History
Snapshots
In the snapshots below, we aim to show how racial views have shaped our nation's social, political, legal, and cultural development. We argue, as many historians do, that beliefs in Black racial "inferiority" and White racial "supremacy" have influenced our country alongside the goals of freedom and democracy. Thus, we focus on two themes:
We examine the impact that the United States’ history with slavery and segregation has had on the Black community, particularly by controlling access to where Black people could live (land and housing) and what they could do to make money (economic livelihood).
We explore the ways that the hopes, dreams, patience, frustration, and anger drove the African American community to cultivate thriving communities and to push the United States toward a more perfect expression of our ideals of freedom and democracy.
We hope these snapshots inspire deeper study and have provided links for further learning. We referenced Black scholars to highlight their important contributions to the nation's story.
2020: The Bias in the Criminal Justice System
The events of 2014 and the summer of 2020 reinforced the degree to which structural racism tainted all aspects of American life; this racism is especially clear within the criminal justice system. Bonilla-Silva (2018) notes, “a record number of black people were killed by law enforcement in 2015, more than the deadliest year of lynching in the United States.”