Racial discrimination in the United States has been around for centuries. Dark-skinned people survived slavery and terror, and their situation began to improve substantially only a few decades ago. However, African-Americans still face violations of their rights, which eventually leads to protests and mass riots over and over again. The first victims of racism were Native Americans. In the future, racial discrimination also affected the black population of the country.
Even with the election of the first black president in U.S. history, racial discrimination is still one of the most pressing issues in modern America. To some extent, the election of an African-American as the president of the country, on the contrary, brought the problem of racism to a qualitatively new level (Estime and Williams 42). Thus, the issue of racism in America, of course, persists to this day but takes on new forms. Although there are many institutions in the United States that develop programs and technologies to combat racially motivated crime, the roots of the problem are so firmly entrenched in American society that the system is increasingly failing.
The play “Fences” is a perfect example of the reflection of racism in American society. The plot is based on the story of an African-American, Troy Maxon, who, being a successful baseball player, was admitted to the world of “whites.” He dreams of a better future for his son so that the young man can get a good college education, despite unspoken prohibitions, and get an excellent job in a prestigious firm.
The whole play is riddled with contrasts between the lives of black and white people in American society at that time. So, the main character is perplexed, “I ain’t worried about them firing me. Are they gonna fire me cause I asked a question? That’s all I did. I went to Mr. Rand and asked him, “Why?” Why you got the white men’s driving and the colored lifting?” (Wilson 29). He does not understand the racial prejudice that prevented black people from holding the same positions as white people. Thus, it can be said that the theme of racism plays a significant role in the play. Without discrimination, the whole character and life of Troy Maxon would have been very different.
Works Cited
Estime, Stephen, and Brian Williams. “Systemic Racism in America and the Call to Action.” The American Journal of Bioethics, vol. 21, no. 2, 2021, pp. 41-43. Web.
Wilson, August. Fences. Penguin Publishing Group, 2019.
