African-Americans have been fighting racism and prejudice since their arrival in the United States. History and Civil Rights leaders point to slavery as one of the main causes of this perpetu

ated stigma. African Americans were sold by their own people and sent off to a foreign land. Then, they endured slavery itself, being treated like animals. Even after slavery was abolished, Black people still had to deal with racial discrimination and hatred. Ironically, Black women were not only mistreated by Caucasian Americans, but also by Black men in their own community. Feminine oppression was color blind and even more stifling than racism itself. The key to ending this discrimination is education. Education elevates an individual from an "animal" level to a "human" level. Animals cannot be educated therefore they are inferior. Thus Black men and women were kept "uneducated" so the animalistic treatment of these people would be accepted by society.

Initially, Celie is victimized and treated like an animal by her own step-father, Fonso, and her husband, Albert. Many men in this novel try to treat women

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dear God, Albert's Celie's, Americans Black, Women Racism, Webster's Dictionary, African Americans, Initially Celie, Alice Walker, Color Purple, Civil Rights, black women, color purple, feeling worthlessness,
Approximate Word count = 623
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)