Many non-black people are dying to hear the answer to this question, "Why do black people still bring up slavery?" I am here to answer this. I am well aware no one alive legally owns slaves nor is currently a legal slave (human trafficking exists and there is an illegal sex slave operation). No one is asking white people to apologize for slavery.
Slavery is brought up in today's social issues because that is when the dehumanization of black people in America began. Black people were counted as three-fifths of a person and viewed as property. When slavery ended, the view of black people did not magically change. Black children were used as alligator bait during and after slavery.
Let's fast forward to the Civil Rights era in the '50s and '60s. It is roughly one hundred years since slavery has ended and black people are still viewed as second-class citizens. Black people were not permitted to use the same facilities or attend the same institutions. Animals today are granted more rights and protection from the law than black people were in the Jim Crow era. A list of Jim Crow laws can be found here.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed and it outlawed discrimination. In theory, that is when racism ended in the United States. A piece of legislation does nothing to change the mindset of those who think of black people as inferior.
Let's fast forward to the present. In the sense of how black people are viewed by society as a whole, not a lot has changed. Black people are viewed in a negative light. One of the most common stereotypes of black people is that they are lazy and violent. Recently, a Facebook post went viral in my area where a young white woman went in a nail salon on a Tuesday and seen an African American woman inside. She proceeded to go on an unjustified rant where she automatically asumed the black woman was unemployed and relying on government assistance based on the fact that she was there on a Tuesday.
A guy in my high school told me that if he had a daughter he would not want her to bring home a black guy. According to him, black people are more likely to be on drugs or sell them.
A Google search will tell you the difference of how black people are viewed.
Donald Trump, in an attempt to get more African American votes, made a broad generalization of black people. He said, "What do you have to lose? You're living in poverty. Your schools are no good. You have no jobs."
Obviously, schools are doing something right when studies have shown that there are more black students entering college than white or Hispanic students.
According to CNN Money, "Among 2014 high school graduates, 86.1% of Asians enrolled in college, compared to 70.9% of black graduates, 67.3% of white graduates and 65.2% of Hispanic graduates."
Starting from slavery, black people were seen as inferior and today it is still true for some. I realize not all people think like this, but I am not going to pretend like it is not an issue. This is why slavery is brought up today. That is where the negativity surrounding black people in America began and it has not totally disappeared.
