Ever since Christopher Columbus sailed his way across the Atlantic Ocean in the late 1400 and mistook the Caribbean Islands for what he thought was the East coast of Asia, white supremacy has held its grasp on what is to be known as the ‘New World.’ Through the importation of African Americans sent by the voyage of the triangular trade or the forced assimilation of Americans, white supremacism has always been a likely fate for minorities throughout the settlement of America. Fast forward to 2017, where if you were to walk through the streets in some southern American states, their state flags would still fly high with the confederate imagery.

White supremacy has recently been spurred with shootings, including the one that took place in South Carolina with the shooting and killing of nine African Americans in a predominately African American church. But this is not the only hate crime that has occurred in the U.S. Others have taken place within the South and have even made their way into northern states including Minnesota, Kansas and even states as far west as Colorado. This recent spike in white supremacist attacks might be due to the fact that the U.S. government has been focusing on Islamic extremists and potential domestic attacks. Yet today with a rise in the black lives matter movement, some people can not get over the fact that all people are created equal no matter their skin color.

But what is skin color truly? It is an adaptation developed over thousands of years to protect people in certain areas from the prolonged sun exposure. People near the equator have melanin that causes them to have darker skin and this protects them from the radiation and helps to protect them from other skin diseases like cancer. Yet, this is what people hate each other over. This is what wars are started over. This is what is causing the people of the world to kill each other, an adaptation of melanin levels in the skin based on geographical location to help people be better suited for their environment.

After spending almost four years in high school, I have heard almost everything possible, including every racist remark you could think of. Due to their graphic language and vulgar nature, I will not say them but after hearing some of the things I do, I can not believe it is 2017. Yes, I get that some are a joke and yes, I do have a sense of humor, but some are just down right awful. Yet in today’s world, after a civil war and after a civil rights movement, these comments are still considered acceptable.

People have been constantly questioning why there is even a ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement due to the fact that African Americans technically have ‘equal rights’. Well this is why, because, in today’s society, equality is still not given based on African Americans skin color.

#BlackLivesMatter