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4-12-2014
The Land of the Free: Racial Equality in America

In 2009, after watching a movie at the theater, Immanuel Babb, a very good friend of
mine, returned to the apartment home of one of his closest friends along with a few others. Upon
arriving at the complex they spotted a group of unfamiliar Caucasian kids who were acting a bit
suspiciously. Specifically, they were acting very strange as in if something had just happened. In
recalling this situation, Immanuel refers to that moment as quite ominous. In the moments
immediately following it became apparent that this group of sneaky looking kids had just broken
in to a womans apartment. In doing so, they had completely wrecked her kitchen. Furthermore,
in what was likely a quick escape since all of this occurred during the daylight hours these kid
managed to damage her screen door on their way out. Along with the others who had no part in
the entire incident, my friend, Immanuel, happens to be African American and as such they were
automatically accused of being involved in the intrusion. Had it not been for the movie tickets
that showed where they were at the time of the break in, they would have been taken into
custody and would have faced criminal charges. They were all reprimanded and aside from the
boy who lived there they were all told to never show their faces at the apartment complex again.
They had done nothing wrong, yet they were being held accountable. On the other hand the
white children, who were the actual culprits, only received measly call home.
Not only would he have been wrongfully persecuted, Immanuel would have faced
charges simply for being an African American male in the wrong place at the wrong time.
America has a history of faulty justice especially against individuals whose outward appearance
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is perceived to be related to a minority group based on their race. In Immanuels case, the lack of
compassion for blacks in the justice system would have likely led to his imprisonment.
Throughout history, a widespread separation of the population spearheaded by race has
been a social norm used to define status. Although the world has evolved, diversification based
on race has largely remained constant. Racial groups have been placed into categories to merely
perpetrate and drive a divide between individuals with differing traits that are purely genetic.
This situation has occurred for the convenience of other racial groups and has allowed them to
maintain a false sense of superiority, lending certain groups the ability to brand, stereotype,
stigmatize, and abuse others. This type of racism has resulted in the traumatization of others in
both obvious and subliminal ways. Racism continues to exist today because people have been
inheriting this degree of ignorance from generation to generation. The problems surrounding
persecuted racial groups, especially African Americans, has been and will continue to be a
permanent stain in history unless something drastic changes. A plausible reason for this
continued social status divide could be that parents deceive their children into believing that they
should despise people who do not mirror their image. No one person is born with a passion to
immediately hate a particular racial group because of the pigment of their skin; this rather is a
learned behavior.
As America continues grow, the environment plays a critical role in our development as
individuals. A very strong contributing factor in this environment is media. In American
culture, media plays a critical role in the context of race and how Americans relate to the topic
and to each other. The oppressed are inundated with multiple media sources that constantly
remind us of where this nation stands respective to this issue by reinforcing overarching values
and norms. While not necessarily individually held values and norms when summated they are in
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turn those which are held by the masses and subsequently bestowed upon American citizens.
Unfortunately, in some cases those values and norms reflect negatively on society. Additionally,
those who adhere to these ludicrous societal molds are often victims of circumstance. Whereas
those who stray from expectation are often branded as outcasts, often times by like individuals.
As such, the notion that all men are created equal is nothing more than a myth. The truth of the
matter is that race has been used as a blueprint for the construction of society for ages. Human
nature contributes to an animalistic survival of the fittest instinct which while not Darwins
intention is often related to his social theory. Per the American Museum of Natural History,
whether used to rationalize social inequality, racism, or eugenics, so-called Social Darwinist
theories are a gross misreading of the ideas first described in the Origin of Species and applied in
modern biology.
1
This fact however does not minimize the reality that the human species is
indeed a member of the animal kingdom which at times leads to behaviors that are quite primal.
Examples of such behavior have been observed for centuries. More recently however, is
a period in the 1950s when there was a confluence of racism and other historical and political
events, the civil rights movement began to obtain traction. Our nation has seen the rise of civil
rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez who among others had dreams that
at the time were so far-fetched because of crudeness. The Civil Rights movement from 1954-
1968 acted as a launching pad for African Americans rights and has served as a framework for
other minority groups vying for fair treatment in later years. The Jim Crow regime was a major
characteristic of American society in 1950 and had been so for over seven decades. Following
slavery, it became the new form of white domination.
2
Laws in place at the time showed that
even though slavery had been abolished, white ideas and economics were dominate which

