Racism and the issues associated with racism are and have been very present in the United States history for a very long time. Racism dates way back to both the colonial era and the slave era, and has continued on throughout the history of our country. While there have been many advances in the abolishment of racism, it is still one of the most highly talked about topics today.
From the end of slavery to gaining the right to vote, African Americans as well as many other minorities have come along way in taking a stance and demanding the civil rights, liberties, and freedoms that they deserve. Events such as the abolishment of slavery, the end of segregation, and being given the right to vote have all really helped the equal movement among all citizens and humans in the United States. I do still believe however, as do many many others, that there is a lot of progress to be made in this topic and issue. Events are still taking place today that are unjust and parallel our country's past of unequal treatment.
While reading the Song of Solomon, certain events and scenes that would take place in the novel would remind me of recent stories I've seen in the news or even just in my government class in school. For instance, in the death of a boy in the novel, Till, an African-American boy was killed by a group of white men. In the novel, it's explained by another character how white people would always be able to make the minority the perpetrator of the crime, by saying (for example) that a pack of bubblegum could be a hand grenade. While I talked about this slightly in a past blog entry, this crime within the novel really reminded me of a real-life crime in the United States from just a few years ago now. An African American boy was shot by a white patrol man, and the details of the case were very unclear for a very long time. One point was that the boy, Trayvon Martin, was thought to be holding some sort of weapon, when what he really had was a small packet of candy.
My point here is that even though the book was written in the late 1970's and the real life crime was committed in late 2012, the parallels of the crimes are so similar. On one hand, I think about the advancements our society has made towards the equal treatment movement in special regards to race and ethnicity, and I feel proud that the country has made so much progress in its law systems. But then on the other hand I think about all the events of today such as Ferguson and Baltimore, and I think of it as a one step forward and two steps back kind of situation.
The main differences between today and the time in which Song of Solomon was set, however, is that back then, there were not many laws advocating for equal treatment of all people. Today we do have the laws and we do have the rules and protocols to aim us towards equal success, but perhaps the mindset and the morals and beliefs of individuals in our society has yet to change.
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