Yesterdays lecture was an eye opener. I did a bit of research when class was over to find out James Byrd JR. was murdered by three white supremacists – what could be classed as a ‘lynching’ . This man was dragged for three miles behind a truck, still alive, until they hit a curve, severing his arm and head. This happened in 1998. The year I was born. It sounds absolutely absurd that people are roaming the streets still, that have this mindset that black people are any different to us. The men that committed this horrendous crime proceeded to dump the body and drive off to a barbecue with friends.

We see it in the news all the time. A black man has been pulled over and shot by a white police officer. He went to grab something out his pocket. The police officer thinks he’s going for a gun. Yes, this happens mostly in America, but does this mean we shouldn’t care? Innocent people’s lives being taken, families broken up, husbands and wives now widowed. Do I think racism will disappear entirely? No. Unfortunately not. Should skin colour, where you are from, where you were brought up matter? Should it affect how you are treated in society? No.

This lecture made me realise that racism is something that has improved in some ways, but will never truly disappear. There are still people walking the streets believing that a ‘pure race’ is the way forward, and this really saddens me.

Has society really moved on?

Here is the link to the death of James Byrd JR.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_Byrd_Jr.