Natori Cousin

Professor Suzanne Thomas

UWRT 1102
14 April 2015
The Root of Evil
Racism is the black sheep in the room that no one, worldwide or in America, likes to
discuss. Most people think that racism started with slavery, and the African slave trade.
Although, Bulmer and Solomos from Oxford University Press who wrote the book Racism,
believe that Eighteenth-century Europe was the cradle of modern racism because the
Enlightenment period sparked a revolt in Christianity and people were starting to base a persons
worth on their outward appearance. Prior to the Enlightenment period, the beliefs in Christianity
and the Bible were that there was one united human race. Ethnologists during the Enlightenment
period divided humans into three to five different races. Eventually, there was the idea of how
slavery began with white people thinking that people with darker skin from places like Africa
were heathens from George Fredrickson. George Fredrickson was a professor from Stanford
University that was an influential voice on race and racism. The white Europeans and Americans
enslaved the Africans because of this and the slaves were thought of as being inferior to them.
The slave trade eventually sprung out into America, which was supposed to be the land of the
free. Institutional slavery ended well over a hundred years ago, but there are still forms of racism
that people have to deal with on a daily basis to this day.

Racism is defined as when ethnic groups or historical collectivity dominates, excludes,

or seeks to eliminate another on the basis of differences that it believes are hereditary and
unalterable (Fredrickson). The first clear sign of racism was in the eighteenth century when
Jewish people were referenced as being with the devil. It was not until later that racism started
being based off of skin color and people were put into inferior and superior categories. Initially
slavery existed in European countries with white slaves. Slavery was not born of racism; rather,
racism was the consequence of slavery (Taylor). It was not until later that people of darker skin
color were appointed to be slaves, and therefore racism came into play.
America was a country based off of slave trade, especially in the plantation economy of
the south, which was hypocritical to a place that was supposed to be the land of the free. During
the slavery time period, they refused to see their slaves as anything but hopeless parasites and
dependents who could only survive in a slave relation under the superior mind of the master
who would direct the labor and ensure his slaves happiness (Bulmer and Solomos 94).
Happiness was the last emotion that slaves and black people experienced during this time period
and the masters minds were not even close to being superior. Slavery lasted many years in
America and actually lasted much longer here, than in European countries where it originated.
In the late 1800s, slavery came to an end in America but, the antislavery movement of the 19th
century aroused energetic rationalization of slavery through intensified belief in the inferiority of
blacks (Lieberman).
The Thirteenth Amendment formally ended slavery, but a decade later slavery by
another name was introduced (Chosky). After slavery ended in America there was still
segregation that limited contact between blacks and whites. Unlike other race-based societies,
the United States uses rigid black or white categories without recognition of mixed gradations

(Lieberman). For many years, people fought to end segregation, and therefore the Civil Rights
movement emerged. It was not until the 1960s, nearly a hundred years after slavery ended that all
people were legally treated as equals. We cannot allow ourselves to forget that during this long
period there have been only a few decades when African-Americans, apart from a few, had some
limited possibilities for entering the mainstream of American society (Chosky).
Even after slavery ended black life was criminalized by overly harsh codes that targeted
black people (Yancy). It was not until the civil rights movement that black people started to see
doors opened for them. The Brown vs Board of Education case outlawed segregation in schools
in 1954, which sparked the start of the civil rights movement. Afterwards, there were many
events taken place, for example the sit in led by four students from North Carolina Agricultural
and Technical University, which sought to end segregation in public places. Prior to the sit in,
there were restaurants and many other public places that had Whites only and Colored only
signs.
During this time period there were also marches and speeches held by people like Martin
Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. paved the way for Americans of color to be further more
treated as equals and for Americans to unite together as a whole. King performed speeches that
influenced the people of America that separated institutes and societies were not what the
country should consist of. Bus boycotts and many other events took place that led to the
desegregation of America.

