Racism has long been a part of our nation. Even before the revolution, whites harbored harsh sentiments against the African and Native Americans. These sentiments led to slavery and persecution. During the last fifty years, our government has taken large steps to eliminate the persecution of non-whites; however, the prejudice is still rampant.
When Nathan Bedford Forrest and other confederate army veterans founded the KKK in 1866 (World Book Encyclopedia, 2008), the clansmen went after the newly freed African Americans, lynching them if they so much as tried to vote. There is no such extreme today, although the clan is still strong.
Many of my friends are nonwhites. There are really no differences in our levels of intelligence, and it pains me to think that people won’t accept them because of their race or religious beliefs. Even in the election today, Barak Obama is facing major opposition because of his race.
Skin color comes from genetics, so it doesn’t make sense why anyone would think that a person is inferior just because they aren’t white. In fact, coming to North and South America, it would stand to reason that the Europeans should have been the ones persecuted for invading the land.
If we as a people could look past race, forget that there are differences in color, think of all the friendships that would thrive! I believe that we should all take the time to get to know a person instead of judging simply based on appearances. As the famous poetess Maya Angelou said: “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can demonstrate the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” (www.betterworldquotes.com)
