Ferguson Is Still Relevant

It's Still Relevant

Even though Michael Brown was shot and murdered over five months ago, unrest and protests are still going on across the nation. Even just this past Monday, people marched and protested on Martin Luther King day. People are still protesting. Police are still trying to suppress it. 

Civil Rights protests, 1960s

Ferguson protests, 2014

People may believe that racism is over, and that it ended with Martin Luther King Jr's speech and March on Washington, but the truth is, it most certainly isn't. Prejudice doesn't automatically stop when protection laws are created. It won't change the viewpoints of everyone, unless they are taught that prejudices are wrong. And even then, it won't change people's minds. It's hard, having to fight for equal rights. The only way that someone can do that is by fighting, and by protesting, and by not giving up until they see results. 

Different Protests, Same Goal

The Ferguson protests, the Eric Garner protests, the die-ins, the marches, everything has one common goal: for people of every race to have equal rights. Minorities are still being profiled by police because of their race. Black people are still looked at as inferior to the white person, even though it might not seem like that. The new 'acceptable' attitude that all black people are 'thugs' is racist, and it turns an entire group of people into a stereotype. 

What people have been trying to accomplish in these protests is the right to be able to live without fearing someone harming them because of their race. It sounds absurd, still having to fight for this in 2015, but it's true, unfortunately. Even in all of this, there are groups of people that are also underrepresented. This especially includes black women. All of the shootings and deaths that are reported (Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Eric Garner) are black men, you never hear about black women being fought for. While they are most certainly included in the #BlackLivesMatter protests, the man is thought of first. Recognition for both genders should be also noted in these protests. What should also happen is more representation in media in general. 13.4% of people are African-American, and even though there is always the token minority in television shows, it feels forced in some contexts.  

By taking all of this into consideration, maybe reform is what we really need in this nation.