Justice Through My Eyes

Roman Dalton

Mrs R Heywood

English 2

26 September 2024

Social Justice

One of the best records of discrimination are against African Americans, as the Pew Research argues, “According to Pew Research Center data, approximately 8 out of 10 African-Americans say they have experienced personal discrimination because of their race or ethnicity, citing an increase in white supremacist hate groups”. As a young black male and 10th grader, social justice to me is the fight for the rights of the oppressed. African Americans, women, Hispanics, etc., are all people who fall under the fight for social justice. They are among the most oppressed groups of people around the world and have to fight for justice for their mistreatment, hence the name social justice.

While I’ve never openly faced racism or oppression, though I have dealt with microaggression and stereotypes. One time, I walked into a corner store and as soon as I entered I could see the man at the counter following me. As I looked for what snack I wanted, the guy was still watching me. I wasn’t wearing any suspicious clothing like a hoodie or moving in a shady way. There was no other reason for him to follow me, except for the fact that I was black. This experience reminds me of a moment in Sandra Cisneros's House on Mango Street, "Those who don’t know any better come into our neighborhood scared. They think we’re dangerous. They think we will attack them with shiny knives," and "What does it matter? They never saw the kitchenettes."(Cisneros 28). This moment puts my experience in words. The man who followed me was viewed for the color of my skin and let his prejudice and fear affect his actions.

Experiences like mine are common and that shouldn’t be possible. People should be viewed for other things beside skin color or gender. The fact that it's such a prevalent honestly has affected my ambitions. The looming danger of being denied or harassed out of a career has always stuck in the back of my mind. It has me rethink if my goals are truly achievable because of something that I couldn’t control. This fear reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird, specifically Tom’s trial. Tom is falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit but no one takes his side due to his opponent being a white man. This part of the book has always resonated with me as I’ve always felt that people put more trust in whites than blacks and how that could bleed into my future goals. Will jobs prefer a white person over me even if I have a better resume or will I be denied a job due to simply being black?

I’ve always thought about how and if discrimination could truly be stopped. While it's not possible to completely get rid of racism, I think that certain things could mitigate it. For example, learning about discrimination should be taught in school. People learning of the struggles of people will make them less likely to continue to do it. I also think that implementing laws that give harsh punishments for discriminatory acts would also help stop it. Implementing laws to stop discrimination is the first step. To help those who have already been impacted, I’d give them rehab facilities where they can speak to counselors and vent their frustrations. At these facilities, they’ll be able to find work and get the help they need which over all will help the morale of those who've been wronged.

DMU Timestamp: October 30, 2024 00:42