Racism Case - Examples of Racism Within Society in the Past

Speech Outline.

AJ, Alec, Brendan, Nick.

Intro:

AJ: What is Racism? Racism can be defined as the hatred of one person by another, or the belief that another person is less than human, because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth, or any other factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of the person. Although it isn't seen as openly in society today as it was in the past, it is still a major issue that needs to be recognized.

Examples of Racism Within Society in the Past

Alec: One example of racism that occurred in the past was the forming of the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK originated in the 1860s after the end of the Civil War. The group was established to spread fear throughout the black population of the South and only WASP's could join, White-Anglo-Saxon-Protestants. They did awful things to poor black families, such as rape, murder, and castration. These people were also rarely ever caught because most officers in the South were high-ranking KKK members, or the officers favored the KKK's aims, which were a Protestant, white, south. In 1920, the Klan consisted of 4 million members, but as time went on members began to decrease and during the 1970s activity associated with the KKK diminished greatly. In 2008, only 6,000 members remained, but there was a sharp rise in number after the election of our first black president, Barack Obama. In the long run though, the number of members in the KKK are decreasing.

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Nick: Another example of racism that occurred in the past was Nazi racism. The Nazi party was a commonly known political party that attempted to exterminate or impose segregation upon those that were not part of the Aryan race. The most well-known leader was Adolf Hitler and he was an influential dictator in Germany. Through the use of propaganda Hitler persuaded the Germans to turn on a variety of people, most notably the Jews. Even before Hitler took power, he was obsessed with ideas about race. Hitler spread his beliefs about "racial purity" through his speeches and in his writings. He said the the race must remain pure if it is to take over the world. Hitler referred to the race as the Aryan race. These people were to be blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and tall. When Hitler and the Nazis came to power, his ideology was put into place. His ideas were spread through publicly displayed posters, in movies, in classrooms, etc. With the help of German scientists, Hitler limited the reproduction of those he considered "inferior." German physicians were allowed to perform forced sterilizations, which made it impossible for victims to have children. Hitler viewed Jews not as a religious group, but as a poisonous "race." In order to exterminate this poisonous "race," Hitler placed the Jews in concentration camps, along with Ethnic Poles, Romani, the disabled, African Americans, Freemasons, homosexuals, and Jehovah's witness, just to name a few.

Examples of Racism Within Society Today

A.J.: One example of racism within society today is the representation of people within the U.S. government. African Americans make up 13% of the population, but make up less that 10% of the House of Representatives, 1 % of the Senate, and 2% of the presidents. Asians and