Racism is the systematic oppression and exploitation of human beings on the basis of their belonging to a particular racial group or people. “Systematic” indicates that we must look at the status of group as a whole, and not at those few individuals who may have climbed a “ladder of success” in the white society. Racism is a different form of individual prejudice that has affected the United States of America since the creation of the constitution. African Americans have been the prime targets of such prejudice through out our American history, and it was the beginning of a long uphill battle to get the rights they deserve.

Throughout America’s history, white citizens tired all kinds of means to hold on onto their “white privilege”. Whites would begin to segregate blacks to prevent them from feeling equal. “colored only” places were created to make the black people feel “equal” even though it wasn’t. This kind of treatment was demonstrated when Oliver L. Brown was denied from going to law school because of the color of his skin. Brown would ultimately go to the supreme court to fight for his right to go to a white school. …show more content…
Similar cases around the country were combined into one case. While separate was considered equal at the time because of Plessy v. Ferguson, Thurgood Marshall argued for the African American families, that white school facilities were often created at a higher quality than the separate schools for blacks. Which led to the question, can schools really be equal if the students are segregated merely on the basis of skin