America: Hypocrisy or Democracy?
.... The author of the article recalls a going “trick or treating” as a child and being refused candy because of her heritage. Experiences such as this led her to panic when she was in a room alone with white people. The perspective of Native Americans toward white people is currently negative. Unfortunately real equality has still not been achieved. For over 100 years, studies conducted by federal, state, and private agencies have reached the same conclusion: California Native American are not receiving a fair share from federal programs; and because they have received less support from the federal government, California Native Americans have suffered in social-economic well-being relative to other groups in other states. Economically, Native Americans are not doing well. African Americans were brought to this country as slaves. They were sold as objects, and treated as if they were animals. After the civil war, and freedom of the slaves, African American experienced probably the worst experiences of racism in America. Houses were burned and people were beaten. In 1896 the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate but equal laws were constitutional. African American schools were of inferior quality then white schools, they were forced to ride on the last train carts, and most importantly white and black people were institutionally taught that racism was accepted and valid. It was normal to practice racism. It was not until 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education that the separate but equal laws were outlawed. Yet after this ruling, equality was still not achieved. Racist ideas were already instilled in the minds of all white people. They truly believed that they were a superior race. In the 1964 the civil rights act was passed which prohibited employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. Although this was a step forward, employment discrimination still goes on today, 40 years later. The Critical Race Theory emerged in the 1980’s. It is a voice for minorities, a race conscious form of legal criticism that is still strong today. Last year, there was an article in the Newspaper discussing a public High School in Virginia that still held separate proms. The students hold an “All white prom” every year. It is legal because it is a private party. This circumstance, as well as others, shows me more and more that there is still institutionalized racism. During World War II, Japanese Americans were severely oppressed. Without any real evidence, General John L. DeWitt, who was responsible for the defense of the West Coast, distrusted all people of Japanese ancestry, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He developed a plan to remove all the Issei and Nisei from their homes in the Western states, and lock them in concentration camps. Franklin D. Roosevelt, accepted General DeWitt’s plan without any regard to objections from the Justice Department, FBI, and Army intelligence. President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which authorized military commanders to prescribe areas that people could not enter or leave without permission. A month later, Congress made it a crime to violate an order issued under this authority. In May 1942, exclusion order 34 was passed requiring people of Japanese descent, whether they were citizens or not, to report to "Assembly Centers" and "Relocation Centers." Violation of Exclusion Order 34 was punishable by a $5,000 fine or one year in jail, or both. 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced into the camps. Fred Korematsu was a U.S. citizen of Japanese descent. When he received an order to report to a center in preparation for relocation, he refused to go. Korematsu was convicted of refusing to obey the evacuation order. He was given five years’ probation and sent to an internment camp in Utah. His appeal went to the Supreme Court. In Korematsu v. United States, the court ruled that Executive Order No. 9066 was constitutional because it was a necessary military act during a time of war. There was absolutely no evidence that Korematsu was disloyal or that he was a threat to U.S. security. Asian Ame...