For hundreds of years in America, the issue of race has been a hot topic. The country has a dark past for many people of all colors and creeds which cannot be denied. We can open our history books and see many examples of social injustice and political practices that would not be tolerated in America today. From slavery to segregation Blacks in America have gone through arguably the most hardship. The civil rights era led by many strong Americans; most notably Martin Luther King, was something that we can all look back on and say was necessary for the country to be equal for all of its citizens. We later saw things such as affirmative action programs to help increase economic mobility for those previously disenfranchised. A lot has happened in the past as it pertains to race relations in America. Since these times our laws and morals have changed so much that we’ve seen a Black American family become the face of the Nation. And regardless of anyone’s political views, this was a milestone for America to see how far we’ve come as a country. Currently in 2020 we’re still hearing a message that race is the biggest problem facing America and blacks are not offered the same rights afforded to everyone else in the country. This isn’t something that can be proven, however it’s in the best interest of people in power to make the race issue something that will always be prevalent in America. Race since the civil rights act has played an important role in both politics, and sources for information, since the civil war, but why? Is it for equal rights in America as it was before? No. Race today is being exploited to keep powerful people in power and their subjects eating out of their hands.
In 2020 the topic of slavery is still as if not more prevalent as its always been. From generation to generation, we continue to look backwards at the darkest part of our American history and continually bring that darkness into present time There are questions we have to ask ourselves when it comes to this; why are we constantly reminded of our past? A person cannot move forwards if they continue to hold onto the past. In the past blacks were victims of not only slavery but lack of rights afforded to others that prevented our assertors to prevail. This is not the case today, however the narrative of oppression is still being pushed today. What are the effects of this past playing a large role in the present? The past of black Americans can be exploited for gain in many ways as long as it continues to remain relevant to life in present. By making blacks believe they are still obsessed as they were in the past the powerful can accomplish two things; keeping blacks mentally trapped with self-doubt and feeling like a victim, and for those in power to remain in power by offering solutions to these issues that are being perpetuated by themselves. Who benefits from this? They’re many who benefit from this but the most important thing is that Black Americans do not benefit by continuing to be treated as victims. Black Americans face many hurdles in the pursuit of happiness that are complex and have complex solutions. However, race continues to be what we fall on as the causes and effects when it comes to most problems the demographic faces.
Education, crime, economic mobility, parenting, mortality rates, and most popular of all police brutality are issues that can all be attributed to the color of a person’s skin if you believe what mainstream media and many politicians tells you. Without going into the underlying issues as to why these are issues that face many people most notably blacks in America, we cannot forget that these issues exist and using skin color as the cause to these problems causes people to ignore the other issues that really matter. If race is always the answer to Black America’s most important challenges real solutions will never be found. Black Americans who allow themselves to fall back on “because I’m black” when faced with adversity can never solve their problems.
In 2020 we’ve seen race completely exploited for one agenda after another. In our daily media consumption we’ve seen the topic pushed to the top of news coverage and even from our biggest celebrities such as Oprah. These sources are keeping race in the front of the minds of many people in America causing further division in the county. Race is something that we’ve been taught to give value to as a determining factor in life. Because so many people hold race as something valuable, it can be exploited. In 2020 we’ve seen race be pushed to the citizens of America causing fear, anger, and the need to change the country.
Race has been used to play a large roll in politics for hundreds of years. Race was first used as concept that helped to justify slavery. First used in the 1400s, the concept was used to deem blacks inferior to other races, soon leading to putting them in chains. Race is now just as useful. In modern times race is used to mentally chain one’s morality and emotions. In 2020 race has been used to push political agendas like never before. The Black Lives Matter movement has exploited race to push a political agenda. Evidence of this can simply be seen in their founders’ post-election victory statements, when there has been no tangible change in the community that they represent.
Why is race something that in 2020 can still hold so much weight? Something so simple as the color of a human being can be leveraged in such a way that it can drastically affect elections. Because powerful people need identity politics to control the masses. Dividing the population into its subgroups then telling these groups that they’re incapable of prosperity without them. In America specifically, we are governed by a small percentage of the population. This small governing body cannot address us one united body and hold control. They have to break these millions of citizens into subgroups to retain power. Race is the simplest way to cause division amongst people. This division is the fuel to push any narrative needed to achieve a political result. Unfortunately, this will continue to work because for many Americans unfortunately, the color of one’s skin has been successfully sold as one’s most important identifying factor.