Racism

Racism Past and Present

Lots of people think racism was a thing of the past and that it no longer existed. But that is far from true. Racism was a problem in the past but is still is today. Everyone needs to realize it is there and try to stop it.

In the past there was a lot of racism. It all started with slavery around 1750 (Klash 1). White people would sail to Africa on cargo ships. They would take African males, females, and children right out of their home. Then they were crammed into the cargo holds on the ship. Only about 70% made it to their destination because of bad living conditions. If one person was sick there was a big chance of everyone getting sick. Then when they got back they were sold at auctions. Teenage males went for the highest price because they were young and strong. After they were sold, they were put to work on a plantation. They were not paid

and if they refused to work or ran away they were whipped or sometimes killed.

The union states didn't agree with this so the civil war started. The union defeated the Confederacy on April 9,1865(Frank 2). Then a law was passed saying it was illegal to own slaves. So all of the slaves were free. Most of the Confederate plantation owners didn't like that because they were there only laborers. That meant they had to hire people to work on their land. Lots of people had a hard time excepting this. They burned their houses, destroyed their crops, and refused to get along with them. A group was started called the Ku Klux Klan (kkk). They were a group of night riders who burned and tortured African Americans. One incident that happened was the murder of Emmett Till. In August 1955, a fourteen year old boy went to visit relatives near Money, Mississippi. Emmett went to a local store. When he left he said "bye