Dear America: We need to reckon with our tragic history and present

Nasayah Crenshaw, Contributor

Dear America,

“The land of the free and the home of the brave.” As well as the stolen land from the indegnous people and home to slavery. They say things get better as time goes on, but has it? Looking at the history that I was taught of America’s past, it glorifies the victory’s won, the inventions made, the greatest people during specific eras, but it sugarcoats and briefly touches upon the actual tragedies. Slavery being one of the biggest tragedies, occuring for 400 years on this very land. On December 6, 1865 slavery was abolished, yet racism and the Jim Crow era was just getting started. As time goes on the Jim Crow Laws slowly and officially end in 1964 and now comes the police force and America’s “fair” justice system. As of today the police force and the actions taken by them have impacted and caused trauma to many people and families. Pnas.org revealed in a study, “1 in 1,000 black men can expect to be killed by police, and young men and women are at a high risk at the ages of 20 and 35 years old.” Here in America there has also been research that clearly establishes that race, sex, and age are correlated with the exposure to the criminal justice system. Everyday there is a new headline stating that a person of color has been arrested or another cop has murdered someone and been let off with a pass. In what world is that okay, and it is an insult, sad, and the reality of people of color. We have been fighting for equal treatment and rights from the beginning and as time goes on there have been improvements, but still a long way to go. No matter how hard you try to change people’s mindsets, some people will forever be the same. Ignorance is bliss and in America the effort in protecting people of color needs to be greater. No one will ever endure or experience the trauma and stereotype people of color are labeled with the day they are born, so it is important for this country to do better. The more time taken is another person murdered or stereotyped. This needs to stop. This is America.

 

Sincerely,

Nasayah Crenshaw