Introduction
Throughout American History,
African descendents have and continue to be one of, if not, the most oppressed
people in the country. Why and how
African descendants came to be and continue to be oppressed have been the focus
of many studies, research and papers, including mine in building this
website.
In my research, I tried to
find out how far African descendants or African Americans born and living in
America have come from the days the first Africans reached the Americas. Though currently not in chains as most
were during the 250 years of slavery, I have found that unfortunately the
progress of African Americans is not where it should be considering the immense
wealth and advancement of this nation, the amount of effort and labor African
Americans have contributed in building this country, and the struggles and
hardships endured by black freedom fighters and civil rights activists.
23.1% of African Americans are currently living
in extreme poverty(US census bureau, online. African Americans hold even fewer percentage of seats in Congress (Access
GPO.gov, online),
in a country where they make up 26% of the population (US census bureau, online).
These economic and political
inferiorities, through my findings, are implemented through two major
institutions: the Education System and
the Prison System. These two will be
the main focus of my website and I hope to show you how they have helped in
creating today’s modern black slavery.