Essay on A Noncolor Blind Society - 1458 Words

America is a society that founded basic human rights through injustice which was widely known as the American paradox. Even though it is stated in the Declaration of Independence that, All men are created equal, decades ago and often times today, it only applied to what was believed to be the superior race, and that only meant certain groups of people. This American paradox connected directly to racism which included prejudice, discrimination, and institutional inequality defined by sociologists Michael Omi and Howard Winant. America is an unequal society destroyed by individual racial discrimination that led to institutional racial discrimination which led to systemic racial discrimination. It all starts with individual racism — one†¦show more content†¦(147) This belief was used to justify slavery, an institution that enslaved Africans to Virginia. English colonists argued that Africans were already slaves because they were savages, sloths, and had brutishness. They were viewed as being natural slaves because of their darker skin color which was a symbol of a lower class as well. The colonists also claimed that slaves were good for the economy since they were not paid, but most importantly, slavery would improve their conditions and their manners and provide them with knowledge of the true God. (153) These colonists saw themselves as Christians doing charity work by enslaving Africans to save them. Their beliefs and enslavement supported the system of the plantation economy — they wanted to profit off of free labor and the only way was by slavery. Under the institution/system, Africans were treated as property — sold, bought, and whipped without possibilities of freedom. They were forced to be dehumanized with the help of the political system also as laws such as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed to prevent their escape or assist in their attainment. As learned in lecture on April 12th, 2011, this act required all U.S. ci tizens to assist in the recovery of runaway slaves. It imposed penalties on federal Marshall who refused to enforce the law and individuals who helped free slaves. Much efforts were put into restricting slaves from freedom that even money was rewarded for citizens who can turn them in.