Introduction
The United States has a history of discrimination and inequality toward African Americans. Even after President Abraham Lincoln outlawed enslavement and won the American Civil War in 1965, prejudice toward black people remained engrained in both the northern and southern cultural structures of the United States (Jaffa 260). American subconscious biases endure over time and pervade organizational settings, social systems, individual neural processes, and tendencies of regular contact. The recent nationwide riots against police violence have resulted in a sea change in discourse and views regarding America’s institutional racism. The assassinations of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Rashard Brooks, and Breonna Taylor, among others, have fueled calls for transformation to the enforcement and justice system (Clark et al. 150). Numerous Black parents and Black-led organizations have advocated for these improvements in neighborhoods across the nation for generations. This essay analyzes some of the actions parents of color may take to realize an end to racial discrimination and violence in the United States.
Advocating for Systematic Equality
In America, prejudice is a financial, institutional, and social system. That system purposefully marginalizes and alienates Black people while preserving and growing clear and persuasive privileges for white people, resulting in increased possibilities for employment, schooling, accommodation, and inequality in the criminal justice system. To begin healing and moving toward true social equality, racial minorities must confront not only recent injustices but also hurts dating back to the country’s founding.
Since the nation’s establishment, segregation has served a significant part in developing the United States educational, health care, property, employment systems, and practically every other aspect of society. Elizabeth reminds Black children throughout her narrative of the evils of racism in America’s history in her narration:
These narratives served as a teaching tool for young African-Americans about their physicality and susceptibility. The stories served as introductions to fear and hopelessness. The stories served as the fertile basis for their fury. These narratives taught children that anti-black prejudice and brutality were never far away. They witnessed these infringements numerous times up close and on their smartphones. (Elizabeth 307)
For instance, parents of color have demonstrated the abolition of institutional racism along school and district lines in education settings. For example, in Brooklyn, New York, parents from many ethnicities collaborated to abolish talented monitoring initiatives favoring universal courses (Smalls 362). Allies should also advocate for measures that promote equal access to the difficult and advanced curriculum for all kids in their state governments and local education boards.
Joining Movements against Racist Violence
Black Lives Matter has always been more interested in human rights than civil liberties. BLM has fought for a fundamentally restructuring of civilization in which Black people are not subjected to deliberate marginalization. Nonetheless, the revolution’s quantifiable influence on the constitutional environment cannot be denied. Since 2013, these activists have cumulatively caused major change on a local and national level, including the ouster of prominent fraudulent magistrates (Clark et al. 150). In her text, The Trayvon Generation, Elizabeth enumerates the racist violence against George Floyd as follows:
I am unable to breathe again. A knee placed his entire weight on his neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds. “I’m having trouble breathing,” followed by, “Mama!” George Floyd broke down in tears. “Mama… I’m done!” exclaimed George Floyd. His mother had been deceased for two years when he shouted out for her during his lynching. (Elizabeth 307)
In Chicago, organizations such as BYP100 and Assata’s Daughters resulted in Anita Alvarez losing her re-election. She unexpectedly declined to prosecute police officers associated with 68 fatal shootings (Clark et al. 152). The BLM protest’s continuous work on police misconduct contributed to the publication of four groundbreaking US Department of Justice findings confirming rampant police misconduct in Baltimore, Chicago, Ferguson, and Cleveland (Clark et al. 159). Additionally, the revolution’s wider societal significance has been immeasurable.
Speaking out against Prejudice and Lending Support to Fellow Black Parents
Racism is institutionalized in the finance, schooling, and even commercial sectors. It pervades practically every facet of human interaction in cultures, adversely impacting black people. For example, African-Americans are underrepresented in leadership roles across commercial sectors, face barriers to affordable housing, are numerous in the criminal system, and their medical encounters are markedly different from white and non-black residents (Cain 156). Discrimination and inequality manifest themselves in various ways, from overt exclusionary behaviors to the most covert policies.
Voting laws and proficiency exams were documented examples in the United States, which compelled individuals to spend on their right to vote and disqualified those who could not read. This disadvantaged strategy members of low-income neighborhoods. Therefore, parents of color could empower black, indigenous, and people-of-color (BIPOC) to form support communities to share their stories and brainstorm methods to combat racism (Ali et al. 3). In the case of Darnella, who filmed the murder of George Floyd, the event must have been traumatizing, and as such, forums like BICOP would help her heal from the aftermath of the scenario (Elizabeth 310). Elizabeth explains that the incident was dehumanizing and traumatic in her narration as follows:
Darnella Frazier, a 17-year-old Minneapolis lady who witnessed George Floyd’s killing in action on May 25th while on her regular jog to the corner store, recorded it on her handset and uploaded it to her Facebook page at 1:46 a.m. with the caption “They executed him straight in front of cup foods over the south on 38th and Chicago!! (Elizabeth 310)
Additionally, by employing leadership opportunities for fellow Black community members, they will be providing equitable opportunity and advancement for them.
Conclusion
In conclusion, subconscious prejudices in the United States have persisted over time and now dominate corporate contexts, institutional arrangements, individual neurological mechanisms, and patterns of regular contact. Recent statewide demonstrations over police brutality have ushered in a tidal transformation in the conversation and perceptions of America’s racial bias. George Floyd’s, Ahmaud Arbery’s, Rayshard Brooks’, and Breonna Taylor’s homicides, among others, have sparked calls for systemic change in police departments and prosecution.
Parents of color have eliminated racial inequality in educational settings by overcoming discrimination and racial hatred. For instance, in Brooklyn, New York, parents of various ethnic backgrounds joined to eliminate talented surveillance measures favoring universal education. Additionally, through associating with movements such as the BLM, he has worked for a fundamental reorganization of society in which Black people are not subject to deliberate marginalization. For example, BYP100 and Assata’s Daughters worked to defeat Anita Alvarez’s re-election bid in Chicago. As a result, she surprised many by declining to charge police officers involved in 68 deadly shootings. Nevertheless, the efforts of Black parents have had a demonstrable impact on the administrative and institutional frameworks and cannot be disputed.
Works Cited
Alexander, Elizabeth. The Trayvon Generation. Columbia University Press, 2021, pp. 307-316.
Ali, Hendratta N., et al. “An Actionable Anti-Racism Plan for Geoscience Organizations.” Nature Communications, Vol. 12, no. 1, 2021, pp. 1-6.
Cain, Curtis C. “Beyond the IT Artifact-Studying the Underrepresentation of Black Men and Women in IT.” Journal of Global Information Technology Management, Vol. 24, no. 3, 2021, pp. 157-163.
Clark, Amanda D., Prentiss A. Dantzler, and Ashley E. Nickels. “Black Lives Matter: (Re) Framing the Next Wave of Black Liberation.” Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, Vol. 42, 2018, pp. 145-172.
Jaffa, Harry V. “Abraham Lincoln.” American Political Thought. Routledge, 2017, pp. 251-270.
Smalls, Krystal A. “Fighting words: Antiblackness and Discursive Violence in an American High School.” Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, Vol. 28, no. 3, 2018, pp. 356-383.