Racism Is Still An Issue: Civil Rights Movement vs Today

Currently in PLP we are in the middle of a unit about the civil rights movement. The driving question for this unit is, How can the actions of an individual change a system? For this unit we have to make 2 learning portfolio posts comparing the civil rights events we learn about to contemporary events. We also had to make a product to enhance these posts.

Racism is prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed at someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior. Racism has been around for a very, very long time and as much as we would like to think it doesn’t exist anymore, it is still a very big problem. Racism is something that people like to believe doesn’t exist. For example, back in the 1950’s people in the north of American tried to pretend that racism in the south didn’t exist. Today, people all over Canada try to pretend like racism has been fixed but it is still a huge problem and I’d like to share an example of it. I have put together a book comparing an event in history to a contemporary event. I have compared the murder of Emmett Till to the way police in Thunder Bay, Ontario treat indigenous people. Here it is.

After putting this book together I have a deeper understanding about how an individual can change a system. Emmett Till wasn’t the only African American who was brutally murdered but his mom decided to stand up to the system and show everyone just how bad racism in the south can be. Indigenous people in Canada have been discriminated against since the first European came to Canada. The people of Thunder Bay are standing up to the systemic racism in the police force by challenging their work and sharing their disappointment with way their cases were being handled. These are both examples of how spreading information can help change a system.

After doing lots of research about these topics it is clear that racism is still a huge issue. When a whole system is racist it can ruin the trust between people. Emmett Till’s family couldn’t trust that the law would be able to deliver justice because they were racist. The indigenous people of Thunder Bay can’t trust the police to treat them equally. People in positions of power have to treat everyone equally or they shouldn’t be in a position of power. Hopefully, we can one day have no more racism in our world.