Being Black in America

“Being Black in America is tough, but don’t pity me,” said Dahleen Glanton, a reporter from Chicago Tribune. Everywhere I go I feel the need to always have my guard up because I never know what to expect. James Baldwin, one of the most famous writers of all times, gave readers an unflinching look on Black experience in America. Baldwin proposes many scenarios and experience from a Black perspective and how we think. African- Americans are judged because of their skin color before anything. Blacks have so much potential it’s just the matter of getting the job done. There is not a Black person in America who doesn’t know the odds stacked against them.

There is evidence that racism still exist in this country through the judicial, education, unemployment, and housing systems. In the judicial system too many young black men are being convicted of crimes like minor drug violations with unreasonable sentences. On the other hand, in situations like this young white men are being let on ease with light consequences. Educationally, in poor black communities there are failing schools that are not preparing students for college at all. Likewise, the black unemployment rate is about double compared to whites, and it has been this way for most of the past 60 years. Lastly, the housing system has only restricted minorities to certain parts of a city. This restriction forbids minorities from being able to buy or rent houses in a more stable community. If you think about it this is all a cycle, each level feeding off one another. If my people are restricted to where they live then they have no choice but to go to that local school. Now that local school is overpopulated with minorities, which is leading to low graduation rates and high crime rates. High crime rates are leading to convictions and no employment for my people. Not to mention Black people in America are more at risk with police fatalities that any other race. My people have to be cautious of every move they make because one wrong gesture can get them killed. Too many of my brothers and sisters who were innocent have been murdered my police and no justice have been done. The way this system is set up makes it nearly impossible for blacks to succeed and flourish in this country.

None of the problems our country is facing is something new. It is evident that we will never stop fighting racism in a crooked system. Even though it’s tough being Black in America, I wouldn’t want to be nothing else. My people are strong and defiant, not because we want to be rather we have no choice but to be. We came this far along already with so much progress yet have so much more to go, it will be silly to stop fighting now.