How slavery effects black people today

Have you ever thought about why black Americans are incarcerated nearly five times more than white Americans? This racial imbalance in incarceration rates is one of the countless lasting effects that slavery has created. The first example of a long-term effect of slavery is the number of black people living in poverty, the second is racial stereotypes, and lastly, hate crimes specifically against black people because of their race. Rates from statistic.com say that the people living in poverty are 19.5% black, 17% Hispanic, 8.1% Asian, and 8.2% white people. This means that approximately 8.5 million black Americans were living below the poverty line in 2020. Since so many black people are in poverty, a sizeable portion of the black community is plagued with mental health issues and dangers such as depression, anxiety, and gang violence. These violent and rough conditions also contribute to black people going to jail because they are more prone to commit crimes like theft, selling drugs, fighting, prostitution, or even murder to earn money to help their families survive.

Another way slavery affects black people currently is that it glorified horrific stereotypes about us that are still believed by some people and used in media today. The first common stereotype about black people is that we are uneducated. African-Americans were educated and well-versed before they were taken to America, however, each generation became less educated because slave owners made sure to stop most of them from reading, speaking different languages, and writing. Because of the Jim Crow laws, black people went to schools that had poor conditions, books, and teachers, which lead to our great grandparents and grandparents also being less educated. Another stereotype about black people is that we are violent or even evil. This narrative was mainly spread because black vigilante groups would burn down businesses and plantations to protest for abolishing slavery and help others escape from their chains.

The last example of the lasting effects of slavery in modern America is black people being targeted for hate crimes because of their race. Because of the barbaric actions of most white people towards black people such as torture, rape, and murder, during the years of slavery and the Jim Crow era, the torch of these terrifying traditions has been passed down to some people from older generations which has caused a lot of white people to commit hideous hate crimes against black people. Some of the most notable cases of racial hate crimes are the Tulsa Race Massacre, James Byrd Jr, the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, and most recently, the George Floyd case. Even though hate crime rates against black people have decreased every year, we are still affected by hearing or seeing people that look similar to us getting harassed or murdered. It causes lifelong anxiety and feelings of hopelessness because we are scared that our families or ourselves could be caught in the same circumstances and believe racism will never completely be erased. I hope that this speech will inspire you to examine and change your own unconscious biases towards black people or people of color in general.