The Attack on Inequality | Teen Ink

The Attack on Inequality

April 19, 2017
By Taimen Caporali BRONZE, Parker, Colorado
Taimen Caporali BRONZE, Parker, Colorado
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

The topic of racial inequalities advance has been debated for years. Racial inequality has been around since mankind itself. Racial equality has caused turmoil throughout the world, it was a major cause of the civil war, today still affects us today. Many say racial equality has improved greatly, but there’s still a long way to go. Sure, people are no longer enslaved, free to live however they wish as per their right as human beings. However, inequality still exists, even now events such as president Trump’s plan for the wall, or the travel ban on muslims, are being debated on.


In A Raisin in the Sun racism is quite prominent in some cases such as when Mr. Lindner offers the Younger family money to not move into the white neighborhood “I want you to believe me when I tell you that race prejudice simply doesn’t enter into it. It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our N**** families are happier when they live in their own communities.” (Hansberry, Lorraine, A Raisin in the sun, 1959 Act 2 Scene 3)


Today conflict still arises in terms of racial issues. Stereotypes are still a large factor in society, many people still live by them. Racial inequality is obviously still a large part of society, whether you personally believe so or not. Shying away from the academic standpoint for a second, it's called the Human race for a reason. In my own opinion, whether you be German, African, Asian, American, Russian, etc, we are all just people, yes from different heritages, backgrounds, and culture, but one race nonetheless, ethnicity is no reason to persecute anyone, or treat anyone as unequal. As a Human race, one race, we would be able to accomplish so much more if we weren't fighting ourselves. Racial inequality has put humanity so far behind, think of all the things we could be doing if we all worked together as a union. The Great Gatsby is another good example, there may not be many examples of racial inequality, but just inequality in general, such as the massive gap between the rich and the poor.


African Americans have been struggling for their equality for centuries, from slavery, to segregation, to the civil rights movement. Even after the end of segregation African Americans still struggled to gain their equality. People still treated Blacks as a separate and lesser race. Blacks were harassed, beaten, and even killed, all over their skin color.


Fewer than one in three black Americans and not even half of whites say the United States has made “a lot” of progress toward achieving racial equality in the half-century since the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. declared he had “a dream” that one day freedom, justice and brotherhood would prevail and that his children would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”


(Roberts, Sam. “Race Equality Is Still a Work in Progress, Survey Finds.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Aug. 2013, Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.)


The Grapes of Wrath shows other great examples of inequality, not racial, but just overall discrimination. "Well, Okie use' ta mean you was from Oklahoma. Now it means you're a dirty son-of-a-bitch. Okie means you're scum." (Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin classics, 1992. Chapter 18, Pg 280)
Inequality comes in all shapes and sizes, however, some instances of inequality are more prominent and stubborn than others.

The author's comments:

Racial inequality has been around far too long, and many people don't realize how much it still appears in modern society. Even today people are still subject to prejudice and disrespect simply because of the color of their skin. In this paper I attempt to explain the hardships African Americans have faced, and in some cases still continue to face. I chose this topic in an attempt to get people to notice the discrimination that people of other races and ethnicities undergo, through research, reference, and historical facts.


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