Racism A Racist Society - 1762 Words

Fifty years ago America was a racist society that implemented segregation among people of color. Webster defines racism as, â€Å"a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.† Though it is seemingly clear that we live in a post-racist society, racism has evolved with modern America. Today, relationships between African Americans and Caucasians has improved since the forties and fifties, it is now uncommon to see a black man step off the sidewalk to let a white man walk by, or to see a black man sitting in a different section on the bus or train. Is there a such thing as a post-racist society? However, superiority complex of races†¦show more content†¦The north won the war to abolish slavery and after it ended, the violence grew worse. Hatred, negrobobia, and turmoil birthed the Laws of the Jim Crow. The Jim Crow Laws was beginning to form in Massachusetts, which was a northern state where prejudice was less common. It made way for the separation of blacks and whites. By 1900’s, laws of segregation had been established legalizing the separation all over the country. According to the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, blacks had the same legal protection as whites. The Supreme Court contradicted this with, â€Å"restrictions† in the South against blacks. Those who supported Jim Crow generally lived in the South, naming it the Jim Crow South. It was believed that whites were above the blacks, in things ranging from intelligence to morality. It was thought that sexual relations between the two races would ruin the nation, and violence could be used on blacks if needed. Segregation spread through, hospitals, beaches, parks, prisons, public restrooms and even water fountains were separated by color of skin. In certain areas, there lacked facilities for co lored people. African Americans were also required to treat whites with respect, where as whites did not have to. In most cases blacks were treated without a shred of humanity. Blacks had to use titles when speaking to whites, they could not eat with the whites, and black men could not offer to shake a