RACISM REFORM : NOT A

MOMENT,
A MOVEMENT FOR THE FUTURE
Joshua Castanedas, Trey Gentzel, and Omar
Ward, Alexandra Muccioli
HISTORY OF RACISM AND SLAVERY
○ Slavery has been in this world for as long as society can remember or date back to
○ “ Slavery and enslavement are the state and condition of being a slave, who is someone forbidden to quit their service to another person and is treated like
property.”
○ A form of slavery has been occuring since the middle ages aka mideavel times.
■ Middle ages had kings and queens who had workers who were forced to do unwillingly jobs
■ Kings and queens had total power towards everyone; what they said goes
■ If we look at the hierarchy in the bottom, you can see that serfs and peasants were not treated as equals.
● HOW COLINIZATION AND IMPERIALISM STARTED RACISM/SLAVERY
○ The Roman catholic church and christanity had huge influences in slavery. If people were not chrstians or where not willing to change, they will be taken
as slaves.
○ In 1452 Pope Nicholas V, “Issued a creed in which affirmed Portugal’s exclusive rights to territories it claimed along the West African coast and the trade
from those areas. It granted the right to invade, plunder and “reduce their persons to perpetual slavery”
○ Queen Isabella and Spain followed by establishing a contract that authorized the direct shipment of captive Africans for trade as human commodities in
the Spanish colonies in the Americas.” This lead to the christopher columbus voyage and other countries doing the same.
○ Jesus is depicted as a white man, but in the bible it states that “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame
of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.”
○ Christopher Columbus did in fact enslave Native Americans when he first “discovered” America
■ On his initial voyage, he captured some natives from a small tribe and took them back to Europe
■ On his second voyage he enslaved 500 of the “strongest looking” men back to Europe
○ This all ultimately lead to the first slaves in America; 20 African men and women landed in Point Comfort.
■ Brought by a Dutch ship intended for the british Colonies.
 WHAT IS WHITE SUPREMACY?

