Ben Aiken
American Equality, Past, Present, and Future
Equality in America has come at us as Americans in many different ways. In 1789, the Bill of Rights was created, and it was intended that all these rights would be for everyone in America. On the other hand slaves began entering America in 17th and 18th centuries. All slaves were black and all their rights were stripped from them. They were forced to work and they had no choice to be a slave or not. Slaves were just auctioned off like cattle and were treated like animals. Just because they were black doesn’t make them any different from any other humans. Slavery also leads into many other issues such as the Civil War which went from 1861–1865. America split into two parts the North and South. North was against slavery, and most slaves ended running to the North for freedom because the South still had slavery.
North defeated the South and blacks were freed, but this still didn’t give blacks all their rights they deserve as an American. Blacks and whites were separated, there were different restrooms, different water fountains, blacks had to sit at the back of the bus, and blacks were not allowed into some buildings, and these are just a few of examples. Numerous times blacks would attempt to sit at the front of the bus or small stuff like that. A black woman, Rosa Parks, on December 1st, 1955 refused to give up her seat to a white person in the front of a bus. She was quickly arrested, but she was not the only black that tried this. Irene Morgan, Sarah Louise Keys, and Claudette Colvin all refused to give up their seat on the bus. Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist and became part of the racial segregation resistance. Parks helped organize movements and collaborated with other civil right leaders, one of which was Martin Luther King, Jr. King became an icon to civil rights activist and many people would be inspired by his speeches. The public began to notice him very quickly, and he was known as one of the greatest public speakers in the United States. The heart and determination of these people has changed the way American looks upon the issues of equality, and because of these people blacks have earned the rights they deserve.
Before slavery, equality problems still existed and mostly this had to do with the Native Americans. Native Americans were first to settle in the states and Native Americans introduced us to this land and helped us thrive, but as more settlers started to come they began to take over. When the settlers started to come by the hundred they demanded for the land that the Native Americans had claimed. This resulted in a war that the settlers won, and this forced Native Americans to leave the home land forcing them to live in reservations. Native Americans that choose to stay on their land were killed. Settlers tried to “Americanize” Native American colonies by teaching the young at U.S. schools. Native Americans were forced to drop their Indian names and were not allowed to speak their native languages.
Today equality is still a big issue, such as racial discrimination, equality between men and woman. Racial discrimination still exists in America, and is defined as treating someone differently based on their race. Muslims especially have been treated completely different after 9/11, and in today’s airports more Middle Eastern people are being intensely checked than other races. Racial discrimination falls into main categories such as civil, social, political, educational, and economic opportunities, and being a different race can completely change the way of hiring decisions. Also wages, promotions, and work conditions can be completely changed based on race. Statistics show that the number of reports on racial discrimination is dropping, but it still exist. Equality between men and woman has improved over the years and women have all the rights that men do. In the past though, woman had very few rights and men were aloud to do so much more. There are issues such as violence towards woman, trafficking woman, and balanced participation in decision-making.
Equality in the future I think will improve greatly but racism will always exist. As human beings, equality has always been a problem between us. America is always going to be dealing with racial problems; in fact the whole world still deals with. Some countries still have slavery such as Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Sudan. Racism in the states has gone down a lot saying that we started with slavery, woman having no rights, and kicking Native Americans out. Now that is all distinguished, and I am hopeful about the future’s ability to ensure that these challenges will meet because we can learn from our mistakes.