Does a person’s appearance allow them to be categorized?

On Tuesday 25th September we had a 2 hour long lecture on racism and patriarchy. We heard of cases such as the brutal murder of Emmet Till in 1955 and other hate crimes on black citizens around the world from the past. Having studied the black-white divide that was present in America and apartheid in South Africa, I had learnt of these cases before and therefore did not dwell on the the subject after leaving the lecture hall.

However when looking at the resources on padlet later in the day, I noticed a BBC documentary called “Black Power” which I decided to watch. It covered the recent police brutality towards black citizens in America and after watching the whole documentary I was shocked at what I had watched. Despite having heard stories about police brutality, part of me had believed that we had come so far in becoming a more welcoming society. Part of me believed that racism and treating people based on their appearance was all in the past. But I was completely wrong.

In this documentary, while black demonstrators shouted “Black lives matter”, white protesters chanted “Black brains splatter”. Many protesters were discussing how black people were more likely to be involved in crime and were dangerous within society, however the black community felt the opposite. Many described how they kept guns on their person or in their cars to protect themselves and their family and since the police in America have been responsible for more deaths in recent years than terrorists, I can certainly understand why.

This documentary was truly shocking for me and highlighted how, despite the black community having more respect and rights now than they did 50 years ago, the discrimination and divide is still undeniable. Black people still face fear of not only citizens in their home towns but also fear the police, their so-called “protectors”. Racism is not in the past, it is a problem of the present day.