This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough.
190475 Responseshttp://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/a-long-long-way-indeed/A+Long%2C+Long+Way+Indeed2010-03-01+03%3A43%3A53Sam+Richards to A Long, Long Way Indeed
I think they would be rather impressed. If it were present day and owners still treated their slaves the way they did they would be astonished at the fact that people of color could be so successful. Back in the day owners thought nothing of their slaves except that they were good for doing labor around the house. I’m sure most would be angry to see that they are successful and making money for entertainment purposes, as they thought back then that the entertainment was only to be provided to the white man. It would be very interesting to see what one would think in modern day.
The kid poses a very interesting question. What would a slave holder say if they were alive today? Im sure the words that they would say, wouldn't contain improvaland praise. We have come an incredibibly long way to get where we are today. Many leaders and inspirational figures fought very long and hard for the rights of African Americans. They worked for many years to change the opinions of individuals regarding our differences. They truly inspired millions of people. We have made great progress in how we think about people that are different from us. We now understand that the extreme prejudice we had towards African Americans was unjustified and completely out of place. We now show a greater respect for the lives of others and do not treat people like property. African Americans now have the right to vote, and all of the other rights white people have. We now have a black president of the United States. We have definately reshaped our country as a whole. Im sure these kind of changes would shock the slave owners of the past. They would find this completely absurd and foolish. This change of society took many years and is still not completed. There are still many changes that need to be made because discrimination continues to exist in our every day lives.Even though many people choose to believe that discrimination no longer exists and that all of us are equal.This belief, however, is not true. We live with barriers that prevent us from opening up to people that are different from us. When we go to a party, for example, that is held by people different from us we are very hesitant to approach them. The same applies for people of different races, when approached by white people, making them feel uncomfortable. Even though we claim that there is no discrimination, this is not true. Deep inside there are still various barriers that prevent white and black people from adopting children of different races. When applying for a job white people with a criminal record are chosen over African Americans with no criminal record. Both individuals have the same appearances and resumes, however white people still get picked. African Americans and other minorities are much more likely to be charged with crime and imprisoned. History has left a long lasting impact on our society and it will take hundreds of more years to fade away.Slaveholders today would see some of the markings they left behind and will be proud. We need to stop this from happening and change society to the point where these acts of discrimation no longer exists. We need to work together, to fix the world we live in and get rid of the discrimination history left behind.
Leaps and bounds have been made in the United States in the area of race relations. I hope that this country continues to make progress. Diversity is fun and exciting and adds a lot of flavor and excitement to our country. I think that black people have made a tremendous impact on my personal life through their music and athletic ability. Black people have taken the sports entertainment industry and the United States has benefited. We have the NBA, NFL, and MLB which are world renowned sports associations which provide entertainment for the old and young alike. Diversity has made the United States a great place to live!
this along with a whole lot of other questions really make you realize how far we have come in a short amount of time. there is a lot of things in the past and present about such epic events like this that has taken so many years, but in might have taken us awhile to give African Americans rights, but when we gave away to some room, we made immense progress in a short amount of time. i just really think you got to look at this as the glass half full and one of the good things America has going for them today.
I think that they would be upset. I dont agree exactly with the surprised point of view only because slave owners knew that slaves could learn, they just tried to opress them so that they wouldnt and gain knowledge that could lead to escape and realization of all the unfiar treatment. They would know that people of color are strong and capable and talented but they wouldnt want to see that due to their history of discrimination and enslavement. I think that times were so different that slave owners would even be angered with people who are white and try to "act black" i mean, imagine if he saw an Eminem video? (Who is a complete genius)
This is one of those "half empty or half full" issues. Yeah, our nation has come a long way in the sense that it is no longer acceptable to abuse, force, or harm people in a physical manner because of their race. We do not chain people or use shackles to prevent them from expressing their free will. So, if you look at slavery from a physical standpoint then of course we have come accomplished a lot. But if the lack of respect for people of different colors and backgrounds still exists in any part of the country, I think there still is much progress to be made before we can applaud ourselves.
