Does Racism Still Exist?

            Throughout history it has been argued and stated that African Americans were inferior to whites, causing whites to denigrate African Americans. During slavery African Americans were the property of whites and had no rights and when slavery ended those rights were still revoked. Years after slavery African Americans began to earn their rights to do ordinary things such as voting, going to school, and marriage. In time the treatment of African Americans began to change, but the mindset about African Americans hasn’t, proving that racism still exist today in America.

 An unanswered question still racking the minds of so many people in America today is whether or not racism still exists. While racism has a broader covering, today we’ll focus on racism towards African Americans. Society's belief is since African Americans and whites befriend each other, get married, go to schools and churches together that racism has ended; it’s quite the contrary actually. People such as Derrick Bell believed, “Equality for blacks will be found just around the corner (Greenhouse).” The corner that Bell spoke of apparently was a great distance because that article was written in 1992. 

In the previous months displays of racism have been plastered on social media websites. The most memorable act was the picture that had been circulated around of a life-sized doll of President Obama hanging from a noose (Borlik). There is no doubt about the message being sent here and this is a clear example of racism. The noose was originally used to lynch blacks during a time when racism was undeniable.  This was a clear and deliberate act of racism. As a result of the hanging doll African Americans took a stand and boycotted Shell gas stations. 

Another act was on a college campus, Oberlin College; classes were suspended after students were sighted in what appeared to be Ku Klux Klan-type hooded robes. The irony of the situation is that Oberlin was one of the first universities to admit African Americans (Sheeran). It could be argues that it was a joke or a mere coincidence, but all African American people as a whole would not find it amusing. They would think of it as an attack and a threat to their well-being. No one could argue that these two acts were just mere coincidences. They were thought out attempts to put fear back in African Americans like there had been at one point in history. 

Although we’ve entered a time where interracial couples are seen in public and are happy, spectators frown upon their relationship. Mrs. Tamera Mowry-Housley is an actress, who recently was brought under scrutiny due to her decision to marry a white man. Many of her “fans” took to Internet blogs to bash her about her decision. It is the thought of so many that beings should not cross out of their race zones, this however isn't just a thought of whites but some African Americans feel this way too.
          Many argue how whites are racist towards African Americans but no one takes the time to reflect on how African Americans themselves can be racist to not only whites but people of their own race. African Americans also frown upon interracial relationships. Discussions are held in African American community about the loyalty women and men need to have to their own race. African American families have been known to disown "mix-breeds", a person half black and half white, because of their connection to the white world.
          African Americans out of anger or maybe even out of fear avoid whites and speak of them in derogatory ways. Just as stereotypes about African Americans are made by whites, African Americans make stereotypes about whites. African Americans repeat history everyday by violating or assaulting a white person, just as whites did over a century ago to their ancestors. There is a constant drive to want to play the victim so African Americans scream racism when they'll benefit. Even though racism still exist, it shouldn't constantly bring African Americans down it should be used as a motivational tool.
           

Work Cited

Greenhouse, Linda. "The End of Racism, and Other Fables." New York Times 20 Sept. 1992. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.

"Hanging Obama doll angers North Carolina, Hampton Roads residents." Writ. Joe Borlik. My Fox 8. WGHP, 4 Nov. 2012. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.

Sheeran, Thomas J. "Racial Episodes Shake Ohio's Oberlin College." Associated Press 5 Mar. 2013 [Oberlin, OH] . Web. 5 Mar. 2013.