What if Rosa Parks had never stood up for her seat on the bus? What if Martin Luther King Jr. never got involved? What if Malcolm X continued a life of crime? Well, the civil rights movement would have never happened. Blacks would still be segregated. The U.S. wouldn’t be the same. It’d actually be dangerous for many people.

African-Americans comprise only 13% of the U.S. population and 14% of the monthly drug users but are 37% of the people arrested for drug-related offenses in America. Noor Sami, a student at Unis Middle School said,  “The U.S will be a lot less equal and people will rule.” She also mentioned that the U.S. would be less developed because everyone helped the U.S. become what it is.  When asked if she thinks blacks will stop being discriminated against Noor stated, “Never, every race is discriminated against, when it stops humanity will not exist.  Wars will take place within the country until it is fair.”

In Michigan, blacks are arrested more than any other race. April Kincaid, a social studies and journalism teacher at Unis Middle School said, “The U.S would still be segregated, white only signs will be everywhere, and 99% of kids at Unis Middle School will not be allowed in many places”. She opposed Noor Sami’s argument by stating, “The U.S. would not be less developed because the U.S. have always been leaders in technology and innovation. Ms. Kincaid mentioned that the U.S. would not be as peaceful, instead of violence centered on neighborhoods, and it would be focused on skin color.

After arrest, blacks are mostly detained until trial in New York, while whites are not. Jaafar Beydoun, a student at Unis Middle School, said “The U.S. would be widely segregated. He mentioned that innovation would be set back because many took part in developing the U.S.

What is your stand on this? How have civil rights affected present day America? Would you still live in the U.S. if we were still segregated? Are you against segregation? At the end of the day, everyone is human and deserves the same rights.

Hussein Zaarour