1
Social Darwinism, American Museum of Natural History, April 9, 2014
2
Morris, A Retrospective on the Civil Rights Movement: Political and Intellectual Landmarks, April 9, 2014
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created an environment where their social status was far greater than the standards afforded to
African Americans. Reflecting upon this era of legalized segregation it is clear just how corrupt
and cruel people can be to each other. Interactions between blacks and whites were prohibited
exclusively because of certain groups self-righteous feelings of entitlement.
Although the fight to extend civil rights to all was won very recent examples to the
contrary have been observed. In fact, a return to legislative based barriers to the equalization of
social status based on race has returned. Specifically, civil liberties are beginning to be
encroached upon through legislation that contradicts the principles for which thousands have
been fighting to obtain for generations. An example of this unfortunate reality is seen when one
accepts that African Americans are not alone in this struggle and that in fact other groups are
also targeted. On April 23, 2010, the state of Arizona passed a law that enables law enforcement
personnel the legal right to practice stereotyping and discrimination of Latinos. The immigration
enforcement bill that was signed into law that day allows Police Officers the ability to stop,
question, and retain, individuals based on their immigration status. It allows them to take people
into custody and have them deported if they are in violation of this law. In a state with a large
majority of the population being of Latino descent, this law more likely than not allows them to
target particular group of people. In doing so, this is an encroachment on the unalienable rights
of the people who have been born legally in the United States as well as those who had received
their legal documentation. It allows officers the ability to make assumptions based on an
individuals outward appearance and by doing so generates ample opportunities for stereotyping,
discrimination, and abuse to occur.
Of late, multiple media sources have been highlighting yet another means of social status
disparities that are occurring through the process referred to as gentrification. In an article
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entitled Transracial Adoption and Gentrification: An Essay on Race, Power, Family, and
Community Professor Twila L. Perry notes that Professor Neil Smith has described
gentrification as a process during which poor and working-class neighborhoods in the inner city
are refurbished via an influx of private capital and middle-class homebuyers and renters.
Specifically these are neighborhoods that until recently had experienced a notable degree of
disinvestment coupled with an exodus of middle-class whites. As a direct result of
gentrification, the return of money and a large community of young whites Perry states that
blacks will increasingly find themselves at a disadvantage stemming from the consequences of
institutionalized racism. Furthermore, Perry goes on to say that the dismantling of historical
Black communities by gentrification is obscured by a discourse idealizing racial integration and
urban revitalization.
3
Just as with other historical examples of social statuses driven by race,
gentrification will remap not only black communities to less desirable areas, but will also serve
as symbolic divide.
In conclusion, it is apparent given these points that the influence of race on social status
is not new but rather that it is an age old means by which some intentionally or not allow gaps to
develop and exist for their personal benefit. The fact that this has been repeated through history
is depictive of the fundamental reality that men, are in fact, not created equal. Unfortunately this
is a sad reality that my dear friend Immanuel had to experience firsthand. The elimination of
social statuses will likely never come however, they should not continue to be driven by an
individuals outward appearance especially in the case of race where it is purely based on a
genetic predisposition. That said, hope should not be lost and all of us should realize that we are
each capable of bridging the gap through acceptance and understanding. If those two things

3
Perry, Transracial Adoption and Gentrification: An Essay on Race, Power, Family and Community, April 9, 2014.
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occur my friend Immanuel and others would not have to experience such degrading experiences
and instead could live without fear of being persecuted against for no wrongdoing of their own.