At every public location, there used to be two water coolers; one for the “whites” and one for the colored. This was because of segregation laws that were enforced by government dating back to the 1940s. These segregation laws asked that there be separate water cooler terminals for the “whites” and for those of darker colored skin. Segregation laws also made it so that, while all citizens were provided the same public services (e.g. schools, hospitals, etc), those of African American descent were to be separated from the “whites”, and were often given lesser public services than the “whites”. This form of institutionalized racial discrimination no longer exists; however, racism does continue to plague our society to this day. (Columbia University)
In 2009, over 40 000 race related crimes occurred in the United Kingdom alone. (Johnson) Also, in the United States of America, it has been recorded that, in the past year, about 50% of all hate crimes were racially motivated. (U.S. Department of Justice) Poverty gives way to social tensions because of the economic stress everyone is experiences, and can result in anger at each other in the form of racism. At this point, we rely on education to kick in; education teaches us what is right and wrong, but with poverty usually comes a low level of education. If only we were to direct our efforts to eradicating poverty and increasing education in our society, maybe we can also remove racism from our society. Although Some may argue that trends show levels of racism in America have been considerably diminished over the past few hundred years; factors like, poverty and lack of education, stand in the way of stopping racism once and for all. In not addressing this predicament promptly, racism r...
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...tention it once had, we jeopardize the progress society has made towards a world of equal opportunity. Through better access to better education, we can increase awareness of the mistakes we’ve made in history, and avoid them. In this way, we can start to make advancements to stop crimes of discrimination, and maybe we can move society towards a world in which we can truthfully say “racism does not exist”.
Works Cited
Columbia University. Jim Crow. 2009. 23 January 2011 .
Johnson, Wesley. Figures Show Large Rise in Number of Hate Crimes. 30 November 2010. 23 January 2011 .
U.S. Department of Justice. Uniform Crime Reports. 2011. 23 January 2011 .
Newman says that the scope of education should broaden and encourage more learning outside of the career track, while Freire says how the material is learned should be broadened and laid out where it is learned for its entirety and not just its basic ideas. They feel that “the learned professions altogether... [are] the most popularly beneficial and… most intimately divine of all human pursuits” (Newman, 57). Simply said, education is something of high importance that should be desired and acquired by all. If one does not embrace education, he or she will not gain knowledge or understand its importance. Fredrick Douglass, a famous slave that worked to gain knowledge, and ultimately helped abolish slavery understands this concept. In his biography, “Learning to Read,” he describes his struggle of learning to read and write. He says, “I wished to learn… [and] after a long, tedious effort for years, I finally succeeded in learning” (Douglas, 50). As a slave, being educated was a difficult task, but Douglass understood its importance and desired to pursue it. At first, he despised, the education, “while they [(the arguments in the Columbian Orator)] relieved me of one difficulty, they brought on another even more painful than the one of which I was relieved,” but it eventually lead to his understanding of “abolition” and helped him free “[him]self and fellow-slaves” (48,49). The education Douglass learns from the Columbian Orator and local newspapers, among other places, is a prime example of liberal knowledge. He learned it “for the sake of knowing it.” Douglass’s example solidifies Newman’s idea that liberal education is valuable because it is proven to have “value and dignity” (Newman, 58). His example also exemplifies Freire’s point that “Liberation is a praxis: the action and reflection of men and women upon their world in order to transform it” (65). Freire believes that one
"Hate Crimes up in Wake of Terrorist Attacks." CNN.com. Cable News Newtwork, 16 Sept. 2001.
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