The question presented is pretty interesting. I’m pretty sure we all know that the slave owners wouldn’t be too pleased if they saw Beyonce’s “All the Single Ladies” music video or Ryan Howard in a baseball highlight. I think overall slave owners would not believe how far blacks have made it in America n such a short time. I’m sure they would do a double take if they saw Barrack Obama as our president. There might be a few who take back what they did after seeing all the things blacks have accomplished. The slave owners would be in for a huge shock.
Everyone keeps saying how interesting this topic is, and I can’t deny that it is intriguing. However, just as a side note, I also found it questionable that one student only addressed how far African Americans have come when referring to them as “these rappers.” It might have been because the student gave the topic of MTV (I hope that was the reason). And I say that because African Americans have become so much more than just celebrities and the people you see on television. Even though some of them may seem to be the most powerful, I think that there are a vast amount of inspiring African Americans that are doing quite well but are not in the spot light (I’m certain that goes for all races…but since this was specifically mentioned…). Also, this idea that the black artists and athletes are so amazing seems almost dangerous because often times some people who are not of color can easily misinterpret these celebrities as being spokespersons and general templates for the entire race (or even most of it). But that’s just a side note…
So what would happen if a slave owner were to watch MTV, ESPN, or VH1?
I’m not sure but I think the result would actually be pretty funny. I would expect the slave owner to be quite stunned at what he was seeing on the television (assuming he understands the concept of tv). He would probably be even more surprised to see something like football or baseball where blacks, whites and other races intermingle and all get along as a cohesive team. The slave owner, who would undoubtedly be a male, would be quite surprised to see a woman like Erin Andrews working along the sidelines of a sporting event. Someone like Marion Jones would probably be mind boggling to the slave owner.
Also, it would be pretty interesting to see the reaction of a slave especially given the mindset of the era. I think that even a slave would be quite stunned at what they were seeing since the culture in the days of American slavery was so different.
I also wonder what the slave owner would think of the many white guys who dress like black celebrities like Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, just to name a few. It’s a really crazy concept today that many white college kids dress to be another gender, where as a couple hundred years ago, a slave wasn’t permitted to dress like a white slave owner. Crazy how our culture has evolved, huh?
In today’s culture, it isn’t uncommon for a white guy like myself to “idolize” so many different races. For instance, some of my favorite athletes are Tiger Woods (pre-transgressions), who is Asian and black, James Harrison, black, Hines Ward, Korean and white, and Evgeni Malkin, a white Russian, and Kobe Bryant. I would consider the afformentioned players my favorite athletes across the sports I care most about. Obviously I have a wide variety of taste and skin color makes no difference in how much I follow these athletes.
I only listed athletes because sports are probably the things my friends and I discuss the most and follow the closest. But I also have similar music tastes as my friends which range from Lil Wayne and T.I. to Guns N’ Roses and The Offspring.
My point is that today’s culture is so much more accepting of a wide variety of races that I think anyone who live 200-300 years ago would be quite surprised at how we are living today. Obviously American culture isn’t perfect yet, but it is really interesting to see society evolve. It’ll be even more interesting to see how our society and culture functions when we as college students are in our 70’s and our grandchildren are entering their college years.
As many of the other people who have responded to this post have said, this is not something I have really thought of in the past. This student poses a very interesting question. It makes me realize that even though I always think we have such a far way to go, we really have come a long long way. I think that slave owners would be "appalled" as a previous student stated. We do have a lot of talented blacks, Asians, Native Americans, Hispanics and other people of color who are making an incredible difference in our world. People of all races and colors are changing this world and succeeding. We should have a sense of accomplishment as to how far we have come in our society.
its hard to tell what slave owners would think. im sure that they would most definelty be shocked. it is amazing that we have created such a gap in our society, but its still not perfect. we have a long way untill we have completely closed the gap, and im not sure that it ever will be closed, its an unfortunate quality in human beings. i am extremely proud of how far we've gotten, i just know that it could be so much further. It is going to take huge steps in peoples regards towards difference, but with each and each generation we get closer to extinguishing the differences.
