Dear Future President,

We live in a cruel country where racism against colored people is a huge issue. People are always saying that everyone in America is treated equally, but is that actually true? Innocent African Americans are getting killed by police officers who lie and say that it was for self defense. Muslims and Islamic people are being labeled as terrorists. Everyone knows that racism is a problem. But why isn’t anyone doing anything about it?

Racism towards black people goes way back into the days before the Civil War. That was the period of time when black people started being traded and sold as slaves. Now, the problem has become even bigger because of all the police shootings that have been recently going on. According to the most recent data in a Washington Post article, Wesley Lowery states that “...Black people are about 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police officers than white people.” This shows that they are being specifically targeted because they have colored skin, not because they are criminals. When I first heard about 12 year old Tamir Rice getting killed by police because they mistook his toy gun for a real gun, I was immensely shocked. The police officers, Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback, killed an innocent 12 year old boy, who had his whole life ahead of him, and weren’t even charged for the killing. The police officers received information about “a black male sitting on a swing in the park and pointing a gun at people.” Once they got to the scene of the “crime,” they shot Tamir twice. One of the shots hit his torso, and he died the following day. They didn’t even realize that he was a minor when they shot him. I thought that was extremely unjust and unfair to Tamir and his family. Even though many people are starting to protest against  the discrimination of black people, it’s still not enough. According to 2016 data in Sound Vision, Abdul Malik Mujahid revealed that “African-Americans aged 12 and up are the most victimized group in America. 41.7 over 1,000 of them are victims of violent crimes, compared with whites (36.3 over 1,000).” Everyday black people will still be victimized unless more people are standing up for this issue and are trying to do something to stop it.

African Americans aren’t the only ones who are being discriminated against. Ever since terrorist attacks started happening, a lot of Muslims have been defined as terrorists. Two of the most famous terrorist attacks to happen in America were the attacks on September 9th, 2001. Yes, it is true that those deadly attacks were planned by an Islamic terrorist group. But that does not mean that all Muslims are terrorists. Racism towards Muslims is also a problem in other countries, such as Australia. In the words of Maryam Allami in Green Left, “The usual pushing and shoving, racial slurs being thrown about and dirty looks when I walk in public are nothing new for any Muslim woman...I have had first-hand experience with this. My bad experiences have made me realize that dealing with Islamophobia is more complex than I initially thought.” This proves the fact that Muslims (especially Muslim women) are victims of racial discrimination and they aren’t being treated as normal human beings, they’re being treated as criminals who have been convicted of serious crimes. Based on the findings of Pew Research, “Recent surveys show that most people in several countries with significant Muslim populations have an unfavorable view of ISIS, including virtually all respondents in Lebanon and 94% in Jordan.” Most Muslims are not terrorists, and almost all Muslims do not even approve of ISIS. Some people seem to not realize that not all Muslims are terrorists and they shouldn’t be afraid whenever they see someone wearing a hijab or someone of color who has a beard. More people need to be aware of the racism towards Muslims and they need to understand that not all of them are terrorists.

I hope you will resolve our racism problems to a minimum, or even better, to end racism once and for all. Racism is what is tearing our country apart, and we need to put a stop to it.

Sincerely,

Stephanie M.

Sources:

Allami, Maryam. "A Young Muslim Woman’s Daily Experience of Racism in Australia." Green Left (12 July 2015): n. pag. Print.

Lowery, Wesley. "Aren’t More White People than Black People Killed by Police? Yes, but No." The Washington Post (11 July 2016): n. pag. Print.

Mujahid, Abdul Malik. "Racism Statistics and Facts." Sound Vision (14 Nov. 2016): n. pag. Print.