Racial inequality and race have significantly shaped the history of America since its inception. These issues are highlighted in the book by Anne Moody as she primarily focuses on her experiences of racism as well as racial inequality. In this essay, racial inequality will be explored in terms of contemporary realities and historical variations. This will be done by analyzing the experiences of Anne Moody in relation to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Therefore; the argument will be based on the link between racial inequality, racism, and racial justice while focusing on race-related issues.
After the Civil War, African Americans were given their freedom and equal rights awarded to them as a result of the new amendments entailed in the Constitution. However, the federal government was lagging when it came to enforcing these lawful amendments in the South, and this led to whites blatantly terrorizing blacks because they viewed them as second-class citizens (book). While in college, Anne fought for Black voters to be registered, and she hoped to do this by transforming the legal outlook of America at the time (mono). Evidently, racial inequality has had a negative effect on the preferences of minority groups in America by undermining the universalistic facets of what a welfare state should be. Often universal programs that should apply to everyone are conflicted with specialized programs applied only to designated groups (whites).
When Anne joined college, she noticed how much Black suffered through discrimination and brutal murders (Mo 25). In addition, she affirmed the widening gap between blacks and whites and the poverty the blacks were experiencing in the process. Racial inequality in the South often led the white people to devalue the lives of black people and treat them inhumanely without fear of the law. At the same time, Anne’s experience is similar to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s experience. Still, in his case, he cautiously applied politics to deal with these pressures and employed nonviolent acts that would get them the equality they needed. It is important to note that second-class citizenship was a significant aspect of racial oppression in America, and this led to the rise of activists and individuals that wanted this to end (book).
Civil rights activists mainly focused on peaceful protests, legal action, and public education to ensure that they would be granted racial equality. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was crucial for the judicial victories witnessed, especially since they challenged black disenfranchisement. Anne joined the Association because it represented what she believed needed to be done to acquire racial equality in America (mo 58). Despite her family’s pleas for her to quit the activities of the Association, she was adamant about continuing despite the negative outcome it had on her life. Similar to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he also was willing to sacrifice all his beliefs so that he could fight for what he perceived as right for the Black community (book).
During the fight for equality, some Black people were reluctant to join the cause because of fear of what may be done to them by the white people; most of them were lynched or killed for what the white people termed as defiance. Anne is continuously frustrated by this and wondered why Blacks were willing to remain ignorant of such injustice (). This was the destructive ability of racial injustice. The same way Anne was passionate about eliminating racial inequality, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr also challenged social justice by encouraging people to protest against such hardships that were only experienced by the Black community (book). Blacks were often viewed as inferior and did not deserve to be treated as people; such beliefs instigate the racist regime, which originated from slavery.
Black people were effectively disenfranchised, and the Southern states downplayed assurances of equal treatment, which was constituted with the Fourteenth Amendment. Furthermore, the passed laws deliberately excluded the right for African Americans to be included as juries. Anne decided to change this by participating in the civil rights movement while still in college, where she gave speeches and was canvassing (mo). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr also used speeches as a way to mobilize people to change their mindset and embrace the need for them to change the situation they were in at the moment; this was highly successful in establishing the change that they needed (book). This kind of revolution was the most critical means of generating and regenerating racial inequality, specifically in American society.
Under the preface of racial inequality, there were other processes and institutions that made it persist. Identifying these mechanisms was critical when it came to an understanding of racial inequality. For instance, Anne experienced discrimination from not only the white people but also the light-skinned Blacks who thoughts they should be higher in society as compared to the dark-skinned ones like Anne, and she did not understand why this was the case, which made her skeptical of Blacks and whites as a whole (mo). Such thoughts made Anne become radical and angry, which swayed her preference on how to deal with the issue. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, on the other hand, experienced the same discrimination. Still, instead of becoming radical, he opted to be nonviolent and approach the problem by encouraging the use of peaceful protest, which would not lead to war between whites and Blacks. This proved to become successful once they started gaining access to segregated institutions.
Racial inequality was also evident in the form of the level of poverty experienced by the Black community. This is because Southern states’ government agencies and some national legislations implemented a general American middle class. Anne was raised in abject poverty whereby they had a house that was falling apart, and they could not afford proper nutritious meals (mo). This is because the Housing Authority in the South made it easier for white people to purchase houses in the suburbs. At the same time, the Black community was not awarded the same privileges. As a result, Anne strived to gain a proper education in order to claim a higher status in a society where she would have equal economic opportunities with the whites. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also underwent higher education, and this made his intellectual capacity unquestionable when he was fighting for equality for the blacks (). The popularity of White Supremacy influenced public policy, and this influenced the acceptance of social exclusions with continuous materialistic and separatist consequences. In this case, Blacks were forced to live in a deplorable environment and struggle more than whites in case they wanted to leave them.
The lawmakers in Mississippi made sure that they maintained racial segregation for a long time, such that it had become a way of life in the state. This was accompanied by the application of violent threats against Blacks that worked towards ending it. Anne was arrested alongside other students and jailed because of her ending racial segregation (mo). Based on the trials that the protesters were going through, Anne believed it was time to act violently towards the authorities rather than being nonviolent in their protests. On the other hand, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged nonviolent protests because he believed that the segregationists could try everything to keep control over them (book). At the same time, he believed that changes would be made once enough individuals outside the South saw the violence that was being unjustly done to them (blacks) over the years.
After the Civil War, most blacks committed to defending what they felt was their right using any means possible. This is shown in Anne’s novel, which portrays the inequality she experienced from she was a child until adulthood, which influenced her to want to make a change and ensure that there were equal rights between the Black and white communities. Even though she was leaning towards being more radical in the protests that she was participating in, she still maintained her participation in peaceful protests, which eventually led to the changes that the Black community was fighting for. In this essay, racial inequality was explored in terms of contemporary realities and historical variations. This was done by analyzing the experiences of Anne Moody in relation to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As a result; the experiences helped in understanding the reasons behind the protests and the eventual impact they had on the rise of racial equality.