I believe that this individual brought up a very good point. I watch ESPN and MTV and such all the time and I don’t even notice these things anymore. I turn on ESPN or MTV and I see things about black athletes or rappers and I’m just like, whatever, because I’m used to it. If I were a slave-owner from the past I would be shocked by how far we’ve come. If I was a slave-owner I wouldn’t even be able to comprehend what is happening. Things have changed so much since we had slaves that they wouldn’t be able to understand anything that is going on but I believe that they would be upset and angry that so much attention is being focused on minorities instead of on white people.
Secondly, you have to consider how far African Americans and other minorities have come in a political sense. No one would have believed that there could be an African American president five years ago and now we have one and everyone seems to be okay with it. The progression in race relations that has occurred in the political spectrum just in the past five to ten years is incredible and it is something that I’ve overlooked and have barely noticed. Ten years ago I don’t think anyone could imagine their being a minority president, much like not very many people can imagine a women being president now but I bet that there will be a female president within five to ten more years, and at that point in time it would be considered nothing special.
We talk in class a lot about how far we still have to come in race and ethnic relations. The comment made by this guy in our Soc class shows us a little of how far we’ve come. I believe that it is just as important to look back as it is to look forward. Maybe by looking at how much progress we have made in race relations will help us in the future because it proves that it’s possible. When people only look at how much further we have to go sometimes it burns them out so they can’t do anymore work because they only see the negative. Every now and then it is a good thing to look behind and see how far we’ve come, making this a good thing to bring up.
Before listening to what this kid said, I went and watched ESPN and didn’t notice anything unusual about watching minorities on it. After listening to his comments, I realized that it is truly a miracle that the United States has progressed this far in race and ethnic relations and it’s a shame that more people don’t look at how far we’ve progressed but only how far we have to come.
Wow, this is a really interesting question that was posted. This is something that I have never thought about, but it’s something that everyone really should think about. I think that slaveowners should definitely be humbled if they turned on MTV and saw all of the accomplishments that black artists and celebrities have had. They have won Grammys, Oscars, so many different awards while touching their fans with their music and songs that they have written. Most of their music reaches out to us every single day on our ipods, and I don’t think many of us have thought about what it would have been like if the slaveowners indeed heard what all of these individuals had to offer.
Man if I can see this happen I would really pay to see this. Slave owners turning on the TV and seeing blacks making millions it would really be something to see with me being and African American I would love to show them how far we have really came up in the world because not so long ago we didn’t have the same opportunities as we all know to me a slave owner would say what the hell is this like really I can see actually them choking or passing out on the spot like it very sad to say but they would probably die on the spot because know that a black man or female are doing better than them and making 10 X more than what they are would really just kill them like really throw a slave owner from the 100s if years ago to a TV and see this wow like to me no words can express on what that slave owner will feel which with me I would tell that slave owner look closely of how far we blacks have made it then tell him to sit down and take this all in very slow. It some kind of way this have really touch me because if the people back those many years can see that we can really come together and prosper together without violence would really show them how stupid and how so many years was thrown away off of hate which I think on again how far we came and I so proud of my country for doing that even thought race still play a matter but its way more hope than those 100s of years ago and I can say this us being on mtv and espn does make a difference in allot of ways.
