Progress in Race Relations

Depending on the respondents' race, different viewpoints are taken on the existing relationship between the US's white, African-American, and Hispanic populations (Dutton, Pinto, and Salvato). While some US individuals believe that relationships have significantly improved, others believe that they are actually getting worse. The claim that there hasn't been any positive advancement in racial relations in the US since 2014 will be examined in this essay.
The current connection is still bad in the eyes of African Americans and Hispanics. Various differentials can witness this within the country. Despite efforts made by the first African American President, these diverse groups have not yet united. However, President Obama’s Administration tried to bring them together.

Despite the efforts made by the federal government to create harmony, some incidents often draw the US Citizens wider apart disrupting the progress made. For example, racial crimes such as the murder of nine African American individuals while attending Church service in Charleston on the Seventeenth of June 2015 have been on the rise. The crime took place just two months after a white North Charleston police officer had murdered an unarmed man of African descent in cold blood. Such scenarios often polarize the citizens creating a window of hatred between the different races (BBC). The primary cause of these differentials is the discrimination and prejudice that most notably the African American citizen allege. The cases of racially based murders, discrimination in employment opportunities, judicial bias against non-whites amongst other racial issues contribute to the increasing animosity between the different races.

Racial discrimination has spilled into the world of sports as expressed by Colin Kaepernick a national football league (NFL) player. Due to the increasing discrimination against the African Americans, Kaepernick often opts to kneel when the American national anthem is playing in protest against police brutality as well as creating a platform for debate on matters concerning racism. The trend has grown, and in a recent NFL game played on twenty-fourth September 2017 in Wembley, London between Jaguars and Ravens, the same was witnessed (The Guardian). Since sports is a major uniting factor, the current protests indicate the failure by the federal government to create an environment which promotes diversity tolerance.

Moreover, the current federal government administration led by President Trump is polarizing. This is resulting from the current president’s tough stands on various issues such as; the game protests witnessed in NFL, counter-terrorism measures which aim at restricting the activities of Muslims, and the intention to create a border wall against Mexico. The president has his supporters while also there are some citizens against his decisions. The existing political differences play a huge role in the deterioration of race relationships among the US population.

In addition to the political factors that do not favor proper race relationships, there also exist other statistics to prove an increasing gap in racial relationships. According to BBC, (2015), as compared to the existing 500 billionaires of American origin, there are only two Americans of African descent who are billionaires in the US. Similarly, despite African American doing well in high school as compared to the Americans, more whites have attained a bachelor’s degree as compared to the blacks. Moreover, a majority of the prison population consist of African American inmates as compared to the American inmates.

In conclusion, it is correct to say that there exists a regrettable race relationship among the American population and if no appropriate actions are taken, the situation will only get worse.

Works Cited

BBC. "US Race Relations: Six Surprising Statistics." 18 June 2015. 24 September 2017. .

Dutton, Sarah, et al. "Poll: What do Americans feel about race relations?" 23 June 2015. 24 September 2017. .

Rothenberg, Paula S. and Kelly S. Mayhew. Race, Class and Gender in the United States: An Intergrated Study. Worth Publishers, 2013.

The Guardian. "NFL players kneel for anthem in unprecedented defiance of Trump." 24 September 2017. 2017 september 24. .