Racism in America:

It is sad that at this point in America's history, we are still fighting the war of racism in 2016. Over the past couple of years, police brutality against Africa American's is the most talked about topic on the news. I think it is so sad to see how far African Americans have come since slavery, and it makes me sick that America has taken a step backwards for them.


Here is a list of Killings by Law Enforcement Officers by age 

Last year in Ferguson, Missouri Michael Brown was walking down the street, unarmed, and a police officer pulled his car in front of him and shot him. Again, what is so sad about this story is that this isn't the first time this happened. But this started riots in Ferguson shortly after.



Eric Garner is another example of police brutality when he was unarmed and being harmless. He was put into an illegal chokehold for 15 seconds by a white police officer, only because he was selling cigarettes. He yelled 11 times, "I can't breath!" His story became a symbol, and everyone was hash tagging: #Icantbreath in honor of his death and to show support for the lives being lost around the country to police brutality.


When I heard these stories I didn't know what to think of them. I was confused, sad, angry and again, confused. Why are officers targeting only black men? This made me believe that racism is still around in America, even if these officers deny it.

During my research on this topic, I found these key points:
-Police killed at least 102 unarmed black people in 2015, nearly two each week.
-37% of unarmed people killed by police were black in 2015 despite black people being only 13% of the US population
- Only 9 of the 102 cases resulted in officers being charged with a crime!



I have a couple of friends that go to the University of Missouri, and I actually applied there myself. My close family friend is a freshman there and she did not have school for a full week because of a racism issue. Payton Head is the Students Association President, and he is black, and said that a group of kids drove by him in a pickup truck and yelled something racist at him. There were other cases of students calling other black students the n word. These incidents led to incoming freshmen having to take online diversity training classes.


In conclusion, racism in America is still around and we all need to do our best to treat everyone equally and punish the ones who do not.

Reasons for Poverty in the US

In the United States, 15.1 percent of people live in poverty... a striking number since the great depression. But why is America still dealing with high poverty rates when we aren't in the depression anymore?

Reason #1: Compared to countries around the world where poverty is easy to see by the people on the streets, America has created a new form of poverty. Instead of having no food, poor Americans have enough money to buy junk/unhealthy/fast food; creating a country of malnourished and ill people.  These people are unable to work, or don't have jobs in the first place, causing the economy to worsen. The economy is a huge reason why America has poverty.

Reason #2: Drug use in America is a main reason for homelessness and poverty because of the addictive factor. Addicts often spend all their money on drugs and alcohol than on their families or finding a job. Addicts often live on the streets asking money for drugs, making the poverty rate go up because they are not spending money to benefit the economy. 

Reason #3: The costs of housing have gone up in the past few years because of the economy. Minimum wage in America typically does not allow someone to afford even a one bedroom apartment, and so there are people who either do not afford a house, or need to work from day to night. And even those who do work day and night cannot seem to make things work because they have families who they need to take care of too. 

Reason #4: People who do not graduate from college or high school are bound to make a significant amount of money less than those who do have a high school diploma and/or a college degree. Universities are extremely expensive, and those who can't afford it just jump right into a low paying career. Also, in communities where money and education are low, teens are likely to drop out of high school to work to earn money for their families.