Race & Racism:1970 and Beyond

A Racist Nation?

Gook, Slope, Spic, Nigger, Towel Head, Chink, Nuke Sandniggers, Fence Hopper, Featherhead. All are racial slurs used by Americans to describe people of other races or ethnicities. America has been plagued by racism since the birth of the nation and more so in the past 39 years. America has made great progress  from the civil war and slavery; we still live in a world where racism is very much alive. Americans will be quick to say “I’m not a racist” and “racism doesn’t exist.” Yet,  people find statements like, “We should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity,”  and “Terrorist profiling is essential for our nation’s security” to be perfectly reasonable (Aliens, 453). Americans have taken these hateful words much further and turned them into countless violent hate crimes leaving the nation divided on the issue of race. Race and racism from the nation’s beginnings drastically differ from racism today. In the early years of the nation racism was  very prominent in everyday life and was only resolved with violence. Today, race is not something that is thrown around in everyday conversation. Therefore, racism today is more about racial profiling and discrimination. This website goes into great detail about race relations and issues in America from 1970 through 2009. Are Americans racist? What does this mean for the future of America? The question might never be answered but America has made several strides in both directions. 

Racism. 13 May 2009 <http://www.lemel.co.il/menu/glo_html/raci.html>.