Critical Response

Surname 2

Name

Institutional Affiliation

Professor

Date

Efforts to end Racism

The article by Candis Watts Smith aims at summarizing why white Americans have failed in support of systematic change in the fight towards ending racism and that they have not previously supported policies that are aimed at ending racism. The author uses examples of protests such as the Black lives matter to address the movement's impact and that it crested in 2014. White Americans have been opposing the fight to curb racism and they are actively opposing all the strategies set towards meeting the goal in their near future despite such protests.

The idea in the first body paragraph addresses the principles that have led to the failure of the policies. An example is cited from the mid-20th century where black freedom fighters tried to show the white Americans the level of racial terrorism they underwent and what is faced to date, however, the history is still relevant (Smith, 91). The whites were shown to prove of the Black Americans were nonviolent despite them being treated badly by the whites in the fight to ensure equality and liberty. The idea in the second paragraph still paraphrases the fact that the efforts made are going backward such as during the 1990’s much of racial disparities existed and that schools began to be affected, the segregation was caused by federal and state policies.

The idea on the third paragraph addresses research by scholars in understanding the action to explain racism in the U.S. Research shows the trends among white Americans while highlighting racial disparities existing like the Gl Bill which is responsible for today's racial gap in wealth. Additionally, attitudes and policies do not match where some research suggests that events like the Black Lives Matter movement are the largest protest in American history. It is evident that after the civil rights era principle policies are coming back, the whites are changing their attitudes. Indeed, they are now willing to acknowledge racial privileges.

In conclusion, the article by Smith summarizes why white Americans have failed in support of policies that aim at ending racism between white and Black Americans. The whites have been continuously against the idea but efforts to change their attitudes have been realized and they are in support of the same to encourage liberty and equality through the utilization of policies.

Work cited

Smith, Candis Watts. "After the civil rights era, white Americans failed to support systemic change to end racism. Will they now?"Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2020. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/TGREEL614947152/OVIC?u=ccsf_main&sid=OVIC&xid=80cb4a25. Accessed 1 Nov. 2020.Originally published as "After the civil rights era, white Americans failed to support systemic change to end racism. Will they now?" The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2020.