The problem of racism has been relevant in America for a long time. Still, it flared up with renewed vigor in connection with shocking and resonant incidents in the early twenty-first century. The rapid development of technology has made it possible to capture most of these cases (photo and video materials). The media and social networks influence has led to the involvement of the general public in fighting against discrimination. That period was a turning point; marches, rallies and protests began to occur in the United States. Despite the long journey from slavery to freedom, people continued to fight violence and hate crimes against the Black population.
The influence of the old days persisted, and racism was still common in America; Black people suffered from violence, injustice and prejudice. Referring to statistics, Black people were more likely to face unjustified searches and detentions moreover were about six times more likely to go to jail (Walsh). A clear example of racial discrimination is that the police killed more Black people than whites (Peeples). Police brutality concerning a racial minority resulted in thousands of injured and hundreds of killed per year (Bailey et al.).This information confirms the existence of violence and significant racial disparities.
Grave consequences were entailed by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020 (Mannix). Video footage spread throughout the Internet, and public outrage was not long in coming: the massive protests in the United States by the Black Lives Matter movement began. Another example of police brutality by the police was the death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot dead in her apartment in March 2020, which also became a resonant case (Oppel). However, it is not only the police that was brutal against racial minorities. Many hate crimes were committed by civilians, such as the assault on Althea Bernstein in Madison, who was doused with a flammable liquid and set on fire (Vivani and Hall). Remnants of the past and racial bias led to injures and murders.
Despite a developed society and many years of fighting racism, America suffered from social clashes caused by the mistreatment of Black people in the early twenty-first century. The time of slavery was long over, but its attitudes were firmly rooted in the minds of many Americans. Resonant cases led to public outcry, protests, fighting for the rights of Black people and a movement that shouted to the world that Black Lives Matter.
Works Cited
Bailey, Zinzi D., et al. “How structural racism works—racist policies as a root cause of US racial health inequities.” The New England Journal of Medicine, no. 384, 2021, pp. 768-773. Web.
Mannix, Andy. “What we know about Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao, two of the officers caught on tape in the death of George Floyd”, StarTribune, 2020. Web.
Oppel, Richard A., et al. “What to know about Breonna Taylor’s Death”, The New York Times, 2021. Web.
Peeples, Lynne. “What the data say about police brutality and racial bias—and which reforms might work.” Nature, no. 583, 2020, pp.22-24. Web.
Vivani, Nick and Tajma Hall. “Madison Police close case on woman who suffered burns to her face”, WMTV, 2020. Web.
Walsh, Colleen. “Solving racial disparities in policing”, The Harvard Gazette, 2021. Web.