If a slave owner somehow traveled through time and saw the diversity in culture today, his head would probably and literally explode. His point of view of society would be so misdirected it would be sickening. Whites back in those times thought that any person of color or different from whites were like animals. It would be like any regular human going into the future and seeing cats and dogs as an active part of society (in a figurative sense of course). I feel that white people back then, not only did they have a true hate for people of color but they thought of us and a lesser kind of people. As if we were only meant to cater to them in ways of labor. The real question would be how different it would be for anyone in today’s society who is non-racist no matter what color they are to go back to those times and see how they would be treated. It would be a cruel and rude awakening for anyone to experience. We think that we know and have seen racism. The honest truth is no one of this generation has seen anything close to the degree of racism that was endured upon people of color in those times. People used to get hung and lynched for no reason at all but just because of the color of their skin or where they came from or even religion. Being killed as if they were animals and not people and it was normal. People I feel would just turn their cheeks to this kind of behavior because not only was it accepted but god forbid if you spoke out against something like this. You’d probably be treated just as bad or maybe even worse because you’d be looked at like a traitor to your own kind. The fact of it is disgusting, and it is something that I hope no one would ever have to see or witness. But back to the main subject, we as a people have come a long way. Racism still does exist in this world and this nation but the fact that it is so different and that it is more of a mental sociological thing opposed to how things used to be is taking baby steps towards a better way of life and progress that Dr. King’s dream is finally yet slowly coming true.
I think you are trying to say that race relations has improved, but when you think about it, it has not improved that much. Race relations have improved in some cities in the North, but when you look at the United States as a whole there are still many racist towns and racists’ acts. For example, at a small college in Ohio a student wrote “kill all niggers Feb 2”, to me that does not sound like race relations has improved too much. For people to think that it has is just really sad to me. Why should we settle for little improvement? I think that we should keep trying to I prove the world of race relations because if we learned about other people and their cultures, the world would be a much better place. In my English class a boy wrote an essay about the racism African American, Jewish Americans, and Middle Eastern experience, and for people to experience these types of things in this day and age is ridiculous.
I think you bring up a really interesting concept that I had not really thought about before. That is the fact, that when you look at society since essentially the times of our founding, have we really progressed? And I think that both as a people and a country, this is a question that we should continue to ask ourselves to make sure we are moving in the right direction. To answer your question, I think if slaveowners from the earliest days of our country were to watch MTV now, they would be surprised to see how much influence and fame that some of the most popular black music artists have on our society today. From Lil Wayne to T.I. to Akon, there are numerous black artists that have really shaped and advanced much of the music that adolescents and adults alike enjoy.
I think they would be rather impressed. If it were present day and owners still treated their slaves the way they did they would be astonished at the fact that people of color could be so successful. Back in the day owners thought nothing of their slaves except that they were good for doing labor around the house. I’m sure most would be angry to see that they are successful and making money for entertainment purposes, as they thought back then that the entertainment was only to be provided to the white man. It would be very interesting to see what one would think in modern day.
[Reply]
The kid poses a very interesting question. What would a slave holder say if they were alive today? Im sure the words that they would say, wouldn't contain improvaland praise. We have come an incredibibly long way to get where we are today. Many leaders and inspirational figures fought very long and hard for the rights of African Americans. They worked for many years to change the opinions of individuals regarding our differences. They truly inspired millions of people. We have made great progress in how we think about people that are different from us. We now understand that the extreme prejudice we had towards African Americans was unjustified and completely out of place. We now show a greater respect for the lives of others and do not treat people like property. African Americans now have the right to vote, and all of the other rights white people have. We now have a black president of the United States. We have definately reshaped our country as a whole. Im sure these kind of changes would shock the slave owners of the past. They would find this completely absurd and foolish. This change of society took many years and is still not completed. There are still many changes that need to be made because discrimination continues to exist in our every day lives.Even though many people choose to believe that discrimination no longer exists and that all of us are equal.This belief, however, is not true. We live with barriers that prevent us from opening up to people that are different from us. When we go to a party, for example, that is held by people different from us we are very hesitant to approach them. The same applies for people of different races, when approached by white people, making them feel uncomfortable. Even though we claim that there is no discrimination, this is not true. Deep inside there are still various barriers that prevent white and black people from adopting children of different races. When applying for a job white people with a criminal record are chosen over African Americans with no criminal record. Both individuals have the same appearances and resumes, however white people still get picked. African Americans and other minorities are much more likely to be charged with crime and imprisoned. History has left a long lasting impact on our society and it will take hundreds of more years to fade away.Slaveholders today would see some of the markings they left behind and will be proud. We need to stop this from happening and change society to the point where these acts of discrimation no longer exists. We need to work together, to fix the world we live in and get rid of the discrimination history left behind.
