Racial and Ethnic Groups

Racial and Ethnic Groups

What would you consider the three most important achievements in civil rights for African-Americans since 1900? What roles did White and Blacks play in making the events happen?

Probably the three most important achievements in Civil Rights for African-Americans since 1900 include the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. This is important because it showed that African-Americans were willing to work together to make their lives better, and it brought attention to others that they were living under harsh conditions that were unfair and prejudicial. They began to fight segregation and make legal challenges against it, and to lobby Congress for African-American rights. They are also important in the black community today, and continue to lobby for African-American rights and justice. The NAACP is largely made up of black individuals, although there are white members too.

Another important achievement was the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka ruling in 1954. This paved the way for desegregation in America's schools. Before the ruling, schools were not integrated, and many schools would not accept black students. This opened up education to every one, despite their race or color, and paved the way for an equal-opportunity education for everyone. This ruling had to rely on the support of white individuals, mainly the Supreme Court justices who handed down the decision. However, blacks were involved in bringing the legislation to the courts in the first place, so it was somewhat of a joint effort between blacks and whites.

The third event is the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which paved the way for equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of race, color, gender, or religion. This did away with the Jim Crow laws in the South, and with racial segregation, and helped make America a little more color blind, at least in theory. This was a direct relation of blacks fighting for change by protesting and calling attention to their condition with public marches, speeches, and other means. The majority of white lawmakers passed the laws, but it was the blacks who fought for it and caused society to change.

2.How is race-based gerrymandering related to affirmative action?

Race-based gerrymandering is redistricting political or school districts in such a way that they become segregated. This went on in the South after the Civil Rights Act passed, in an attempt to resegregate certain areas or schools. They tried to redraw boundaries that would make schools white or black, due to the areas where they were located. This is related to affirmative action because affirmative action helps assure that schools do not turn students down based on race or gender, and that everyone is eligible for the same level of education.

Affirmative action also forces schools to accept a certain percentage of ethnic students to ensure an education for everyone. Affirmative action was an attempt to ensure that all people could get a good education, and that schools were admitting students of every color and ethnicity so they could rise up out of poverty and become productive citizens. Up to that time, schools, especially higher education, could choose whom to admit, but affirmative action forced them to admit certain numbers of other races. It was controversial, and it is still controversial, because some white students believe that they have not been admitted to schools because of the racial "quotas" that affirmative action requires. However, it has been upheld by the Supreme Court, most recently in Michigan, where the Supreme Court upheld affirmative action laws in a case against Northwestern University.

Race-based gerrymandering could be an attempt to get around these affirmative action laws, and it an attempt to manipulate the system at the cost of the citizens. It probably does not go on today, but gerrymandering still takes place in the nation when political boundaries change for the benefit of the politicians and the votes they will receive. In that respect, Americans could use affirmative action laws regarding gerrymandering and its affect on the political landscape of the country.

3. Why do you think the borderlands of the U.S.-Mexico border region have been the subject of such close scrutiny, while there is little attention to similar areas along the U.S.-Canada border?

The borderlands between the U.S. And Mexico have been the subject of close scrutiny because they pose much more of a threat to the United States than the borderlands between the U.S. And Canada do. It is not just that the people coming across the border are Mexicans and another race; it is that so many are coming across the border illegally, entering our country illegally, and remaining here illegally. Many people believe that they take jobs away from U.S. citizens, they do not pay taxes, and they make a huge drain on the social services in the country, because they often work at low paying jobs and have to use health, medical, and social services like welfare to survive.

However, many of the Mexicans that come across the border legally are productive citizens who provide goods and services that many residents would never do. They pay taxes, they support their communities, and they and productive citizens. This is not the concern of the Border Patrol and other agencies that patrol the border between the two countries. They scrutinize the border for illegal activities. Many of the illegal aliens come across the border to engage in criminal activities, such as drug trafficking, and they are a danger to society. While there can certainly be criminal activity across the U.S.-Canadian border, it occurs with far less frequency than in does along the Mexican border. Another border concern is that so many Mexican nationals come across the border in states like Texas, with liberal gun laws, and buy weapons for use in criminal activities in Mexico. This is another reason there is closer scrutiny on the Mexican border. More criminal activity takes place there, so it demands closer scrutiny. We simply do not have all these problems with the Canadian border.