An Examination Of How Music Mirrors Societal Issues

An Examination of How Music Mirrors Societal Issues Perspectives of Institutionalized Racism Although the United States government is currently engaged in stopping foreign civil rights atrocities, it turns a blind eye to violence acted out against African Americans within its borders (PR N., 2014, para. 4). In South Carolina, the â€Å"rebel flag hang[s] from the state house walls† (Bryan, 1994, line 2), serving as a constant reminder of the institutionalized racism that reflects U.S. social tensions today. Another discriminatory racial injustice that occurred during the 1990s was the Anti-Drug Act of 1986. Possession of 5 grams of crack (90% of crack defendants were African American) and 500 grams of powder cocaine (more popular with†¦show more content†¦4). Not only is racial tension portrayed through brutality and violence, but it is also apparent in various aspects of public education such as unfair character labeling, racial stereotypes, harsh school punishments, and discrimination from teachers. These inequal ities present in what is supposed to be a â€Å"color blind† society create the notion that â€Å"America does not love [all] children† (Manzama, 2015, p. 11) and engender distrust in the education system. Moreover, impoverished minorities feel a sense of resentment as a result of discrimination based on economic racism and injustice. These minorities tend to rebel when they can no longer bear the weight of their anger and they believe the sentiment favours change (Chavis, 2015, p. 4). Thus we discover that throughout the history of the United States, racism has played a factor, ingraining its malicious effects into the moral fiber of American Society. Historical Perspectives Several aspects of racial prejudice today, demonstrated in both police brutality and unjust treatment of minorities, evidence atrocities that can be linked to a national history of violence and resentment towards one another. To take racism back to when freedom seemed achievable is to travel back to the Civil Rights Act of 1960s which sparked national controversy not exclusively in the South. The modern interpretation of this backlash is most accurately portrayed in the movie Selma, in which Martin