The materials provided for this task uncover the ugly realities of racism in the United States. According to Feagin’s article, racism is an issue that appeared long before the US was established as a democratic state – when slavery was an everyday activity across the country. Moreover, he pointed out that the US was not founded as a democratic state that protects the freedom of all people but rather as a nation that protects the properties of white people so they could be free. This is critical to understanding how economic inequality in society is related to racism. For centuries white people have been saving and inheriting properties, funds, et cetera passed to them by their ancestors because they were white. They had a right to keep and inherit properties and money, a fundamental economic right. African Americans gained this right not long ago compared to the other privileged race, which consequently means economic inequality exists between races living in America. This point was also strongly emphasized in Georgetown University’s case, where 272 African American slaves were sold for the education of white Americans. Therefore, it can be concluded that economic inequality is directly related to slavery.
Another issue caused by systematic racism is social inequality. Interestingly, Feagin’s material raised the question of whether current generations should pay for the mistakes of their slave-owning ancestors. And the answer is given in Dorothy Brown’s article for CNN – “Whites who escape the attention of the police benefit because of slavery’s long reach.” (Brown, 2016). The police’s attention and criminal records are often associated with African Americans because the law has systematically discriminated against them. The stereotypes remain in society, making it a significant challenge for black people to obtain an education or get a job. This shows that the problem of racism is actual in every field, and its solution involves every citizen.
Reference
Brown, D. A. (2016). Georgetown University’s apology for slave trade doesn’t go far enough. CNN. Web.