Racism has been a trigger word for many political and social factors throughout history. Defining this six-letter word is a difficult task. Personal and family values, ethnicity, and geography all contribute to the definition of racism. The argument that it is easier to talk about racism today rather than in the past can be made, but it is very important to discuss how it might not be as easy today as one might think. Racism has been the driving factor for many historical events that helped shaped the United States into the nation it is today.

Racism has many roots that lead to the true meaning of the word. Slavery in the past was one of the main causes of Racism throughout history and today. Even though it was not the beginning of slavery in the United States, a good place to start is the court decision from Dred Scott v. Sandford in 1857. “The United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the Dred Scott case, affirming the right of slave owners to take their slaves into the Western territories”(History.com). This was an important decision by the Supreme Court that caused slavery to worsen in the United States. The behavior from the Supreme Court practically stated that African Americans were not freed from slavery based on their residences in free states because by the constitution they were considered property, not a person (History.com). The Constitution was drafted in 1787; this highlights how deeply grounded racism is in our country’s history. The thought of African Americans not being equal to white people was ‘normal’ throughout this time period. It would not have been easy to talk about racism during this time period. Anytime you go against the masses in terms of ideas, more times than not, you will face backlash and start arguments. This thought of no equality between the races is clearly not the case today, but it is important to recognize and appreciate how far the legislation has come. This Dred Scott case is one of many that exposes the racism in our country.

In the 1800s, there are many examples, like the ones above, that all lead up to one of the most famous wars in the history of the United States of America, the Civil War. Slavery was one of the main driving factors as to why the war began. With the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, many southern states separated from the Union, thus starting an inner war in the states. The southern states seceded because Abraham Lincoln pledged to “keep slavery out of the territories” (civilwar.org). This departure from the Union sparked a war filled with bloodshed and casualties. Slavery drove the decision to leave the union, since the south wanted to protect their rights to own slaves. After all of the battles, the Union was victorious and the Reconstruction of the South started. In the Reconstruction, Congress passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments that abolished slavery, granted citizenship to all people “born or naturalized” in the United States as well as provide citizens with “equal protection under the laws”, and gave African Americans the right to vote, respectively (Senate.gov). These results from the war mark major transitions that Americans are thankful for today. The Reconstruction helped begin the conversation needed to move slavery out of our country’s heritage and make racism less abundant in the United States. The end of the Civil War sparked the necessary movements in Congress to push for equality between African Americans and other citizens of the United States today. The roots of racism can be shown through the history of slavery. Before these historical events listed above occurred, it was not easy to discuss racism in the states. These events had results that were the starting points to the progress that was made in the United States.

In the present, there are many organizations and groups either nationally or on college campuses that help create conversations about racism and assist in the spreading of awareness. One example of a national organization is Crossroads Anti-Racism Organizing and Training. On their website they explain who they are, “Since 1986 Crossroads Antiracism Organizing & Training (formerly Crossroads Ministry) has been providing organizing, training, and consulting to institutions striving to dismantle racism. This includes analyzing internal policies and procedures that maintain white power and privilege, and helping to create an intervention strategy to dismantle oppressive systems”(Crossroadsantiracism.org). This organization works with the government and local governments, schools, churches, and nonprofits as well. They create a community where one of the main focuses of conversation is racism and oppression. This allows people to speak out and let their voices be heard. This does help make talking about racism today easier, since Crossroads is creating the platform to talk about it in respectful and peaceful way.

Not only are there organizations at the national level that communicate the problems of racism, but there are also college campaigns that focus on racism issues as well. One example is Clemson’s “See The Stripes” campaign. “The ‘See The Stripes’ campaign at the South Carolina school contends that Clemson’s tiger mascot and the “Solid Orange” football tradition fail to properly encompass the history of the school” (Schallhorn). Their argument is that the “Solid Orange” misrepresents the school’s history as it doesn’t not have the Clemson Tiger’s stripes. The stripes represent the African-American history that is rooted in Clemson, so in the eyes of this campaign “the school’s ‘Solid Orange’ tradition is inaccurate, as ‘a solid orange tiger could not survive without its stripes’”(Schallhorn). This college group is creating an environment for Clemson’s and other universities students to discuss racism and discrimination in an open manner. As we can see from these examples above there are more opportunities today to openly discuss racism in a peaceful environment.. There is a strong argument that it is easier to talk about the discrimination of the African American culture today, but along with other things, there is another side of this statement. In the present today there is not an absence of racial violence.

Along with the improvement in the ability to talk about racism in America, it can not go unsaid about the racial violence that has occurred that has hindered the nation’s ability to talk about race and discrimination in a peaceful way. The events in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland and other states that have experienced similar occurrences have created tension between cities and communities across the country. The media took these news stories and ran with them, the entire nation was debating what was right and what was wrong. Normally, when there is debate, people get offended when their view is either attacked or argued. These events did not create a healthy environment for discussion. The racial violence that occurred made it harder to talk about discrimination and racism than ever before. It is important to highlight that with all the great success the United States has had in regards to fighting discrimination and race crimes, there is still much to be done in order to rid the problem of racism. This point of view makes it harder to answer the question as to whether it is easier to talk about racism in the present or in the past.