● Is the belief that white people constitute a superior race and should therefore dominate society, typically to the exclusion or
detriment of other racial and ethnic groups, in particular black or Jewish people.
● Article I of the Constitution says slaves are three-fifths of a person, and Article IV requires states to return runaway slaves. The
United States was founded on white supremacy.
● The Civil War ended legal white supremacy, but it continued to be enforced by Southern leaders and white militant groups,
most famously the KKK. Black people were kept under control by extralegal violence, including lynchings.
● Today’s white supremacists are splintered into dozens of groups with similar ideologies.
● There are the neo-Nazis, who use websites like Stormfront and the Daily Stormer to coordinate their activities. Then there are
the slightly more mainstream white nationalists who call for the creation of an ethnically pure white state (an “ethno-state”)
and the neo-Confederates who do the same but with an added dash of pre-Civil War nostalgia.
● The Klan still exists, of course, with splinter factions around the country.
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VD53NBeh8U
BLACK LIVES MATTER
● BLM is a social reform movement created in 2013 by 3 young black women after the death of Trayvon Martin and the plee of not guilty from his
murder george zimmermon.
○ “...mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by
the state and vigilantes.”
● Started as a social movement group but turned into a political movement. Sometimes even called “Radical.”
○ What started as peaceful protest after the death of George Floyd, began to some acts of “looting” and “vandalism”.
■ This was caused because of the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks and Breyonna Taylor
■ The BLM movement was criticized for the acts during protest but some acts were valid.
■ Malcolm X quotes:
● “We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us.”
● “Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal
attacks.”
● “ If violence is wrong in America, violence is wrong abroad. If it is wrong to be violent defending black women and
black children and black babies and black men, then it is wrong for America to draft us, and make us violent abroad in
defense of her. And if it is right for America to draft us, and teach us how to be violent in defense of her, then it is right
for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend our own people right here in this country.”
● Has become a presidential topic and of importance in this country but the Job is still not done.
○ Need to continue to have these protest and educate others on why this is important
● The terms, “I Don't See Color” “All Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter” takes away from the BLM movement.
SYSTEMIC RACISM
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrHIQIO_bdQ&vl=en
○ Hitler had the same idea when he put jews into “Ghettos”
■ “Ghettos were often enclosed districts that isolated Jews from the non-Jewish population and from other
Jewish communities. Living conditions were miserable.”
● It is a huge reason for the debatable term of “ Black on Black crime”
○ The increase in poor neighborhoods and bad living conditions will increase the amount of crimes in said
neighborhoods
■ Real life examples
■ Prison behaviors
ERASING THE STEREOTYPE
● In America there are many stereotypes against minorities
○ Most of these stereotypes create fear and biases against minorities and blacks causing society to act a certain way
towards them. Examples include….
○ Personal Examples….
● STOP AND FRISK:
○ Has been occurring for more than 30 years now and started in New York City in 2002-2019
○ “ It allows police officers to detain someone for questioning on the street... Officers are required to have reasonable
belief that the person is, has been or is about to be involved in a crime. If police officers believe the detainee is armed,
an officer can conduct a frisk by passing his hands over the person’s outer garments.”
○ Attacked Latino and Black Men
○ During that time, “ black and Latino people in New York were nine times as likely to be stopped by the police
compared to white residents.”
○ “ Nicholas Peart, described being held at gunpoint on his 18th birthday as an officer passed his hand over the young
man’s groin and buttocks before leaving without an explanation — one of five times he had been stopped by the
police.”
● CLOTHES AND CULTURE
○ Wearing a Durag and sagged pants doesn't make you a threat !
○ Being black, minority or from a “bad” neighborhood doesn't make you a criminal !
● We Need to Erase the fear and stereotypes of blacks and minorities!!!
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS And IDEAS OF RACISM
● Racism doesn't only happen to black people
○ Happens to minorities
○ Can Happen to white people as well
○ Includes stereotypes as well
● Stereotypes and biases are apart of racism
● Search up “ Unprofessional hairstyles”
https://www.google.com/search?q=unprofessional+hairstyles&safe=strict
● People aren’t born racist, it is usually how that individual is raised
○ Being a “product of your environment” usually pertains to this
● Some say “white privilege” isn’t a thing but it is
● “Whiteness is a constantly shifting boundary separating those who are
entitled to have certain privileges from those whose exploitation and
vulnerability to violence is justified by their not being white.”
○ Black children are taught how to handle being pulled over
○ How many of you have had that talk with your parents?
○ “ Robert Knox was a famous English anatomist. Knox concluded
that people of color were intellectually inferior, not because of
brain size but rather because of brain texture and lack of nerve
endings. Later it was found that his conclusion was based on the
autopsy of only one man of color.”
 Resolving Racism: Systemic
Racism
● Make voting easier
● Promote diverse leadership in the workplace!
○ Influence young minorities to run for office
○ Influence minorities to be successful
● Better school supplies
● Funding inner city schools.
● Funding for better living in poor communities
● Erase biases and Stereotypes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruHqIhy vFo
Resolving Racism: A
Conversation
● Start a conversation! - Silence is not acceptable!
● Listen with an open mind and heart!
● Have an understanding for people in the conversation!
○ Validate the experiences and feelings of people of
color.
● Learn to recognize and understand your own privilege.
● Commit to change!
● Erase Biases !
● Bringing this problem to your local elected officials
○ Voting for change
● “Define the kind of people we want to be. Knowledge is
power, but action is change.” -U.S. Army
Resolving Racism: Erasing
The Stereotype

● Acknowledge that as human, we harbor racial

stereotypes!
● Be aware of self thoughts!
● See people as individuals
● ERASE BIASES!
● Leave your comfort zone and be a little uncomfortable!
● Educate yourselves
● Speak up and call out the stereotypes
CITED SOURCES
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/17/nyregion/bloomberg-stop-and-frisk-new-york.html?auth=login-google

https://www.justfacts.com/racialissues.asp

https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/Western%20States%20-%20Construction%20of%20Race.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery#Classic_era_2

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/19/magazine/history-slavery-smithsonia n.html

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/aug/15/400-years-since-slavery-timeline

https://blacklivesmatter.com/https://www.malcolmx.com/quotes/

https://www.army.mil/article/237063/solving_problem_of_racism_requires_starting_conversation_about_race

https://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-berritt-nathan-absentee-ballots-0707-20200707-orky4cu6d5h5lcklfxi55ixgva-story.html

https://ucc.nd.edu/self-help/multicultural-awareness/overcoming-stereotypes/
https://ucc.nd.edu/self-help/multicultural-awareness/overcoming-stereotypes/
https://ucc.nhttps://ucc.nd.edu/self-help/multicultural-awareness/overcoming-stereotypes/
d.edu/self-help/multicultural-awareness/overcoming-stereotypes/