[Reply]
Leaps and bounds have been made in the United States in the area of race relations. I hope that this country continues to make progress. Diversity is fun and exciting and adds a lot of flavor and excitement to our country. I think that black people have made a tremendous impact on my personal life through their music and athletic ability. Black people have taken the sports entertainment industry and the United States has benefited. We have the NBA, NFL, and MLB which are world renowned sports associations which provide entertainment for the old and young alike. Diversity has made the United States a great place to live!
[Reply]
this along with a whole lot of other questions really make you realize how far we have come in a short amount of time. there is a lot of things in the past and present about such epic events like this that has taken so many years, but in might have taken us awhile to give African Americans rights, but when we gave away to some room, we made immense progress in a short amount of time. i just really think you got to look at this as the glass half full and one of the good things America has going for them today.
[Reply]
I think that they would be upset. I dont agree exactly with the surprised point of view only because slave owners knew that slaves could learn, they just tried to opress them so that they wouldnt and gain knowledge that could lead to escape and realization of all the unfiar treatment. They would know that people of color are strong and capable and talented but they wouldnt want to see that due to their history of discrimination and enslavement. I think that times were so different that slave owners would even be angered with people who are white and try to "act black" i mean, imagine if he saw an Eminem video? (Who is a complete genius)
[Reply]
This is one of those "half empty or half full" issues. Yeah, our nation has come a long way in the sense that it is no longer acceptable to abuse, force, or harm people in a physical manner because of their race. We do not chain people or use shackles to prevent them from expressing their free will. So, if you look at slavery from a physical standpoint then of course we have come accomplished a lot. But if the lack of respect for people of different colors and backgrounds still exists in any part of the country, I think there still is much progress to be made before we can applaud ourselves.
[Reply]
The question presented is pretty interesting. I’m pretty sure we all know that the slave owners wouldn’t be too pleased if they saw Beyonce’s “All the Single Ladies” music video or Ryan Howard in a baseball highlight. I think overall slave owners would not believe how far blacks have made it in America n such a short time. I’m sure they would do a double take if they saw Barrack Obama as our president. There might be a few who take back what they did after seeing all the things blacks have accomplished. The slave owners would be in for a huge shock.
[Reply]
Everyone keeps saying how interesting this topic is, and I can’t deny that it is intriguing. However, just as a side note, I also found it questionable that one student only addressed how far African Americans have come when referring to them as “these rappers.” It might have been because the student gave the topic of MTV (I hope that was the reason). And I say that because African Americans have become so much more than just celebrities and the people you see on television. Even though some of them may seem to be the most powerful, I think that there are a vast amount of inspiring African Americans that are doing quite well but are not in the spot light (I’m certain that goes for all races…but since this was specifically mentioned…). Also, this idea that the black artists and athletes are so amazing seems almost dangerous because often times some people who are not of color can easily misinterpret these celebrities as being spokespersons and general templates for the entire race (or even most of it). But that’s just a side note…
[Reply]
So what would happen if a slave owner were to watch MTV, ESPN, or VH1?
I’m not sure but I think the result would actually be pretty funny. I would expect the slave owner to be quite stunned at what he was seeing on the television (assuming he understands the concept of tv). He would probably be even more surprised to see something like football or baseball where blacks, whites and other races intermingle and all get along as a cohesive team. The slave owner, who would undoubtedly be a male, would be quite surprised to see a woman like Erin Andrews working along the sidelines of a sporting event. Someone like Marion Jones would probably be mind boggling to the slave owner.
Also, it would be pretty interesting to see the reaction of a slave especially given the mindset of the era. I think that even a slave would be quite stunned at what they were seeing since the culture in the days of American slavery was so different.
I also wonder what the slave owner would think of the many white guys who dress like black celebrities like Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, just to name a few. It’s a really crazy concept today that many white college kids dress to be another gender, where as a couple hundred years ago, a slave wasn’t permitted to dress like a white slave owner. Crazy how our culture has evolved, huh?
