Civil rights are the rights of citizens to political freedom, social freedom, and equality.
The hard truth is that the people in power in America have used differences in race and gender to create extreme inequalities. To deny people their civil rights. And to justify appalling treatment.
Let’s be clear about what “race” really is. . . and is not.
Your DNA, or genetic material, is what makes you a human being. Not a dog, a fish, or anything else. In fact, 99.9 percent of your DNA is the same as everyone else’s. That last 0.1 percent, tiny as it is, accounts for all our superficial differences. Like hair color, eye color, and skin tone. That means you, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump are pretty much the same genetically.
Here’s what this fact means: People, not biology, have created the idea of race.
Race is not a scientific way to divide humans into groups. Yet, people throughout history have done exactly that. . . and more. White people have used race to discriminate against non-White people. The civil rights movement – and the protests connected to it – is the struggle to right that wrong in America. To eliminate racism. To live the truth of racial equality.
