History of Racism in US

Discrimination and Prejudices against one’s physical appearance have been a common bias throughout the globe. People had been discriminated on the basis of their skin colour, race, caste, gender, etc. And the saddest part is that these biases have been considered norms for centuries.

In United States of America, racial discrimination existed as early as the colonial rule in America. Centuries ago, White Europeans bought black slaves from Africa and brought them to America. These people were tettered in chains and were forced to travel across the Atlantic Ocean.
Slavery had been prevalent in US since the 16th century. According to the 1860 United States census, there were about 385,000 slave owners in the slave states of population approximately 7,000,000.

The Emancipation Proclamation Act had been issued by the 16th U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery, to free all the slaves in the areas of the Confederate States of America.
The 13th Amendment in US Constitution abolished slavery on December 6th, 1865. About 4 million black slaves freed in 1865. But the 14th amendment neutralized the civil rights for everyone. And then, the emergence of “Black Codes” barred African-Americans from the Civil Rights. Soon, the 15th amendment to US Constitution protected the right to vote for everyone.

In 1870, Jim crow laws were introduced, which promoted the idea of “Seperate but Equal”. According to this, all races are equal but public services was segregated for the blacks and the whites, and often, the public facilities for whites were better and nicer.

Major figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Rosa parks were involved in the fight against racial discrimination of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1955, Rosa park refuse to give up a seat in public bus, which led to Montgomery Bus Boycott. this boycott lasted for 381 days before the Supreme Court deemed that segregated seating is unconstitutional.

Martin Luther King Jr who was the peaceful activist and pastor, who let many such protest, advocating for the improvement in the status of African-Americans in the United States of America.

Unlike Dr. King, Malcolm X followed the different path. He and his supporters stressed on the idea of black power and pride. Although Malcolm X’s methods were radical, he is still considered one of the pioneers in fighting against discrimination daily lives of African Americans. The extent of races reduced to some scale till date but still today, black are trained to face such discrimination from their childhood.

On May 25th 2020, George Floyd, an African American civilian, was murdered by a White policeman when he knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes. Floyd’s last words were “I Can’t Breathe”. This incident reignited the long-felt anger on Police brutality against the African Americans. Protests have been demonstrated throughout US initiating Black Lives Matter Movement. This movement has shifted Global attention to Racism. People worldwide are protesting against Racism and are supporting Black Lives Matter Movement.