so from a decidedly comprehensive approach which highlights their contributions to the major martial endeavors the U.S. has undertaken since its inception. In examining the history of these soldiers within America, this paper proposes to also deconstruct the motives which galvanized African-American soldiers to enlist in
At the same time, however, the ghettoes resulted from the people's desire to form a united community to which they could relate and that could offer comfort from a society that, despite its more opened views, still viewed blacks from the point-of-view of the segregation policy. The ghettoes however represented an environment that would later offer one of the most important and relevant elements of the American culture: the music
The 1950s was a time when the last of the generation of slaves were beginning to disappear from communities but their first generation children were attempting to make sense of the lives they led and the cautionary tales they had applied to their lives as a result. The work shows that for the 1950s African-American family it was a time of remembrance and resolution as well as a time
S. news magazines between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 1998. They concluded that the images of the poor in these news magazines "do not capture the reality of poverty, but instead provide a stereotypical and inaccurate picture of poverty that results in a misconception of beliefs about the poor, antipathy toward blacks and lack of support for welfare programs. Similarly, Dixon and Linz (2000) researched the content of a random
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