A Color Problem in a Post Racial Nation

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It appears that the color of your skin whether it be black, white, brown, red, or yellow doesn’t matter in America anymore. One might assume that this statement is a plausible one, given the fact that we have a male “African American” president, and America is now considered to be a “Post-Racial Nation” (Rush Limbaugh, 2010), where skin color is no longer an inhibiting factor. The truth of the matter is that race has most certainly played a significant factor in America’s history since the early 16th century and through to the 21st century. “Race” is a good predictor of who has power, owns land, receives privileges and opportunities, and who reaps the benefits of those items listed (just to name a few things from an exhaustive list). It seems as if African Americans along with other racial minority groups continue to be the primary targets of extreme discrimination, prejudice, racism and profiling when it comes to their observable characteristics.
The past is a good indicator of the future, and a careful examination of America’s richly eventful historical past will reveal that for a black male in particular, the likelihood of him being racially profiled occurs more frequently than his Caucasian counterparts. According to the declaration of independence which stated “all men are created equal” (Thomas Jefferson, 1776), it is evidently clear that this phrase was and still isn’t applicable toward African Americans. We can look at our nations early colonial era when the period’s powerful and well-to-do elites rationalized the enslavement of Africans and indigenous people as a moral good and service to “the lesser races”. It is universally known in America that the racial caste system of slavery which included racial profiling, lasted ...

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