racism
Blacks were introduced to American soil during the 17th and 18th centuries via the triangular trade route, and were welcomed by whips, chains, shackles, and all the horrors of slavery. Slavery was legitimized by our government and continued for a few hundred years, taking a civil war and sixteen presidents before it was abolished. To this day, there is still much hatred between blacks and whites despite emancipation, desegregation, and integration; some would argue that the condition of African Americans in the United States is still one of a subservient nature. Federal law defines a hate crime as whenever a victim is attacked on the basis of his or her race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender; hate offenses are directed against members of a particular group simply because of their membership in that group (Levin 4). Last year, a black man was brutally murdered in east Texas by three young white males. There are over a hundred homicides committed every year, but the manner in which this life was taken and the apparent motive of his perpetrators leaves no doubt that this crime was one rooted in hate. In this brutal murder, the motivation is obvious and clear-cut, the bigotry
On the other hand, Gary Bledsoe, president of the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that the eastern part of Texas surrounding Jasper has been considered a "problem area and a hotbed of Klan activity for years." Jasper lies 55 miles north of the town of Vidor, where a Klan group in 1993 tried to prevent the integration of an all-white housing development, threatening the first black residents as teen-agers dressed in sheets confronted black newcomers (Cropper A16). Certainly, the racist environment that Byrd's perpetrators were forced to grow up in contributed greatly to their bigoted ideology. "Racist Murder Leads Texas Town to Probe Its Prejudices." Wall Street Journal 1 In his book, Hate Crimes, Jack Levin proposes several factors that may cause one to commit a crime rooted in hate. Levin writes, "Learning to hate is almost as inescapable as breathing. The hate crime offender grows up in a culture that distinguishes certain people as righteous, while designating others as sleazy, immoral characters who deserve to be mistreated" (Levin 21). One cannot be disillusioned to think that we live in a society free of stereotypes. The three men who murdered James Byrd grew up in an environment that stamped all blacks as being inferior subordinates. So when they saw James Byrd walking down the road on the night of his death, they weren't looking at James Byrd the individual; all they saw was a black man that gave shape to the nasty stereotypical images in their heads. All that mattered to them was that the person's skin was black and different from theirs. Unfortunately, for James Byrd he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Levin, Jack, and Jack McDevitt. Hate Crimes: The Rising Tide of Bigotry and
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2770
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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