Several decades ago, Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Several years down the line, we are still grappling with the issue of discrimination on the basis of skin color, nationality, and religion despite King Jr. envisioning a bright future for his four children. Just like during the Gilded Age (from around 1870s to 1941) where racism was manifested in African Americans, patterns of racism towards African Americans and people of color are still manifested today in the United States hence the need to wipe it completely from the face of this country. As an African American, I have encountered racism is various forms and thus find this issue of significance in an attempt to address the evils of the past.

You need to be at the forefront in wiping racism from this country because it was an act of oppression towards people of color. During the Gilded Age, labor was undergoing several changes but it was never more contentious in the United States until towards the late 19th century. Towards the end of 1870s, labor started experiencing conflicts as workers in steel, railroad, and mining industries engaged in bloody confrontations to demand better working conditions. Another example is where the African Americans and the Mexican Americans struggled hugely in the West as abuses and discrimination undermined their rights. Also, people of color suffered in the southwest since the situation was the same as Mexican Americans fought to maintain their rights (Norton et al. 524). In this regard, you need to play a role in solving this problem to ensure that people of color do not experience such oppression which denied them equality in this country.

Racial discrimination during the Gilded Age also resulted in inequality and thus the need to address it today to give everyone a chance in our society. For instance, the existence of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in America waged an underground campaign of intimidation and violence directed at the white and black Republican leaders, who championed for equality. Additionally, this group committed thousands of deaths as a way of weakening the political power of Southern blacks and Republicans, illustrating its relationship with racism in African Americans (Roediger 194). Moreover, the KKK ensured that the African Americans and other people of color were denied equal opportunities in socioeconomic and political spheres. On this basis, we must come together and fight racism to ensure that immigrants are given an opportunity in this country.

An influx of immigrants into the country experienced during the Gilded Age led to the greatest infusion of foreign-born citizens in the entire history and thus an increase in racism. An example of this immigration was the Detroit Great Migration between 1910 and 1930, where thousands of African Americans moved to Detroit from regions where racism was prevalent such as Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina due to inequalities in the South (Hillstrom 24). Also, the Jim Crow laws were applying in this region to reinforce racism and inequality among African Americans and people of color to reinforce racism and inequality. To make the matters worse, racial divisions and inequities in the region were triggered by fear and resentment led to unruly violence in the region (Norton et al. 521). One thing we need to do, in this regard, is for all of us to work towards promoting racial integration by embracing people from all races.

We need to acknowledge that patterns of racism are still seen in this country as the number of immigrants increase. Thus, I believe now you can see the bigger picture of racism based on the events I have highlighted and their effects. Thus, we really need to care about these events because they threaten to undermine social integration and co-existence. Thank you for listening.

Works Cited

Hillstrom, Kevin. The Dream of America: Immigration 1870-1920. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics Incorporated, 2009.

Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation: A History of the United States, Volume II: Since 1865. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2011.

Roediger, David R. The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class. London: Verso, 2000.