Sources:
Quintard Taylor. The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle’s Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994).
Image Ownership: Public Domain

I selected this picture because it shows the fight people of other races have to achieve their own freedom. The people pictured are representing the African American race as a whole during the time of the Civil Rights Era by protesting to receive their rights to be treated as an equal human being. These people are exactly the same as we are, with the exception of their skin tone. I don’t understand how we as Americans can be so cruel and wicked towards others just because of something so simple; the color of one’s skin. Being prejudice towards other people just because they are a different color or a different race than you are is absolutely ridiculous to me. These people just want to be treated as equals, like we as white American’s are treated. They want to be loved, respected, honored, and remembered just as we are. They want the same educational, job, and political opportunities as we have. However, why can’t we as a whole do this? Are we scared that they will take our jobs because they work harder than us? Are we insecure about ourselves, so we put them down in order to make ourselves feel better? Are we that hypocritical of other races that we can’t allow them to achieve greater things than we have? Or is it because of the stereotypical views we have of other races; such as criminals, terrorists, and gangsters? Whether the true reason fits under any, all, or none of these reasons, I believe we should put our differences aside and accept others for who they are because we were each made in a specific way and for a specific reason. This picture reflects my thematic motif of racism because it reveals the desires a race has to reach equality for themselves despite the obstacles set before them. It shows how, like Esperanza, other races feel ridiculed and stereotyped against because of something they cannot control- skin color, ethnicity, and judgment.