Racism-in-America美国种族主义.ppt

Racism in America: Alive and Well “A democratic society should recognize that every individual is unique, different from every other. Regardless of likenesses or differences, every man and woman is equal to every other in the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” More than 2 centuries has passed since Jefferson wrote these words, but having them on paper does not mean that they are guaranteed. Thomas Jefferson (1743 –1826) the 3rd President of the US (1801–1809), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers. Racism is the belief in the inherent superiority of a particular race. It denies the basic equality of humankind and correlates ability with physical composition. This often leads to the belief that some people (races) should be governed by others. Racism is an attitude that prompts hatred, prejudice, and discrimination. The young African American boys are cleaning the older white males shoes In the Black Hills of South Dakota, stands the national memorial, Mount Rushmore, created by Gutzon Borglum. This magnificent rock carving depicts the 60-foot high faces of four great U.S. Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln The history of the US is to a great extent a narrative of relations between people culturally and politically grouped into races. On the one hand, the United States enjoys the benefits of a diverse society; on the other it has the negative effects of not fulfilling the American creed of freedom and equality of opportunity. At the very beginning, the land of opportunity, prosperity, and freedoms spelled out in the Constitution was not fully understood in colonial America. If every human being was born with fundamental rights that no government can legally alter or take away, then every human being is entitled by law to have his or her rights to be respected and protected. How is i