White Supremacy In America

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For over a century and a half, minorities, especially African Americans have struggled to live a free or unrestrained life. For instance, there was slavery, which began approximately in 1441 due to the European slave trade in Africa. Although slavery was abolished in 1866, African Americans were still not free due to the rise of Jim Crow in 1877, which lasted until the mid-1960s. In addition, there were rules and regulations that were implemented during the Jim Crow era in order to govern the lives of African Americans. For example, it was illegal for a white person to marry a non-white person, but in 1967 based on the decision that was made in the landmark civil rights case Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967), that law was confuted (Wallenstein …show more content…
White supremacy is used as a form of resistance by Caucasians, to degrade people of color. White supremacy has to do with more than prejudice. Caucasians have always felt rewarded by dominating every opportunity or reward from African Americans and minorities. In her essay, “We Cannot Live Without Our Lives”: White Women, Anti-racism, and Feminism,” Ann Russo explains that “white supremacy correctly places the responsibility on white women and men, rather than focusing on people of color simply as victims of an amorphous racism” (Russo 1991, 299). Racism would be considered as prejudice against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. Today, it might be more appropriate to address the issue of white supremacy than racism because white people refuse to see racism as a fundamental white issue due to white privilege. Privileges are bestowed on white people by the institutions with which they interact solely because of their race, not because they are deserving as …show more content…
Hence, not only has race and white supremacy had become ingrained in Western society, but violence has become interweaved and continues to prevail. The American society has become addicted to violence. Thus, the relationship between African American and law enforcement has become not only strenuous, but back-breaking (NORC at the University of Chicago 2015). This proves that racism, white supremacist, and violence are interlocked, which means that they each have a lamentable effect on each other and they have all continued to permeate the American society in detrimental ways. Therefore, violence against minorities, especially African Americans, is not only a serious issue, but it also heightens the tension between law enforcement and the African American community. In order to solve this issue or reduce the tension between law enforcement and the African American community, there has to be a change in policies and procedure (NORC at the University of Chicago 2015). In addition, race should not be used as a factor or reason for police to use excessive force against an individual. With that in mind, does being a police officer give you the right to commit such horrendous acts and behavior towards your citizens? Unfortunately, due to the massive incidents of police violence that took place between 2014 and 2015 in the U.S, a national
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