Introduction
The entire history of the United States is permeated with the evolution of the ideas of racism. These ideas developed over time from legislatively defined forms of exploitation of the Black population as slaves, to the mostly obscured discrimination towards Black U.S. citizens in modern times. Our country has yet to take truly effective measures aimed at overcoming racial inequality on various levels of society. As I see it, there was only a transformation of the forms of racism from the most radical and obvious to deep, hidden within public perception.
Discussion
Turning to history, we can see that the U.S. moved from slavery to using the Black population to solve domestic political problems, and specifically to ensure the victory of the Union over the Confederacy. After the Black people fulfilled their “mission” in the struggle between the North and the South, there were all kinds of clauses that actually limited voting rights for Black citizens. Racial segregation, including sanctioned by decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court – for example, the case of 1896 Plassey v. Ferguson – persisted, as well as the other practices that are completely inconsistent with democratic standards. In particular, according to The Economist’s U.S. opinion poll, “black Americans are over twice as likely to be killed by the police” (para. 2). Indeed, the changes were made in the past – the U.S. prohibited slavery and adopted the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865. Moreover, the subsequent repeal of a number of segregation laws also occurred in the middle of the 20th century. However, the establishment of these practices could not claim to finally solve the problem of the rootedness of racism.
Conclusion
The de jure provision of formal equality of American citizens and the elimination of the legal basis for the implementation of various kinds of discriminatory practices has, indeed, aided in the solution of racism. However, I believe that the problem of infringement of the rights of Black Americans de facto remains acute. The concern of the current political leadership of the United States with the problem of racism has deep social roots. The color of the skin of an American citizen in a significant number of cases has a real impact on their social position. Thus, it is imperative to continue to fight against racism on all levels of our society.
Work Cited
The Economist. “America Is Becoming Less Racist but More Divided by Racism.” The Economist Newspaper, Web.