Monday, January 16, 2012

Martin Luther King

On January 16 we celebrated Martin Luther King's birthday (which is actually January 15). King was devoted to a movement for racial equality at a time when he faced fierce resistance, especially in the South. Later in his life, King also addressed income inequality as well. King's movement was successful in the sense that African-Americans now face less de jure (formal) discrimination in the law. Blacks can vote without being subjected to a poll tax, schools are integrated, hiring laws are more fair and African-Americans have access to all the public places that whites do. However, plenty of de facto (in fact) discrimination still exists. The bottom line, is that race has played a big role in the history and government of the United States. How do you assess race relations in the US in 2012? Are we on the right track? Are we making progress towards a color-blind society? Or do we still have lots of work to do to stamp out discrimination and racism? What role should the government play in addressing this issue?

5 comments:

  1. HELLO MR.BAUER, it has come to my attention that the world is on a sortof right path to where it needs to be. Although we do have a lot of discrimination and rascism, people abide by the laws most of the time so you dont often see much of a complaint.If you really focus on the world itself the Gov't has alot to do with this, they need to make sure that every single individual is safe. It doesnt matter what skin clor you are or what gender, we should all be protected under the laws of the U.S. I think that Martin Luther King did fight for what we are today and i appreciate that because i am a colored woman although i am not African AAmerican i am still mexican which is still considered color.It didnt only help African Americans it helped many throughout the world. Now in the world 2012 there many people who are African American that are important to our scoiety like B.Obama. I can truely say that the world will not ever be at peace, wheter it is racial profilying or descrimination of there will be those who want to seem more in control and better than others and that is just the way life i s.
    -Janett Gomez

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  2. Mr.Bauer,
    I believe that society has improved greatly in accepting integration as well as dimming down the discrimination since the MLK days. Although society has progressed in these aspects, I don't believe the discrimination against races could completely be diminished. Simply because there will always be at least one person that does not agree it is right to mix everyone. But we must be on the right track since society allowed Obama, an African American man, enter office as president. I think the government should allow people of other races enter office as well. If the government does this it would open the door for people of other cultures into society acceptance as well as encourage others to accept them. Like I said, there's always going to be at least one person that will not agree but that shouldn't stop us from trying to better the world and bring everyone together.
    -Carmen Muñoz (:

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  3. Since MLK's days of the Civil rights Movement, society has changed for the better in regards of racial discrimination. Jobs are assigned to applicants based higher on their criteria than race, everyone no matter what race can attend the same places and events, and even the president of the United States is an African American. Although in my opinion we are on the right track, discriminations are still in play that are not limited to race, but also sexual orientation. MLK fought for all's rights to be equal no matter what so I presume this would include homosexuals. Overall, people have become more accepting but there is friction that still exists. As an idealist, I am in hope that eventually the world will become color-blind to the color of people's skin but time will tell the truth.

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  4. Alex Abbott
    p.2

    I believe that the united states as a whole has come very far since the dark times of the civil rights movement (no pun intended). Today anybody with an education can apply for a job, anybody can sit anywhere on a bus, our current president is even of some African american decent. in conclusion we are most definitely on the right to a color- blind society; however, i don't think that the government can do anything else. The only thing now is time.

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  5. Yes, the United States has come a long way but there is still room for improvement. There is not much the government can do though but it sure doesn't help that there are laws or people out there trying to pass laws (like what happened in Arizona). Sometimes it seems as if its all a "phase" and back then it was blacks, then asians, now mexicans, whos next? The government has said everyone has the right to sit wherever they want, but that doesn't keep people from judging, discriminating etc. People will be people and things won't improve until EVERYONE gets off their high horse. It only takes one rotten fruit to spoil the rest.

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