Racism is something that people can transcend through friendship.

The past couple of weeks that we've spent on learning about the Civil Rights Movement was rather fascinating for me. I had known plenty about the events and ideas that took place back then but you can never know too much, therefore it was a very information filled chapter for me. For starters, I learned that different races and ethnicities working together in freedom in mind has brought many positive changes and ideas to our generation today. Some lessons we've learned from the Civil Rights Movement is that the push for freedom does not have any limits. Every human being is entitled to equality, and color should never be a deciding factor. Every story needs a hero, and back then there were people like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and many many more that saved the day and made history! I learned that the Civil Rights era was a very inspiring moment in time. Everyone that you could possibly think of participated to gain freedom and the rights that they deserve. Not only adults, or should I say men; stood up and let their voices be heard, but so did women of all ages and little kids and teens. Some people think that just one event or a single person made all these rights and freedom we have today come to be. But that's not true, it took a lot and very many people to work together for making it possible for us to go to school with other races and to just be able to do the simplest things here and there. If it weren't for the Civil Rights Movement, we probably would never be the same. We wouldn't be allowed to drink from the same water fountain as other people, use the same bathrooms, get our education at any school we desired, nor would we be able to have rights like voting or owning things like a home. The Civil Rights Movement brought many positive changes to the present, but we do still need to work on somethings. We need to think before we speak or act, we need to consider the lives of others and not be selfish and self centered. Most importantly, we need to not be ignorant. If we get educated about an issue and know what's going on in the world around us, I'm sure just then you're already on the path of doing something to help out. So everyday, you've got to think back and be thankful.

We're constantly on the verge of looking for and wanting equality. Most people think that equity is just another word for equality, but that's incorrect. Equality is what we all want and equity is how we should get there. There are many strong points that we still struggle with dealing equal and fair treatment for all. America still struggles with negative stereotypes that prevents not only African Americans but almost every other race from being treated equally to another. For example, a young black male might not be seen driving a nice automobile in the same light as a young white male is driving a fancy one, he must be doing well for himself. In contrast, if an African American was driving the very same car; people think that he must of committed grand theft auto. Now what exactly triggers our mind to think those kinds of things? It's because that's what we grew up around, what our parents grew up around or even experienced. Our mind is automatically controlled to think that way. These aren't the only things that we struggle with dealing equality and equity. There will always be those people that want more, or if you provide someone or a family with something that they need, the ones that already have it will still complain. That's how our world is built, we always want more. Also, there might not be enough of the things we need to reach equality, and if there isn't enough how will we ever spread it with equity? The concepts of equality and equity are very complex, and I hope someday we overcome it.

There are still some ideas and events from the Civil Rights Movement that connect with today, mostly positive. The Civil Rights Movement helped pave the way for every African American today. Without the movement, the majority of our athletes and pop culture icons would remain nameless. The major leaders in our country including the Commander in Chief, could not imagine the possibility of their current status. On the other hand, there are things a little on the negative side that still exists connecting to the Civil Rights Movement. For example, racial profiling is a very sensitive and common case that we witness from time to time. Racial profiling occurs by the people at airlines, by the government officials, or just your neighborhood police department. It's when the police choose to question, investigate or arrest an individual just because of their appearance. This automatically has the person considered guilty without trial and are unjustly interrogated by the police simply because of the color of their skin or their national origin. Racial profiling targets people of color for investigation and enforcement, deserting communities from law enforcement, delaying community policing efforts, and causing law enforcement to lose importance/power and trust among us; who they are sworn to protect and serve at all times. When something big goes wrong, who's the first person we look to? The police. They're there to protect us from harm and spread fairness and justice in our communities. Yet racial profiling is always caused by people like the police or any other members of the authorities, it has led countless people to live in fear and like Mr. Shawn says it causes us to be "walking on egg shells." To think, racial profiling goes against fundamental principles of our Constitution! Another thing that still exists is stereotyping, I do it, you do it, we all do it even if we don't really realize it. Stereotyping is making an assumption about someone's race, appearance or background referring to something you THINK you know about those things. For example, it's said that Asians are bad drivers, or how African Americans are rude and crazy, or how Muslims are terrorists. I hope that one day that people that we're in a war because of racial issues can become our friends. Like Vincent F. Rocchio said "Racism is something that people can transcend through friendship." I hope that I live to see the day that these things don't exist, and have my kids raised in a society better than this, a society where we're not interrogated by the police simply because of the color of their skin or their national origin.