Research Paper Proposal

The topic of racial inequalities advance has been debated for years. Racial inequality has been around since mankind itself. Racial equality has caused turmoil throughout the world, it was a major cause of the civil war, and even today still affects us. Many say racial equality has improved greatly, but there is still a long way to go. Sure, people are no longer enslaved, are free to live however they wish as per their right as human beings. However, inequality still exists, even now events such as President Trump’s plan for the wall, or the travel ban on muslims.

Today conflict still arises in terms of racial issues, stereotypes are still a large factor in society, many people  live on believing in them. Racial inequality is obviously still a large part of society, whether you personally believe so or not. Shying away from the academic standpoint for a second, it's called the Human race for a reason, Whether you be German, African, Asian, American, Russian, etc, we are all just people, yes  from different heritages, backgrounds, and culture, but one race nonetheless, ethnicity is no reason to persecute anyone, or treat anyone as unequal. As a Human race, one race, we would be able to accomplish so much more if we weren't fighting ourselves. Racial inequality has put humanity so far behind. Think of all the things we could be doing if we all worked together as a whole.

Abstract
Racial inequality has been around far too long, and many people don't realize how much it still appears in modern society. Even today people are still subject to prejudice and disrespect simply because of the color of their skin. In this paper I attempt to explain the hardships African Americans have faced, and in some cases still continue to face. I chose this topic in an attempt to get people to notice the discrimination that people of other races and ethnicities undergo, through research, reference, and historical facts.

Annotated Bibliography

(Wilson, Anna, African Americans Struggle For Equality, Rourke Publications, 1992)
Written to educate readers on the history of african americans throughout the years. Emphasized on the treatment of African Americans, and their struggle to gain the rights they deserve. This helped give me real understanding of troubles that African Americans face, and further context of the African American Culture/History

(Fitzgerald, F. Scott, The Great Gatsby, 1925)
This book contains many instances of not racial inequality, but just inequality in general such as the gap between the rich and poor, and how money can affect one's life so heavily.

(Hansberry, Lorraine, A Raisin in the sun,1959)
A play written about an African American family, and their daily lives, struggles, and triumphs. Though it is a fictional story, this play features real scenarios that African Americans have faced, and in some cases still face today.

("DR. KING'S LEGACY." New York Post [New York, NY], 15 Jan. 2001, p. 24. Global Issues in Context, Accessed 16 Mar. 2017.)
A brief reference paper on Dr. King and how he influenced African American lives. Gives good examples of struggles African Americans have been through, and also how they have overcome much of what they have been put through. 

(Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. "Proving Black History Matters." New York Times, 24 Sept. 2016, p. A21(L). Global Issues in Context, Accessed 16 Mar. 2017.)
A world viewpoint that debates the actuality of how African Americans have influenced the world today, showing the progress they have made in the social, and political world, and how far we as a country have come.

(Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin classics, 1992.)
This book gives many examples of discrimination not by race, but by where you are from. In the book the term okie is used, meaning you are from oklahoma, but the word is often used as an insult in the book.

(Roberts, Sam. “Race Equality Is Still a Work in Progress, Survey Finds.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Aug. 2013, Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.)      This article is an insight on how everyday Americans today feel on the progression of equality, or lack thereof.

The Attack on Inequality
The topic of racial inequalities advance has been debated for years. Racial inequality has been around for centuries, and still arises today all around the world. Racial equality has caused turmoil throughout the world, it was a major cause of the civil war, and it continues to affect people today. Many say racial equality has improved greatly, but there is still a long way to go. The act of slavery has been abolished for the most part in the U.S. at least, however slavery is still a problem in many places around the world. African Americans are free to live however they wish as per their right as human beings. However, inequality still exists, even now events such as president Trump’s plan for the wall, or the travel ban on muslims continue to bring discrimination to people of other races simply because they are different.

In A Raisin in the Sun racism is quite prominent in some cases, such as when Mr. Lindner offers the Younger family money to not move into the white neighborhood “I want you to believe me when I tell you that race prejudice simply doesn’t enter into it. It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities.” (Hansberry) Though it is a fictional story, A Raisin in the Sun gives accurate examples of both struggles and triumphs that African Americans have undergone.

