White Supremacy and Racial Injustice

Introduction

One of the most critical issues in American history, which appeared before the Civil War, is racial supremacy. Its importance is conditional upon the fact that it has not been fully resolved yet, and, consequently, the recent publications reflect on complications in this regard. Therefore, it is critical to understand the state of this problem in relation to present-day society to grasp the meaning of similar matters for the population’s wellbeing.

Summary of the Articles

The articles selected for the analysis discuss the situation of minorities while drawing a connection between historical issues and their current position. The first source, written by Johnson and Urquhart, explicitly refers to the continuing growth of ethnic and racial diversity in the United States, which exacerbates the previously existing intolerance.¹ The authors claim that these processes are similar to those in the past.² They explain that the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan as a response to a perceived threat from Black people resembles the increase in violence after the organization of the Black Lives Matter.

From this perspective, both events are simply attempting to eliminate the alleged risks for white people related to them. This stance is confirmed by Michael E. Miller, who narrates about the so-called war of races. According to him, it started with the attempts to shift from white supremacy to equality of diverse population groups and evolved from the slaughter of African Americans to occasional attacks.³ Therefore, the resistance of more privileged members of society is still present.

Another aspect of this ongoing conflict is the political decisions, which are affected by people’s intentions to gain more power for the individuals from their population groups. Thus, for example, Moffitt writes that such occasions are typically ascribed to their desire to maintain white supremacy, which still shapes American society.⁴ The existence of corresponding western values is seen from history and in the present-day world because the attempts to rationalize the enslavement of Africans in the past are no different from systemic racism. The inclusion of politics in the matter is also described in the article, written by Luke Darby, who states that the reputation of some leaders, such as Donald Trump, is tainted by active discussion of racial conspiracy theories.⁵ In this way, the shootings of minorities can be seemingly supported by them, which is not necessarily true, but these allegations might underpin the motivation of criminals.

In addition, as per the article of Michael Powell, the latter is reflected by police killings of Black people alongside the injustice concerning education, lending policies of banks, and other societal institutions. In other words, the racialization of problems, which people throughout the country face these days, reminds scholars of the severity of minorities’ position.⁶ From this point of view, the described issue cannot be solely considered as a phenomenon of the past. Thus, its influence on the lives of American citizens requires particular attention.

Historical Connections

The historical connections between the events implying the intention of white citizens to claim their greater rights compared to those of minorities can be traced throughout the centuries. Meanwhile, the formation of opposition and the movements, such as Black Lives Matter, does not contribute to the establishment of a balance in this respect. On the contrary, they seem to promote violence because any actions immediately face counter-actions of white supremacists. This mechanism works regardless of the field in which injustice is observed but is more evident in politics. The seeming or actual support of the above doctrine by authorities in the past and at present is of crucial importance because they result in committing racial crimes. The only difference between the period of time before the Civil War and present-day society is in the fact that the former meant explicit approval of such actions, whereas the latter indicates one’s greater responsibility. Nevertheless, it does not stop individuals from performing illegal activities when pursuing white supremacy.

Historical Significance

As follows from the analysis above, there are no different sides of the argument in the authors’ works since they all claim the need for a change and illegitimacy of racial injustice. In turn, the historical significance of the issue is reflected on by the fact that any expansion of civil rights for minorities stemming from social movements inevitably results in the rise of intolerance. This condition contributes to the requirement to address the needs of all population groups instead of targeting only one of them. Otherwise, the failure to do so evokes concerns and discussions of imaginary threats.

Conclusion

To summarize, the ideas regarding the problem of white supremacy and racial injustice in the United States, which derives from the period of time before the Civil War, are essential for its better understanding. At present, its existence is confirmed by various scholars, who examine corresponding crimes in the country and similar phenomena and claim their connection to political affairs. Thus, the resolution of the described issue is possible only in the case if an informed opinion is based on related events in history.

References

Darby, Luke. ” How White Supremacy Went Mainstream in the US: 8chan, Trump, Voter Suppression.” The Guardian. 2019. Web.

Johnson, Katanga, and Jim Urquhart. “White Nationalism Upsurge in U.S. Echoes Historical Pattern, Say Scholars.” Reuters. 2021. Web.

Miller, Michael E. ” ‘The War of Races’: How a Hateful Ideology Echoes Through American History.” The Washington Post. 2019. Web.

Moffitt, Ursula. “White Supremacists Who Stormed US Capitol Are Only The Most Visible Product of Racism.” The Conversation. 2021. Web.

Powell, Michael. “‘White Supremacy’ Once Meant David Duke and the Klan. Now It Refers to Much More.” The New York Times. 2020. Web.

Footnotes

1. Katanga Johnson, and Jim Urquhart, “White Nationalism Upsurge in U.S. Echoes Historical Pattern, Say Scholars,” Reuters. 2021. Web.
2. Johnson and Urquhart, “White Nationalism Upsurge in U.S.”.
3. Michael E. Miller, ” ‘The War of Races’: How a Hateful Ideology Echoes Through American History,” The Washington Post. 2019. Web.
4. Ursula Moffitt, “White Supremacists Who Stormed US Capitol Are Only The Most Visible Product of Racism,” The Conversation. 2021. Web.
5. Luke Darby, “How White Supremacy Went Mainstream in the US: 8chan, Trump, Voter Suppression,” The Guardian. 2019. Web.
6. Michael Powell, “‘White Supremacy’ Once Meant David Duke and the Klan. Now It Refers to Much More,” The New York Times. 2020. Web.