Johanna Burgos
In recent years we have been exposed to different cases of racism throughout the world, with the United States occupying one of the first places to use discrimination against people of dark skin. Many people wonder why a country being such a great power and with so many ways to combat this problem, cases of racism are still happening, where apart from bullying, ignorance and distinction which on several occasions end in deaths.
However, the conflicts in this country with people of color increase, and if we move to the past and the stories based on that theme. We can realize that the uncertainty that these people have led to call for intimidation and harassment are generated from generation to generation, worth the redundancy, and each year stronger cases appear.
Much of the events in the 16th to the 19th centuries are more directly related to slavery and racism, from the so-called triangular trade in the British colonies in North America, where black slaves were transferred from Africa to use them as labor from works in the plants to civil movements.
However, the United States is a country where millions of inhabitants are generated every month and every year, from different cultures, ethnic groups, religions. However, the sad reality is that anti-blackness or the rejection of dark skin, to reduce or eliminate the expression of a single race is a subject to debate what happens in the whole world, including those of non-light skin.
Talking about this topic would take thousands of pages, because it is a topic that generates more controversies every day and every year due to situations generated in this country with those with dark skin. Even though great people have fought to prevent and end white supremacy and oppression. Millions of cases are seen and at the same time go unpunished.
The Pastor, African American activist Martin Luther King Jr. Due to cases such as discrimination in schools, jobs, public places and socialist sectors that generated racist comments, he raised his voice to bring a message to the entire world, especially his birthplace, the United States. Where in a speech “I have a dream”, he longed for the same rights to be given to people of dark color, wanting to have the freedom to be able to walk freely in the streets without fear of being physically or verbally abused by light people.
Just like Luther King, many other figures fought for equality towards people of color in speeches and marches, such as:
-Rosa Parks: “the only one who was tired was me, tired of giving in”
-Nelson Mandela: “True leaders must be willing to sacrifice everything for the freedom of their people”
-Rigoberta Menchú: “the indigenous struggle must be a struggle of all peoples”
In this sense , the fight against racism , the great marches have been carried out by the people , due to the high level of abuse committed against people of color , police abuse , school abuse , abuse at work , abuse of elderly people and the immigrant discrimination.
One of the cases that has shaken the United States and the entire world was the death of George Floyd in 2020, an American citizen of African-American descent, an abuse committed by a police officer, leaving him lifeless, and thanks to froid’s last words “I can’t Breathe “great protests against racism and abuse and inequality towards people of color took place under the name “Black lives matter”.
In fact, terrorist attacks have been seen in sectors and places where people of color go, only in order to cause intervention and racial violence.
A more recent case was the fact of a young man of just 17 years old in buffalo NY, attacking a supermarket where he was frequently used by black people, many say it was an attack of racism and others come to other conclusions. What we know is that of the people who died in said act, the majority correspond to being dark-skinned.
Also, the mayor of Buffalo Bryron Brown in a conference after the event, said that said individual arrived at the scene with the intention of killing as many black people as possible. This is a racist attack.
In another order of ideas, columnist Charles M. Blow in his article against colorism and racism for the New York Times mentions that intolerance not only comes from people who do not belong to the Hispanic community, but also from within it. In other words, the majority of adults surveyed say that they always listen to another Hispanic make comments or jokes about them, fulfilling the phrase “The worst enemy of a Hispanic is another Hispanic”.
I also consider in your article that the level of racism is worrying, and that attention to racial issues is not a zero-sum issue. that should be a concern for all groups, some that receive too little and others too many.
To end and combat racism and discrimination it is important to fight for our duties and rights, sharing resources that are of great use. Challenge the challenges and standards that are imposed on racial discrimination. Respect and value each person by their ethnicity, race or origin of birth. And above all denounce any attack of discrimination, verbal or physical violence that there is towards our person. There are laws that protect people who are being victims of racial discrimination.
(Video in Spanish explaining racism in United States)
Author: Amaury Abreu
