Racial inequality in the United States of America is a vice that has been practiced since time immemorial. There have been a number of struggles from different people through the years after the civil war, trying to fight for equality. While these struggles have greatly bore fruit, racism is not an issue that has been wholly tackled. Racism came out strongly when Barack Obama, then the senator of Illinois, decided to run for presidency. It was even clearer when he won the elections. All through his life, Barack Obama, just like any other African American had to grapple with the issue of racism. Being born to a white mother and an African father, he had to struggle to find his identity[1]. Among the many arguments pushed forward by his opponents was that he was not an American citizen. To combat this argument and to assure everyone that he was an American citizen by birth, the president released his birth certificate. This however was a move that a majority of his opponents and their supporters felt was not enough to prove his citizenship; in fact they felt that he certificate was forged[2].
‘Birthers[3]’ as can be seen in the example of Donald Trumph, do not even recognize that they are racists. A majority of them try to prove this by naming a few black friends or showing their tolerance to African Americans, not knowing that this in itself is a show of racism. Unconscious racism dates back to early times when slavery was accepted. Slavery in fact can be said to have played a large part in instituting this type of racism. From the Code Noir[4], it is clear that the legislators were attempting to make life better for the slaves, for example providing that freed slaves would be treated like a citizen of France[5].
Racism is believed to have officially begun immediately after the Civil War. It was mostly felt in the Southern States. There was a period of violence that was targeted towards African Americans, they were insulted, lynched and their business premises burnt. The whites who were the majority in the U.S could not accept the fact that African Americans, formerly slaves should be treated as equals to them. African Americans on the other hand were not willing to relent on the struggle against racism. The country’s politics was divided with one group supporting the African Americans and the other supporting the Blacks. There was an in bred belief that human beings were divided into different races and that some races were superior to others[6].
Different legislations have been put in place to try and deal with the issue of racism. The adoptions of affirmative action and equal opportunities have done a lot in eradicating this vice. There have been many changes in the ways in which people relate with each other especially after racism was illegalized. These however do little to completely eradicate racism, in fact, they lead to unconscious racism. Different people have had to deal with this type of racism differently. As can be seen when Eric Williams wanted to publish his book on slavery and no publisher would accept the book. One of the most known publishers goes ahead to tell him that publishing a book that contended that slavery was abolished due to the economic interest of the country and not because of humanitarian reasons was completely against the country’s traditions[7].
Bibliography
Eric Williams, Inward Hunger the Education of a Prime Minister, Markus Wiener Publishers 1ST Edition. 2006
Barack Obama, Dreams from my Father, Broadway Books. 2004
Paul Rosenberg, Birth Certificate and Unconscious Racism, Bedford/St. Martin’s; First Edition. 2011
Sue Peabody and Keila Grinberg, Slavery, Freedom and the Law in the Atlantic World, Bedford/St. Martin’s; First Edition. 2007
[1] Barack Obama, Dreams from my Father., Broadway Books (2004)117
[2] Paul Rosenberg, Birth Certificate and Unconscious Racis, Bedford/St. Martin’s; First Edition (2011), 67
[3] Ibid.
[4] Sue Peabody and Keila Grinberg, Slavery, Freedom and the Law in the Atlantic World, Bedford/St. Martin’s; First Edition (2007) 31.
[5]Ibid., 33
[6] Eric Williams, Inward Hunger the Education of A Prime Minister, (Markus Wiener Publishers 1ST Edition 2006),. 31
[7] Ibid., 53