Today conflict still arises in terms of racial issues. Stereotypes are still a large factor in society such as the stereotype that Black people are all in gangs and just overall troublemakers; there are people all across the U.S. that simply don’t know that stereotypes are anything but the truth, because that is how they were taught. How can we say that racial prejudice no longer exists when children around the world are being taught false information about another race?!  Racial inequality is obviously still a large part of society, whether you personally believe so or not. Shying away from the academic standpoint for a second, it's called the Human race for a reason.Whether you be German, African, Asian, American, Russian, etc, we are all just people, yes from different heritages, backgrounds, and culture, but one race nonetheless, ethnicity is no reason to persecute anyone, or treat anyone as unequal. As a Human race, one race, we would be able to accomplish so much more if we weren't fighting ourselves. Racial inequality has put humanity so far behind, think of all the things we could be doing if we all worked together as a union.

The Great Gatsby is another good example, there may not be many examples of racial inequality, but just inequality in general, such as the massive gap between the rich and the poor. In The Great Gatsby there is a massive line between the rich, who have enough money to feed 5 families and still never work a day in their life, and the poor, who barely have enough money to feed themselves, while working full time. Not only does money play a large role in survival, but it gives those with more money advantages over society, “With fenders spread like wings we scattered light through half Long Island City - only half, for as we twisted among the pillars of the elevated I heard the familiar “jug - jug - spat” of a motorcycle, and a frantic policemen rode alongside. “All right old sport,” called Gatsby. We slowed down. Taking a white card from his wallet he waved it before the man’s eyes. “Right you are,” agreed the policeman, tipping his cap. “Know you next time, Mr. Gatsby. Excuse me!” (Gatsby)

African Americans have been struggling for their equality for centuries, from slavery, to segregation, to the civil rights movement. Even after the end of segregation African Americans still struggle to gain their equality. People still treat Blacks as a separate and lesser race. In the past Blacks were harassed, beaten, and even killed, all over their skin color. “Fewer than one in three black Americans and not even half of whites say the United States has made “a lot” of progress toward achieving racial equality in the half-century since the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. declared he had “a dream” that one day freedom, justice and brotherhood would prevail and that his children would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
(Roberts) 
         

The Grapes of Wrath shows other great examples of inequality, not racial, but just overall discrimination. "Well, Okie use' ta mean you was from Oklahoma. Now it means you're a dirty son-of-a-b****. Okie means you're scum." Not only is racial equality an issue, but equality in general, such as being discriminated against simply because of where you are from, which in reality isn’t much different from being discriminated against for the color of one’s skin (Steinbeck) Inequality comes in all shapes and sizes, however, some instances of inequality are more prominent and stubborn than others, such as racial inequality. As African Americans have defeated things such as slavery, segregation, and Jim Crow Laws, they still have yet to defeat things like discrimination, subjugation, and stereotypes.
         

After escaping and overcoming slavery, African Americans have faced new problems. They were free, but had nowhere to go. It was hard for them to get jobs, loans, or even just use the toilet in a restaurant, because they were treated as lesser people than whites. Soon followed Segregation, a whole new challenge for African Americans. They were forced to use separate restrooms, water fountains, and even schools and buses than the white folks. Things such as the Montgomery bus Boycott, sit ins, and peaceful protests began to take place in an attempt to get the country to realize how unjust the treatment of African Americans was. Actions such as those are what helped pull African Americans out of segregation, and into a new world of equality. But even then, their hardships were not over; freedom and equality were both things they were promised, but things not always delivered upon. African Americans were still treated as the inferior race, still treated as something less. Even now, after the civil rights movement, the right to vote, full legal equality has been given as a right to African Americans, but, Segregation De Facto still exists, the treatment of inequality not by law, but by custom, opinion, and bias. That, is something you cannot combat in a court, or a war. You cannot win a battle when there is no true opposing side, how do you fight the opinion of oneself?
        

Throughout the years racial inequality has been battled and beaten, time and time again. But we have not yet won the war. Racial inequality is not quite as prominent as it used to be, even then, it still exists. If not by law but by custom.