In today’s culture, it isn’t uncommon for a white guy like myself to “idolize” so many different races. For instance, some of my favorite athletes are Tiger Woods (pre-transgressions), who is Asian and black, James Harrison, black, Hines Ward, Korean and white, and Evgeni Malkin, a white Russian, and Kobe Bryant. I would consider the afformentioned players my favorite athletes across the sports I care most about. Obviously I have a wide variety of taste and skin color makes no difference in how much I follow these athletes.
I only listed athletes because sports are probably the things my friends and I discuss the most and follow the closest. But I also have similar music tastes as my friends which range from Lil Wayne and T.I. to Guns N’ Roses and The Offspring.
My point is that today’s culture is so much more accepting of a wide variety of races that I think anyone who live 200-300 years ago would be quite surprised at how we are living today. Obviously American culture isn’t perfect yet, but it is really interesting to see society evolve. It’ll be even more interesting to see how our society and culture functions when we as college students are in our 70’s and our grandchildren are entering their college years.
[Reply]
As many of the other people who have responded to this post have said, this is not something I have really thought of in the past. This student poses a very interesting question. It makes me realize that even though I always think we have such a far way to go, we really have come a long long way. I think that slave owners would be "appalled" as a previous student stated. We do have a lot of talented blacks, Asians, Native Americans, Hispanics and other people of color who are making an incredible difference in our world. People of all races and colors are changing this world and succeeding. We should have a sense of accomplishment as to how far we have come in our society.
[Reply]
its hard to tell what slave owners would think. im sure that they would most definelty be shocked. it is amazing that we have created such a gap in our society, but its still not perfect. we have a long way untill we have completely closed the gap, and im not sure that it ever will be closed, its an unfortunate quality in human beings. i am extremely proud of how far we've gotten, i just know that it could be so much further. It is going to take huge steps in peoples regards towards difference, but with each and each generation we get closer to extinguishing the differences.
[Reply]
I believe that this individual brought up a very good point. I watch ESPN and MTV and such all the time and I don’t even notice these things anymore. I turn on ESPN or MTV and I see things about black athletes or rappers and I’m just like, whatever, because I’m used to it. If I were a slave-owner from the past I would be shocked by how far we’ve come. If I was a slave-owner I wouldn’t even be able to comprehend what is happening. Things have changed so much since we had slaves that they wouldn’t be able to understand anything that is going on but I believe that they would be upset and angry that so much attention is being focused on minorities instead of on white people.
Secondly, you have to consider how far African Americans and other minorities have come in a political sense. No one would have believed that there could be an African American president five years ago and now we have one and everyone seems to be okay with it. The progression in race relations that has occurred in the political spectrum just in the past five to ten years is incredible and it is something that I’ve overlooked and have barely noticed. Ten years ago I don’t think anyone could imagine their being a minority president, much like not very many people can imagine a women being president now but I bet that there will be a female president within five to ten more years, and at that point in time it would be considered nothing special.
We talk in class a lot about how far we still have to come in race and ethnic relations. The comment made by this guy in our Soc class shows us a little of how far we’ve come. I believe that it is just as important to look back as it is to look forward. Maybe by looking at how much progress we have made in race relations will help us in the future because it proves that it’s possible. When people only look at how much further we have to go sometimes it burns them out so they can’t do anymore work because they only see the negative. Every now and then it is a good thing to look behind and see how far we’ve come, making this a good thing to bring up.
Before listening to what this kid said, I went and watched ESPN and didn’t notice anything unusual about watching minorities on it. After listening to his comments, I realized that it is truly a miracle that the United States has progressed this far in race and ethnic relations and it’s a shame that more people don’t look at how far we’ve progressed but only how far we have to come.
