Social Justice Issue: Racism

Name: Josh

Teacher: Ms. Babb

Date: Sat, March 3, 2012

There has been a plague effecting humanity for many centuries. It is a true injustice that's still haunts the human race everywhere on the globe today. This wicked injustice is none other than racism. Racism is the discrimination against others because of race, nationality, religion or skin colour. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." I know that when Rev. Dr.  Martin Luther King Jr. delivered this golden statement he believed in it but at the time it seemed like an impossible dream. We have achieved most of his dream but not enough. How long will racism carry on? It seems like it will never end.

The original slaves were found by European traders or colonist. They defended their oppression of the native populations by claiming that they were superior to the natives therefore they claimed to have the right to treat them as they did. Hundreds of thousands of Africans were chained and shipped away to European colonies. The conditions of the ship were so dreadful that most of the slaves died during the transport. The slaves were then sold to wealthy people who gave them hard labour in the fields, horrible living conditions, and they also tore families apart in the process. The root of all this madness was racism. Thankfully, we don't experience slavery today due to a hard stand of our ancestors who stood against all odds.

There are many great leaders who were affected by racism. Some of the prominent personalities who faced this injustice are Ghandi, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Ghandi was born in October 1869 at British India. He went to the University of London. While he stayed in South Africa to study law he faced racism directed at all coloured people. Ghandi was thrown out of a train after he refused to move from the first class because of his race. While travelling on a stage coach he was badly beaten by the driver because he didn't move from his seat for a European to sit. Ghandi was also thrown out of several hotels because of his skin colour. After these events Ghandi experienced a turning point in his life. None of these incidents brought him down but built his determination to rise above hate. These problems built his character so strong that it enabled him to fight against racism and drive the British rule out of India. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. He was a clergyman, activist and a prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. He was influenced and inspired by Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, Ghandi and many more. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is most famous for fighting for civil rights in The United States and around the world using non-violent methods. He was one of the greatest leaders ever born. Nelson Mandela is another living example of racism. He was sabotaged and sent to prison for life in 1962. After being released from jail Nelson Mandela served as an anti-apartheid activist and was the leader of Umkoto we Sizwe which was the armed wing of the African National Congress. He later became the president of South Africa. He has won over 250 awards over 4 decades including a Nobel peace prize. He was a victim of racism and later on fought against racism and succeeded. We are so privileged to have had these great leaders in history that changed the world for better. Personally, I am inspired by these leaders who have paved the way for future generations and I hope I can be a torch bearer of my generation to fight against racism.

Today, racism is still found around the world. Thankfully it isn't as horrific as it used to be but it can still affect us negatively. Even with kids racism comes into play. Kids can make fun of others because of their skin colour or race and even they can reject each other because of it. People nowadays are not getting opportunities for development or to further their careers because of racism. I bet you can think of many other ways that racism haunts us today. Sometimes we pass down comments on other races which may amuse us but it deeply hurts the other person. Even a small racial comment that brings amusement can cause a big scar on others personalities. It must come to an end no matter how much humor it brings. 

In my opinion racism has lost its grounds but still it has to be rooted out from our society for the betterment of our future generations. Nobody benefits from racism instead they degrade the human race because God created all humans equal. God also stated, "Treat others the way you want to be treated." If I become a future leader I will try my best to fight against racism by taking a hard stand like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi and Nelson Mandela. We all want to be treated with respect and dignity---don't we?