Tia Bentivegna

Ms. Gardner
English 10, Period 2
18 November 2014
Reaching a Resolution to the Despotism of Racism
We look at todays society with the hope to end many issues that have negative effects on the
people and spirit of our country: sex trafficking, rapists, and domestic violence. These actions are
certainly oppressive; however, there is an equally significant tyrannical act that many people assume has
vanished over the years: racism. Racism was strongly present back in the 30s through 70s, but it is still
prevalent today in our very own society. The world is quite different from the time racism was most
apparent, and we even had revolutionary leaders who tried to abolish this segregation such as Martin
Luther King Jr. While were still surrounded by this numbing act, there are ways to end it.
First we need to recognize that racism is not confounded to one form that everyone thinks of: blacks and
whites. This has been a major type of racism, but it can come in many other themes and forms as well,
including discrimination against Latin Americans, Muslims, and Asians. Now there are various forms of
racism, but the outcome is always the same: lower self-esteems, divisions in society, and depression. So
how can we, my fellow classmates, as future leaders of the 21 st century, create a plan to end this tyranny?
Having various influential leaders who stood against racism by demanding the same rights for all
citizens of the world in extraordinary speeches and rebellious acts on buses helped to guide us to a minor
decrease in the presence of racism. Unfortunately, it is still here. Since we know that there are many
variations, we also need to understand the history of it.
The roots of racism stemmed from the time of modern slave trade. Slaveholders in ancient Greece
and Rome thought that Africans were not humans; therefore, it was only natural for them to become
slaves. One historian, Alex Taylor, believed that racism was the outcome of slavery: Slavery was not
born of racism; rather, racism was the consequence of slavery (The Roots of Racism). This quote
reveals that racism was not technically brought about all on its own, but slavery and the captivity of

blacks in Africa set racism in motion. Its clearly the idea that certain people believe they have greater
authority over others based on their different appearances.
Now some people do not believe that racism can be ended because they dont think that peoples
perceptions can change. They may not embrace any anti-racism plan, but I believe that starting now, we
can make changes for our future generations to come. Just think, discriminating against someone because
of the color of their skin or their origin is unquestionably wrong. We, as students, can stand against this.
You will collectively change racism by standing up against racial slurs and discriminatory acts, raising
awareness of how wrong it is. After all, it is not just what we can do to stop racism, it is what a stop to
racism can do for us.
We are also not alone in a desire to end to racism, according to Audrey Smedley: racism came
under greater attack during the civil rights movement around the 1950s and 60s, and laws and social
policies designed to keep races separated were gradually eliminated. Private beliefs and practices of many
people, however, remain racist (Encyclopedia Britannica Online Encyclopedia). That is where we
come in: let us change racism and continue the desires the civil rights movement intended to have many
years ago.
Let us be the ones to stop our community from committing this abusive act.
Let us be the ones to stop our nation from a true relapse of racism.
Let us be the ones who create a unity within all the people of our nation and our world. From a pastor to a
possible president, from an activist to a revolutionary woman always in our hearts, Martin Luther King Jr.
and Rosa Parks were able to have an influence on this corrupt act, so can we.
Perhaps it is going to be how we act and how our demeanors are towards others while we are
trying to end racism. After seeing African Americans being put through laborious jobs and separated from
their families many years ago; after seeing an innocent older woman thrown in jail for simply wanting to
keep her seat on a bus and not give it up to a narrow-minded white woman; after seeing an incredibly
kind and intelligent man assassinated for speaking his mind and sharing his refreshing beliefs on how to
create equality; after seeing numerous people of different nationalities give each other distasteful gazes

simply based on their appearance; that is when you realize that stopping racism is not just about keeping
people from fighting or judging each other, it is about keeping our world together and creating a unity.

Works Cited
Smedley, Audrey. "Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia."
Encyclopedia Britannica Online Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
Taylor, Alex. "The Roots of Racism." The Roots of Racism.
Socialistworker.org, 22 Nov. 2002. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.