[Reply]
Wow, this is a really interesting question that was posted. This is something that I have never thought about, but it’s something that everyone really should think about. I think that slaveowners should definitely be humbled if they turned on MTV and saw all of the accomplishments that black artists and celebrities have had. They have won Grammys, Oscars, so many different awards while touching their fans with their music and songs that they have written. Most of their music reaches out to us every single day on our ipods, and I don’t think many of us have thought about what it would have been like if the slaveowners indeed heard what all of these individuals had to offer.
[Reply]
Man if I can see this happen I would really pay to see this. Slave owners turning on the TV and seeing blacks making millions it would really be something to see with me being and African American I would love to show them how far we have really came up in the world because not so long ago we didn’t have the same opportunities as we all know to me a slave owner would say what the hell is this like really I can see actually them choking or passing out on the spot like it very sad to say but they would probably die on the spot because know that a black man or female are doing better than them and making 10 X more than what they are would really just kill them like really throw a slave owner from the 100s if years ago to a TV and see this wow like to me no words can express on what that slave owner will feel which with me I would tell that slave owner look closely of how far we blacks have made it then tell him to sit down and take this all in very slow. It some kind of way this have really touch me because if the people back those many years can see that we can really come together and prosper together without violence would really show them how stupid and how so many years was thrown away off of hate which I think on again how far we came and I so proud of my country for doing that even thought race still play a matter but its way more hope than those 100s of years ago and I can say this us being on mtv and espn does make a difference in allot of ways.
[Reply]
If a slave owner somehow traveled through time and saw the diversity in culture today, his head would probably and literally explode. His point of view of society would be so misdirected it would be sickening. Whites back in those times thought that any person of color or different from whites were like animals. It would be like any regular human going into the future and seeing cats and dogs as an active part of society (in a figurative sense of course). I feel that white people back then, not only did they have a true hate for people of color but they thought of us and a lesser kind of people. As if we were only meant to cater to them in ways of labor. The real question would be how different it would be for anyone in today’s society who is non-racist no matter what color they are to go back to those times and see how they would be treated. It would be a cruel and rude awakening for anyone to experience. We think that we know and have seen racism. The honest truth is no one of this generation has seen anything close to the degree of racism that was endured upon people of color in those times. People used to get hung and lynched for no reason at all but just because of the color of their skin or where they came from or even religion. Being killed as if they were animals and not people and it was normal. People I feel would just turn their cheeks to this kind of behavior because not only was it accepted but god forbid if you spoke out against something like this. You’d probably be treated just as bad or maybe even worse because you’d be looked at like a traitor to your own kind. The fact of it is disgusting, and it is something that I hope no one would ever have to see or witness. But back to the main subject, we as a people have come a long way. Racism still does exist in this world and this nation but the fact that it is so different and that it is more of a mental sociological thing opposed to how things used to be is taking baby steps towards a better way of life and progress that Dr. King’s dream is finally yet slowly coming true.
[Reply]
I think you are trying to say that race relations has improved, but when you think about it, it has not improved that much. Race relations have improved in some cities in the North, but when you look at the United States as a whole there are still many racist towns and racists’ acts. For example, at a small college in Ohio a student wrote “kill all niggers Feb 2”, to me that does not sound like race relations has improved too much. For people to think that it has is just really sad to me. Why should we settle for little improvement? I think that we should keep trying to I prove the world of race relations because if we learned about other people and their cultures, the world would be a much better place. In my English class a boy wrote an essay about the racism African American, Jewish Americans, and Middle Eastern experience, and for people to experience these types of things in this day and age is ridiculous.
[Reply]
I think you bring up a really interesting concept that I had not really thought about before. That is the fact, that when you look at society since essentially the times of our founding, have we really progressed? And I think that both as a people and a country, this is a question that we should continue to ask ourselves to make sure we are moving in the right direction. To answer your question, I think if slaveowners from the earliest days of our country were to watch MTV now, they would be surprised to see how much influence and fame that some of the most popular black music artists have on our society today. From Lil Wayne to T.I. to Akon, there are numerous black artists that have really shaped and advanced much of the music that adolescents and adults alike enjoy.
[Reply]