Argumentative Essay On Racial Equality

Katznelson’s argument that affirmative action policies were enacted with purposeful, deliberate discrimination is convincing. Namely, he considers the historical context that would have shaped Americans at the time and swayed their opinions. For example, Katznelson references the Civil War and the end of slavery, and how these events shaped the attitudes of key players like the Southern Democrats, which would then result in the faulty policies that perpetuated affirmative action’s favoritism of whites. His evidence is sufficient as well. Katznelson highlights the trend of Southern Democrats interfering in affirmative action policies and the footholds they had in specific acts.

Linda Brown, a black child, lived only seven blocks from an all-white elementary school and when her father tried to enroll her he was turned away, so he went to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who agreed to help. The United States Supreme Court reached a unanimous 9-0 decision stating that “separate but equal facilities are inherently unequal and violate the protections of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment”. (Tushnet,

In The New Jim Crow, civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander makes the case that the system of Jim Crow never died. It just took a new form in the shape of mass incarceration. Today, African American men are labelled “criminals” and stripped of their freedom, their voting rights, and their access to government programs. Alexander’s thesis is that we are currently living in a new Jim Crow era; the systemic oppression of slavery and segregation never actually went away, Alexander argues, but merely changed form.

Although the roots of this movement date as far back as the 1900s, the legacy of the African American’s role in World War II sparked the catalyst needed to promote the legislation that eventually led to their equality. “On May 17, 1954, The Supreme Court announced its decision in the case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka” (Brinkley 772). This regulation overturned the Supreme Court’s earlier decision in the Plessy V Ferguson case. The separate but equal doctrine was a prime example of domestic policy that did not uphold the government’s constitutional promise to promote the general welfare of society-to include all that fall under the definition of an American citizen. The affliction put on children who had to travel to segregated public schools placed an unequal burden and damage done to those who it pertained to.

“You can’t delete racism. It’s like a cigarette. You can’t stop smoking if you don’t want to, and you can’t stop racism if people don’t want to. But I’ll do everything I can to help” ( Mario Balotelli) Racial Justice is a strenuous topic in America.

As before the Civil Rights Act, African Americans didn’t have the right to do anything and were instead subjected to segregation that involved the same legality and treatment. For this reason, it’s important to demonstrate how Jim Crow South and segregation has appeared to still be prevalent in our society in the form of mass

From history of hundreds of decades, we have witnessed the great progress made by human, in technology and in society. But injustice always exists everywhere in this world. Injustice and unfair treatment could not be erased from the world easily. Just like the situation described by John Steinbeck, the immigrants faced injustice. But there are too many injustices that even worse in the world.

1. The shackled runner: time to rethink positive discrimination? Citation: (Noon 2010)

Racism Racism is the conviction that qualities and capacities can be credited to individuals basically on the premise of their race and that some racial gatherings are better than others. Bigotry and separation have been utilized as capable weapons empowering apprehension or disdain of others in times of contention and war, and notwithstanding amid monetary downturns. Racism is also a very touchy subject for some people, as issues concerning free speech and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights come into play. Some people argue that talking about supporting racial discrimination and prejudice is just words and that free speech should allow such views to be aired without restriction. Others point out that these words can lead to some very dire and serious consequences (the Nazi government policies being one example).

When considering the aspects of Affirmative Action, we must first look at what the intent of the Executive Order was in 1961. Among the racial divide this order’s purpose was to simply give a fair or better chance to minorities than before. The minorities have been long shut out of the workforce and educational systems in the past. President Kennedy’s order aims to end the long drawn out era of discrimination in the work force and education systems (Kurtulus, 2013). Many people against the idea of affirmative action claim it creates “reverse racism”.

“Racism distorts our sense of danger and safety. We are taught to live in fear of people of color. We are exploited economically by the upper class and unable to fight or even see this exploitation because we are taught to scapegoat people of color (Kivel, P).” This quote from the article, The Cost of Racism to White People, barely digs at one of the reasons why racism still occurs in today’s world. There are many motives out there for why racism still occurs.

Racism, the act of “…prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race…”, is a major problem today. It gives people fear, doubt, shame, and sometimes guilt. In addition, racism gives people an awful perspective of life and sometimes, if one is looking up to a racist, the racist’s point of view begins to alter the person’s judgement. Racism could also lead to great conflict arising from those who heavily despise that race and maybe even mass killings, which foreshows that racism needs to be stopped and ended completely.

Affirmative action in the admission process has been one of the main ways to achieve diversity in higher education (Cochran et al. 314). However, there are two different world views whenever it comes to affirmation action. There are those who support it and those who oppose it. Those who support it believe that higher education flourishes whenever people of different races, ethnicities, and social groups mingle on the same campus (314). A strength of this viewpoint is that affirmative action helps minority groups feel that they are an equal member of society.

Racism has always existed with humans. Racism is treating someone differently of unfairly simply because they belong to a different ethnic community of have a different religion or nationality. When someone believes their race is better than another and feels superior ro other people because of his of her race, is called racism. Throughout time, many people have lost their lives, or lost their families and children, and are left without homes due to racism. Racism causes wars, which could destroy humanity ultimately.

As a topic of conversation that has consumed American politics for decades, affirmative action has served as America’s letter of apology to minorities that have faced such harsh discrimination through the years. Affirmative action serves as a historical turning point in the United States, and has closely addressed the issues that race, class, and gender minorities have faced for centuries. However, there is immense controversy that comes with the idealistic concept of affirmative action. While many researchers find it to be beneficial, others view this concept as erroneous.