Racism And Prejudice In The Historian As Participant

Bias and prejudice have resonated in cultures throughout time. Prejudice begins as a perceived opinion or idea without evidence to support it; eventually, it evolves to a greater concern: racism. In the United States alone, nearly one thousand hate groups have taken root and amplified the issue of racism in the U. S. Major events that negatively depict a minority can undermine progress towards equality. This is discussed in an interview with Professor Abu-Lughod where she explains how Muslim women are perceived in the wake of the war in Afghanistan. Our perception of race and culture is influenced by what we read and learn, so without understanding different cultures people draw their own prejudices. With the professionalization of history, efforts to learn both sides of a story or understand other cultures have declined. This phenomenon is described by Arthur Schlesinger in his essay The Historian as Participant, “Such severe standards created the …show more content…
This movement has shed light on the racism and bigotry that has entwined itself in American society. Lyndon B. Johnson said it best in his speech We Shall Overcome, “There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem.” Activists risked their lives to fight for civil rights. Prior to the movement, the Supreme Court ruled, in Plessy v. Ferguson, that “separate but equal” was constitutional. In the midst of the movement, the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka overruled the Plessy v. Ferguson decision and ended segregation in schools. According to Alan Brinkley, Professor of History at Columbia University, “The following year, the Court issued another decision (known as “Brown II”) … that communities must work to desegregate their schools ‘with all deliberate speed…’” (796). Finally, in 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed. It established