Discrimination and Prejudice in United States History

Discrimination and prejudice are widely known in United States history. In the 1960s the civil rights movement demanded legislation and passed laws, which banned discrimination. Five decades later, it still continues in our society. Discrimination and prejudice occur when a group of people feel they are superior to another, and can be based on a persons color, race, national origin, religion, sex and gay couples. â€Å"Racism is a form of oppression in which one racial group dominates over others. In the United States and Canada, Whites are the dominant group and people of Color are the minoritized group; therefore, racism here is White racial and cultural prejudice and discrimination, supported intentionally or unintentionally by†¦show more content†¦For instance, Aunt Alexandra was a woman devoted to her family and committed to old tradition. She moved to live with Scout and Jen because she wanted to teach them the right way of growing up, since their mom had passed away. Aunt Alexandra discriminated against her own race when she forbade Scout to have Walter Cunningham over for lunch. Aunt Alexandra said, Jean Louise, in my mind they are good folks. However, they are not our kind of folks. (Lee 224). Aunt Alexandra learned not to judge Atticus for the way he raised his children, and Aunt Alexandra let Scout be a child for a while. The reader sees the characters at their weakest a nd how they grew stronger, becoming more accepting toward one another. These issues would continue until the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his, I Have A Dream speech, at the Lincoln memorial in Washington D.C in 1963. This speech addressed how people have been treated unfairly just because of their background and color of their skin. His vision was that one day the nation would be free of discrimination. The following is an excerpt from Dr. Kings speech: I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal.† I haveShow MoreRelatedA Study on Slavery1112 Words   |  4 Pagesof the United States. Early colonial societies in the seventeenth century had both white and black workers; the former were categorized as indentured servants and the latter were categorized as slaves. In late seventeenth century, laws were passed, clearly recognizing slavery in racial terms. The roots of these laws were partly the prejudice against blacks and partly the desire to prevent any possible unity among the workers. 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