Upon first look, we would easily be led to believe that the racist history of the Americas has been long left in the past. We think of the Civil Rights Movements in Canada and the US, and the declaration of human rights which most UN-affiliated countries signed. However, upon closer inspection it is very evident that Americas history with history still affects people living today.
One example is how African Americans are still disproportionately represented in prisons and in violent incidents with the police, even though they only make up about 13% of the population. If we focus on Latin America, we see the erasure of the contributions African slaves made to the prosperity and culture of many nations. For example, we think of Argentina as a mostly criollo country but there used to be a significant black population there, or we fail to recognize the black population in Mexico to this day.
On top of this erasure, we can see the effects of the racial history in the prevailing preference for whiteness. It’s still common to hear the phrase “mejorar la raza” which exemplifies the sentiment shown in A Redenção de Cam. Granted, this does not apply to everyone, but there is definitely a general preference for “pelo bueno” which excludes black hair.
The fight for women’s rights is another example of a lingering issue from the past. Great steps have been made in the way of equal rights for women and men, however, there is till a lot left to do. Men are still held to a rigid standard to be masculine an deserve respect, and women are still generally expected to be caregivers, whether they want to or not.
I think the first step to truly doing justice to these histories is to recognize and acknowledge them. We seem to prefer to forget about the horrid things that were done and just “get over it”. However, as any psychologist will tell you, ignoring a problem is not going to make it better. Sure it’ll make you feel better for a while as you don’t think about it, but it will still continue to have an effect of you. The proper way of going about it is to address the problem and attempt to reconcile and make amends for the transgressions.
My question for you is whether you believe that there will be a time in which the effects of slavery or other forms of oppression do not play a significant role in American societies? And if so, what do you think must be done to achieve this?
Anonymous
October 11, 2017 — 7:33 pm
I believe that history will always have an effect on societies. Unfortunately, this violent and tragic history has lead to many negative repercussions whereby people of colour aren’t given equal opportunities. However, I don’t believe that it will remain negative forever. I hope that there will come a time where everyone gets the equal amount of education and everyone can learn about history, and as you said, recognize and acknowledge this history. Hopefully, with education, the negative impact of slavery and other forms of oppression can be minimized, while maximizing the positive benefits that we could reap from acknowledging such history, such as a holistic understanding of racial harmony.
Roy
October 11, 2017 — 8:45 pm
I also agree with the previous commenter, that I believe that later in the future, the oppression that came in various ways will not play a significant role in American societies. I believe that racial inequality will soon fade away because more and more people will be educated about the dark history, and learn from not having this to happen. Therefore, I think education is the key to achieve this.
Moses Caliboso
October 12, 2017 — 12:06 am
I don’t know, but I don’t necessarily believe that the effects of oppression will not play a significant role in American societies. Much of the discourse surrounding the oppressor vs. oppressive narratives is the trauma that the actions entail. One can further educate, rehabilitate, and reevaluate the concepts that we had, but to entirely abolish the traumas and the significance of these events to history? Naah.
madeleine deis
October 12, 2017 — 10:36 am
I believe that the events of America’s history, specifically slavery, will always play a part in society. I think that is important to try to forgive the past, but not forget. This way we can ensure that these events never happen again.
Matilda
October 16, 2017 — 7:03 pm
Hi everyone,
I also think that in the future it will be possible to have equality for all, at elast I hope it will be possible. I just believe that this is not attainable unless we take a acknowledge and critical look at the past. If we don’t we’ll still have textbooks that call the slaves brought to the USA “immigrants” like what happened in Texas.