Racism in the United States

Even though slavery was abolished with the 13th Amendment, blacks in the South were still subjected to harsh and unfair treatment throughout the latter half of the 19th century and well into the 20th century. In fact, it would be more than a century after the ratification of the 13th Amendment before the Civil Rights Act would be signed into law—and it would take a major protest led by Martin Luther King, Jr. just to achieve that. From the Mississippi Black Code of 1865 to King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail in 1963, one can see the shape of American history with respect to its race relations.
The historical significance of the Mississippi Black Code of 1865 is that it helped to institutionalize the era of Jim Crow—a time when blacks, who were supposed to be treated as free and equal, continued to be oppressed and harassed by unfair social doctrines. The Black Code was an explicit example of the Jim Crow mentality that proliferated in the South. For example, Article 3, Section 2 of the Black Code forbade the unlawful assembly of blacks (whatever that meant—did blacks need a permit to get together in a group?) and also forbade whites mixing with blacks either platonically or sexually. It was a blatant violation of blacks’ Constitutional rights—particularly their right to assemble under the 1st Amendment. Article 4, Section 1 forbade blacks from bearing arms—even though as citizens of the U.S. it was their Constitutional right to bear arms under the 2nd Amendment. In short, the Black Code meant to strip blacks of the rights that citizens (i.e., whites) held in the country. If the state had to free its slaves under the 13th Amendment, it was going to do everything it could (even in violation of federal law) to prevent blacks from gaining any kind of social status or leverage in the community. The state was, in other words, going to keep treating blacks as though they were lesser-thans, sub-standard, and not equal. It was a mentality that would go on for decades.
The Civil Rights Movement in the middle of the 20th century would challenge the U.S. government to once and for all put a stop to the problem of institutionalized racism in the U.S. In the wake of WWII, when blacks were being called upon to rally behind Uncle Sam and support the war effort, issues the segregation became less and less important to average Americans, the majority of whom felt that blacks and whites should be treated equally. Yet some communities persisted in enforcing Jim Crow laws.
This was the case especially in the South—namely Birmingham—which is why King was invited there by the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (King, Jr.). King was arrested for spearheading the non-violent protest against racism in Birmingham and it is in the Birmingham Jail that he wrote his famous letter to his colleagues in the field of ministering. Many ministers were objecting to King putting himself forward as a leader in the Civil Rights Movement: so he shot back with his Letter to explain to them why his actions were justified and why they were righteous. The historical significance of his letter can be seen in the fact that it put down on paper the very real case that King desired to make for why Christians should support the movement and support the social justice cause. King referred to the Old Testament prophets as symbols of God’s desire to see justice pursued by good men. He compared himself to St. Paul bringing the Word of God to the pagans: “I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town” (King, Jr. 1). He established the moral ground for the Movement with this Letter.
Today, however, racism is still strong. The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world by far, and a disproportionate percentage of those imprisoned are African-Americans, indicating that Jim Crow is still alive and well in the U.S. criminal justice system. The justice system has become so degraded and manipulated that most people cannot even afford a trial and thus accept whatever plea deal the prosecutor offers them—often for non-violent crimes like possession or sale of drugs (which in many states are being decriminalized). Yet numerous black communities are destroyed as fathers, mothers, sons and daughters end up incarcerated and caught in a cycle of recidivism—because once one is thrown into the prison industrial complex, it is very difficult to get back to a normal life.
Still, the moral ground for reform has been forgotten. The points that King made have been lost in many ways. People are more polarized and more judgmental than ever before. They are quick to condemn and not quick to listen or understand. King showed great patience and empathy in writing his Letter. 100 years after the Mississippi Black Code, he was having to explain why the institutionalization of racism was bad for America, bad for Christians, bad for people everywhere. And now it appears that people need that reminder once more, more than half a century later.
The nature of race in the past and present is the same as it ever was: without the ideological biases that are passed down from generation to generation, racism would likely not be an issue in the U.S. But it is—because peers, groups, and media all tend to focus on labeling, dividing, and escalating conflict points. Instead of a preacher like King, calling for peace and Christian charity, everyone is calling for war.
Works Cited
King, Jr., Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” 1963.
The Mississippi Black Code of 1865.