Racial Tensions

Color and Tensions
Racial Tensions in the United States Some people say that beauty only goes skin deep, and others say to not judge a book by its cover. However, it seems that more people go with the former piece of advice rather than the latter. People tend to judge others off of first impressions, and because of this, racial stereotyping may incur leading to racial tensions. Such tensions have existed throughout history, ranging from Rome and Carthage to the Native Americans and the Colonists. In America, there has been a long history of racial tensions, ranging from slavery to Jim Crow laws and segregation. However, things have been done since the creation of this nation to alleviate such racial tensions like the Emancipation Proclamation

And when within three years, you have three nationally televised incidents: Ferguson, the Zimmerman trial and the Charleston shooting, all involving racial tensions, you have a trend on your hands. However, conflict between people is bound to happen due to the way that people act. Additionally, extrapolations into the future using data from both the present and the past is often inaccurate, but sometimes, they may paint a good look into that the future may hold. The three cases of Ferguson, the Zimmerman trial, and the Charleston shooting occurring in relatively quick succession of each other may display a trend, but they may also just be misfortunate events that have occurred within a short time frame. How bad were the incidents at Ferguson, the Zimmerman trial, and the Charleston shooting? Do the events show evidence that the racial tensions in the United States are currently getting worse? Or will relations improve between Blacks and

According to the movement’s site, Black Lives Matter is a movement that “is a call to action and a response to the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society” (Black Lives Matter). To accomplish this, they first started using social media as a way to get their message out to the public. Additionally, the movement has also had a few good proposals such as their Campaign Zero proposal which proposes many “‘best practices’ taken from [different] existing police agencies” (Friedersdorf). However, some of the tactics that they use are not so savory. Sometimes, the movement is “aiming to target skeptics, adversaries and even weak allies with shaming, verbal attacks, and attempts to silence them. This will hurt their cause and do much harm besides” (Friedersdorf). Additionally, harming others especially of a different race, will likely do wonders that will increase the racial tensions in the United States. If the Black Lives Matter movement continue to use such tactics, they may have good proposals and they may raise awareness about certain issues, but overall, they will not have a positive influence on racial tensions in the United States, due to the fact that hurting other people doesn’t help lower any type of tension in a relationship. Regardless of whether the Black Lives Matter movement