TED Talk

It has been a couple of hundred years since the end of slavery and the United States, as well as the rest of the world, continues to struggle with equal rights amongst minorities. Discrimination towards minorities may not be as outright or expressed as explicitly as it used to, but racism underlies our society. It is everywhere. From police brutality to the news we watch, and everything in between, minorities are often set up to fail or portrayed falsely. Citizens of a free country should be able to rely on their government. The water crisis in Flint clearly demonstrated how deeply woven racism is into our society. How is it that the color of one’s skin can so strongly dictate the amount of support that is given by the government?

13,000-The highest levels of lead, in parts per billion (ppb) found in samples of Flint’s water. The EPA’s limit is 15 ppb.

41.2- The percentage of Flint residents that live below the federal poverty line. 539-The number of days Flint’s water was considered “toxic and highly corrosive,” according to that complaint. 18- Months that Flint city officials went knowing about the potentially toxic water residents were using, but not acting on it. All of the majority white cities surrounding flint had access to clean water. Would more have been done if almost half of the residents of Flint didn’t live below the poverty line? In a more affluent city?

Some have even called this environmental racism. Knowingly poisoning a city of a minority is basically genocide. It’s 2017.

Racial prejudices start at the root. At the young stages. Avoid the use of generics in language. Saying all birds have wings will affect a child’s perspective on birds much more differently than saying this bird has wings. This idea transfers over to racial phrases about people. Understanding the motives and effects of this crisis will hopefully raise your awareness of this nation-wide issue that minorities deal with everyday. Having empathy for the people around you will make for a more peaceful and equal society. We have been so divided by these socially constructed racial groups that we must acknowledge these divisions to mend our society in order to reunite.

Should your skin color, level of education, or social status, dictate how deserving you are of safe drinking water? A reliable government? Denying people their human rights is like denying their existence.

Related posts:

We often use Navigator class in Flutter for navigating to screens. Navigator.push(), Navigator.pushNamed(), and Navigator.pop() methods are the most commonly used methods that developers use even in…

Most people would imagine crystal clear water and crazy awesome food. Well, that’s right, but there is more than those. Much more. There are volcanoes, Greek temples, and vineyards. There are stories…

When someone dons a cloak, they are usually trying to hide from something. In the most literal sense, they are usually taking cover from the snow or wind of Mother Nature. However, there is also a…