In order to understand America, you have to understand the history of our country as a whole, and this includes the discovery, the migrations, and the colonization of these United States. Along with the exciting stories of Europeans coming to America to build new dreams, it must also be mentioned the horrors that were brought not only to the native people of this land, but from the people who were imported as slaves into this country. When you ask an American, “can you summarize America into two or three words,” you may expect an answer that includes something about being “free and democratic” or a “great country of people”. Depending on which American you ask, there is no doubt that answers will vary. Ask a black person to summarize America, and you’ll hear about the horrors of what America has brought into the African American culture. America’s creation and spread of white supremacy did not just plague the Western Hemisphere. It has plagued the world.

From the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the 15th century, to the American Revolution and then the Civil War, white supremacy has found a way to seep deeper and deeper into the fabric of America. There’s a constant sense of greed coming from the people who uphold the ideas of white supremacy. The main ideal is that the white race is the best race and that anyone who isn’t white is inferior to them. Sadly, the white supremacy movement has totally been able to grow just underneath the surface, so that no one knows that it is there. But, on January 6, 2020, the real mask of white supremacy was unveiled as the Proud Boys and other white supremacist groups laid siege on our nation’s capital on TV. White supremacy is a weed that has been allowed to grow unchecked in American soil and when this weed does push itself through the ground, we stand surprised that this weed even exists.

Calling children sponges because they soak up whatever is taught to them (negative or positive) is absolutely true. People, who grew up having ideals that are similar to a white supremist, are encouraged to keep these views. With the introduction of television, the ideology of white supremacy can become more hidden to the casual viewer. People have this fixed idea in Hollywood that the lighter your skin the better an actor/actress you will be. Hollywood is one of the biggest industries whereby children and teenagers are exposed to the ideas of white supremacy. Also, social media is another medium that directly interacts with teenagers to not only teach, but to recruit the next generation of white supremacists.

Problems usually have a root, and the root of this problem takes us down the road of following the money. Who profits the most from a society seeped in white supremacy? I will let you answer that rhetorical question. Meanwhile, many scholars after November 3 rd have made the statement that it was the black community that saved democracy in 2020 by having 16 million African Americans exercise their right to vote and 90% of them voted for the Democratic ticket of Biden and Harris. Key battleground cities like Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Detroit (Michigan) and Atlanta (Georgia) featured huge black voter turnouts, which helped Biden win the White House. But, was the 2020 turnout enough? Sadly, all black Americans need to do is take a look at the current election laws being introduced by state legislatures in states where white governors are in office. States like Georgia, Florida, Texas, and Arizona are trying to get voter suppression laws passed. If passed, laws like these attack voting access which normally attacks voters of color. Suppressing the right to vote is a real issue in this country and it’s happening right now in 2021! Until America can come to grips with the ideal that we are indeed one people under God, our natural desire for capitalism to rule all will win. When will people mean more to our country than the mighty dollar?