unit 1 writing Download

Mohammed Sillah ENG1121

Date: 09/25/20

Word Count: 1366

Unit 1 Writing Assignment

What if we were all born with the same skin? What if there was no such thing as some people being white or some being black? How do you think the world would work, how would there be a solid way to discriminate against each other without digging in? Would the world be nothing but fair?


Unfortunately, that’s not the world we live in, everyone is born with their different skin tones and different features which would sadly have a great impact on their future one way or another. This means that if you’re born with darker skin, your chance of being successful and wealthy is lower than a white person. So you’re already born into a disadvantage from the jump and all you did was breathe in the air. Now since you’re already Black, you most likely are born into poverty being that 20.8% of Blacks are in poverty compared to the 10.1% Whites in poverty (PovertyUSA, 2018). So being that you’re already in poverty, you’re struggling with food, rent, clothing, and time. On top of that, you’re already being looked down upon by those who believe they’re superior compared to you. I’m starting off with this to show the life of a typical, average Black person and families in the U.S. and that isn’t even half of it. Simply imagine growing into struggle, don’t get me wrong, not all Black families aren’t in this specific predicament but majority are. Now moving on to the main point which is being a Black person in a stereotypical America, in a world where people fear you. This fear has derived from stereotypes that has erupted to not be in favor of Black people at all. The media has also played a role in this increase of fear because they always portray Black men as the main suspects, you rarely see them congratulate a Black man simply because they don’t feel it’s necessary. After the cops kill a Black man, they do nothing but bring back their past and bring these deceased people down. But when a White man commits a crime, they bring up things like what they’re planning on doing in the future such as be the leader of a program or an up and coming swimming champion, or a kid that was never known for creating trouble. Let’s go back to the infamous Zimmerman vs Trayvon Martin case where Trayvon was left dead at the age of 17. Zimmerman already had a record of calling the police to report “suspicious persons” from August to February (Stand Your Ground, USCCR). So on February 26th 2012, Zimmerman took matters into his own hands when he started following Trayvon in his car and later “disregarded [the police] and continued his pursuit of Trayvon” (Page 12, Stand your Ground). When Trayvon ran out of fear for his life, Zimmerman shot and claimed Self Defense under the Stand Your Ground Law, which states that you’re allowed to “use deadly force in self- defense even when lesser means of force would suffice or self escape is possible”(SYG). Although they didn’t seek to stand under that law, it

was still granted as an advantage on Zimmerman’s side leaving Trayvon with no justice. As a result of this the “Black Lives Matter” movement was started and rapidly spread internationally. But that didn’t stop police from these senseless killings claiming that they were afraid. How is it possible that you feel the need to kill someone because they’re skin color poses a threat to you? We have not forgotten when Dylann Roof was rewarded Burger KIngs after being on the run for 16 hours after shooting up Charleston Church killing 9 innocent people. Then having an officer named Jeff Ledford say to the Daily News that “ He was very quiet, very quiet”, then he goes on to say, “He sat down here very quietly. He was not problematic” (Daily News, Jason Silverstein). I mean, if this doesn’t show what the problem in the U.S. is, respectfully I don’t know what will. How can these officers be afraid of people that seem like threats, but reward actual threats, actual murderers with food after they have just killed people and had them on a chase for 16 hours? Trayvon was simply going home with his Arizona and skittles, but someone decided that since his skin posed a threat, he didn’t deserve to live. This can’t continue being normalized but it is because when we hear “the police have shot this black person to death”, our initial reactions are, “again?” It has become such a trend, we have George Floyd who was kneeled to death after an officer and his accomplices decided to ignore his pleas for help that he can’t breathe. We have Sandra Bland who was killed in police custody and they ruled it as a suicide (surprise). We have Breonna Taylor who was killed after officers thought they could barge into someone’s apartment because they believed that there was a drug dealer in there. The walls of her neighbors got more justice than her, the system failed her, again no surprise there. This is not okay, we have Black kids hiding and ducking when they see police officers out of fear. But they kill our people because they’re “scared”, if they’re so fearful of people and think shooting and violence is their first response then what are they still doing in the force? If someone’s skin color poses a threat to them then maybe outside isn’t the field for them, or if they’re always ready to just use guns and violent actions right away. In most cases officers accuse the victim of resisting arrest for example we see in George Floyd’s case, his alleged resisting resulted in an officer kneeling on his neck. Even though witnesses and surveillance showed otherwise. Also, with the case of Elijah Mcclain who had the police called on him because he was Black and walking in a neighborhood at night with a ski mask on, and it was also confirmed that he didn’t commit a crime and he was unarmed (CBS). It somewhat just goes back to the root, which is poverty and this view of Black people and the “hood”. When people hear about the ”hood” or come across it, there’s a fear or an idea of senseless violence and that’s what they associate Black people with, even those that have made so much out of their lives, it’s still not made any easier for them. But the cycle never ends and we obviously have to take many different approaches. First things first, the whole police and law enforcement has to be reformed. They need to have officers in heavy training prior to going outside in the field with people. But after recent events involving Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, steps have been taken like the Justice in Policing Act, “that would look to demilitarize the police and address police brutality … banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants” (ABC News). Also, steps have to be taken towards those who have gone without justice, the list goes on and on, and until these reforms are taken seriously, it will continue to grow. I’ll just like to end this off by saying, “Walls… yes walls got justice before Breonna Taylor did, and that’s America”.

https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2020/04-06-Stand-Your-Ground.pdf https://www.povertyusa.org/facts
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CBSDenver. “Elijah McClain Death: Aurora Police Officers Removed From Regular Duty.” Denver​, CBS Denver, 26 June 2020,

denver.cbslocal.com/2020/06/26/elijah-mcclain-death-aurora-police-officers-removed-regu lar-duty/.
Deliso, Meredith. “Timeline: The Impact of George Floyd’s Death in Minneapolis and Beyond.” ​ABC News,​ ABC News Network,
abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-impact-george-floyds-death-minneapolis/story?id=70999322 . “The Population of Poverty USA.” ​Poverty Facts​, ​www.povertyusa.org/facts​.
Silverstein, Jason. “Cops Bought Dylann Roof Burger King after His Calm Arrest: Report.” Nydailynews.com,​ NewYorkDailyNews,9Apr.2018,
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