Race in America

Race in America

              I would agree with most of Mr. Smiley’s arguments about racism today. I do agree that black Americans are not treated the same as white people. However, I think that the inequality between the two races only exists on a large scale and that one-on-one racism has almost disappeared. Although I do not have the authority to say that no black people experience racism in person, I do believe that it has become less common. However, as Mr. Smiley said, black people are still held in “the new slavery of poverty.” For many reasons, including slavery and the economic oppression of blacks during the early 20^th century, there is a great economic divide between white people and black people. For example, in the United States in 2011, about thirty-five percent of black people were living in poverty, while only thirteen percent of white people were living in poverty.  However, this economic inequality is not something we can easily solve. Perhaps Mr. Smiley believes that a conversation about race would be difficult because the economic inequality between the races is rooted in such trenchant causes. However, Mr. Smiley seems to think that this economic inequality is a direct result of white people’s racist behavior toward black people. I, on the other hand, think that the disparity between the races is a result of mostly historical factors. To make a conversation about racism easier, I hope that we can acknowledge that there is inequality between the races, but also to realize that this inequality is not white people’s fault. If we can work together as equals, I believe that we can create an America where everyone, black or white or Hispanic or Asian, has the same rights and liberties.