In spite of the fact that by law, everyone was supposed to be treated as equals after
America was ordained to be a desegregated country, this was definitely not the case in the
everyday lives of black people. Prior to desegregation there were separate but equal laws, but

these were abandoned after the influence of the civil rights movement. Nevertheless, black
people faced racial discrimination in the work place, schools and other places, that was not as
pronounced as before, but in more subtle terms. Elwood D. Watson from the Huffington Post
argued that To put it bluntly, far too many efforts to address the issue of racism in our
contemporary culture is often misguided, distressingly adrift, naive and tone deaf to the concerns
and harsh realities that many people who suffer its (racism) pernicious effects have to deal with
on a daily basis.
Recently in America, many events have taken place that shows that racism is still
prominent in todays society. There have been incidents where the police have killed people that
did not deserve to be killed and had not been properly convicted or not convicted at all for the
crimes. Many of the situations where the police have killed someone, ruled to be part of selfdefense. One of the occurrences hits home to members of my family that happened in 2006 with
a man related to them. Sean Bell was the person who was killed after officers thought that he had
a gun. Sean Bell and his friends were unarmed after leaving a night club in Queens, New York
after celebrating his marriage engagement. Officers thought that one of the men with Sean Bell
had a gun and nearly fifty shots were fired between him and his two friends that left him dead
and his friends injured. Why were so many shots fired for only three people who were unarmed
is a question that crosses the minds of many. The officers were not sent to prison for this, but one
was fired and the others were forced to resign years after the event. If Sean Bell was not black he
would still be alive today, is the belief of many people.
Controversial commotions like the police shootings make it hard to distinguish whether
racism is the reason for the shootings. Some believe that justice is being served and racism has
no influence on what has been happening in America. Elwood D. Watson believes that The

reason is that many have adopted a defensive posture declaring that things are "not as bad as we
think it is." I think that it is as bad as we think it is. Although it is a bit more subtle racism does
exist even in my generation, the racist mind frames take over.
Not too long ago, at the high school that I graduated from that my family and friends
attend, there was an occurrence of racism. The city and school that I attended was predominantly
white with little diversity. After the prom at the high school, there was a party that my family and
friends tried to go to. They called the person in charge of the party to see if they could come and
the person denied them from going because they were black. Sadly, this incident is not very
foreign to what I experienced growing up there and things like this should not continue to
happen. Many people from my hometown try to deny the fact that racism still exists but
moments like this one show that it is very much still alive.
Racism is something that does not still have to exist in America today. Belittling racism
and the tolls it has on people that get the negative side of it is something people do as well. Black
people and people of many other races experience the negative consequences of racism on a
daily basis and it is not so much of a little problem to them. Elwood D. Watson who is a
professor at East Tennessee State University for history and African American studies pointed
out that Students of color and non-White faculty and administrators, college students and
faculty routinely enduring relentless forms of micro aggressions from fellow students and
colleagues on their campuses.
America should come together as a country to compose a way to end racism for good. We
worked together to end slavery and segregation so why stop there? Slavery and segregation
stopped America from growing and becoming a more prosperous country and racism is a

hindering factor as well. Without racism the United States of America could actually become
united. Considering a person to be below another and treating them differently because of their
race is idiotic.
To end racism we must first change our mind frames. Racist mind frames are installed in
people even when you think that they are not. For example, you can admit to yourself and others
that you are not racist but in your subconscious you still have racist thoughts. Getting rid of the
subconscious thoughts so they will not exist in future generations to come is the action that must
be taken. If future generations were unaware of racism from the information that the
subconsciously get from the past generations then racism would not exist.
Thinking that it is possible to end racism mind sets and mentalities is a bit clich. There
will probably always be someone that wants to go against the majority and therefore rebelling
against forming a stronger America. It all starts with you and our generation. When you stop
giving in to degrading other people and races our country could become stronger. Lifting people
up instead of tearing people down is how everyone will overall become better. America has
gotten a long way, and in the process became a better country than when we were divided when
racism was more prominent. If racism did not exist at all think of how much more far we could
get as a country.
Ultimately, racism is the root of evil. People being segregated from experiencing certain
things, like the water fountain picture where people were basically put into two separate worlds
while standing next to each other. Other more horrible things, like the killing of innocent people
explains why racism is the root of all evil. We have to come to terms with the fact that bad things
do still happen in America because of racism and the best thing to do for America to become a

better country would be to eliminate racism all together. There is no limit to how much more
prosperous America could become if there were no racism. Empowering each other as a whole
makes everyone better. Eliminating racism starts with you, I, and our generation.