The Urgent Need for the Black Lives Matter Movement in a Colorblind America

Abstract

Argumentative Essay: Black Lives Matter African Americans believe that their group faces discrimination in the United States more than any other group. Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a political and social movement that advocates for the rights of African Americans against discrimination, injustice, and inequality. According to (Machelessen), this movement came into the limelight when the United States was colorblind and a post-racial society. This attribute means that society believes that they are not racists, yet there is a continuous manifestation of racist ideologies in most institutions. The movement was created in 2013 after overwhelming instances of police brutality, social injustice and systematic racism rooted in American society. The main target of the movement is structural reforms in the United States. The concept of racism is connected to political affiliations. It is not revolutionary and the menace of racism has been politicized. Democratic loyalists believe that police shoots and violence are racist compared to the Republican loyalists pausing a difficulty in the enactment of the demands of the Black Lives Matter movement. The All Lives matter and the Black Lives Matter are conflicting ideologies that are putting the lives of African Americans in debate. History documents the infringement and dehumanization of blacks through slavery, and today the grievances of the Blacks are considered obvious and the generation of discrimination is hailing This essay addresses the question of how the United States reached a point of realization that the Black Lives Matter movement is needed and the concept of colorblindness in the post-racial society. According to (Oakes), throughout history, the hallmarks of democracy- freedom, opportunity and prosperity have always been reserved for the white people. This analogy upholds the essentiality of the Black Lives Matter movement. The Americans are in the face of a color-blind society and the United States is Colorblind when it comes to racial prejudice in society. Most systems in the country are committed to color blindness making the language and the goals of live black matters seem unideal and irrelevant. How did the United States come to the point of realization that Black Lives Matter? Following the death of Trayvon Martin and the aftermath of Michael Brown, it raised questions about the dehumanization of Blacks in the United States yet the systems are silent. The color-blind society stereotypes blacks based on their facial features and the belief that blacks are born with lesser intellect to achieve emphasizing values such as morality, individualism, self-reliance and obedience and ignoring the concept of racial discrimination in the realm of success. The color-blind society does not consider racial prejudice in various intuitions in making decisions that affect the blacks. Prosecutions in the criminal justice system are biased based on race. According to (Alesina 3397), when a black kills a white, he is four times more likely to be sentenced to death than if the white had committed the atrocity. The race of the defender matters in the prosecution's decisions. The war on drugs targets the black population and the sentences for drug convictions are longer than that for violent crimes. According to (Roberts) race was not meant to divide people a few centuries behind; it was a biological construct rather than a social construct. The concept of racial prejudice formed with the start of slavery. The desire for cheap labor prompted the enslavement of the blacks by the elites who termed them as a lesser race which led to race as a social construct in American Society. The menace of racism and slavery has existed in history leaving a legacy of discrimination and segregation passed down from generation to generation. Racism has evolved since the period of slavery, Jim Crow and the Civil war. There is a necessity for Black Lives Matter because of the horrific history in broad daylight that there is the dehumanization of black lives. The story of George Floyd manifests police brutality in broad daylight. The...