On Jan. 15, 1929, a new era in United States history began; on that day, Martin Luther King Jr. was brought into the world. Throughout his entire life, King fought for equal rights for black Americans. From his “I have a dream speech” to the “March on Washington,” his life’s work helped ignite the civil rights movement. But even 47 years after his death, Dr. King’s dream has not been reached – racism is still prevalent in America.

Recently, there has been a sudden increase in racially motivated crimes – notably, the tragedy in Ferguson and the Eric Garner and Tamir Rice incidents. The incident in Ferguson all started when a white police officer, Darren Wilson, shot an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, which initiated international protests that raised awareness of racist police officers. Eric Garner, another unarmed black man, was placed under a choke hold by a white police officer, and he repeatedly cried, “I can’t breath,” but he was dead by the time the officer let go. Tamir Rice was a 12 year old black boy who was shot and killed by white police officers because they believed he was holding a gun. All of these altercations included a white police officer and an African American civilian, and they all show how racism is still a prevalent atrocity in modern times. For more information about the tragedies, click here.

“I wish racism was gone and we didn’t have to worry about it, but unfortunately that is not the case; it is still here, looming over society, reminding us of America’s troubled past,” freshman Sara Saliamonas said.

However, some people in America believe that there is no more racism in the U.S., partially due to the fact that we currently have a black president, Barack Obama.

Unfortunately, they are wrong, because the cons of the modern world shadow over the pros, and although we may not want it, racism is still in the U.S.. Based on its current condition, it does not look like it plans on going anywhere anytime soon. But if we can educate further generations about equal rights, then hopefully we can eliminate racism.

It is clear that racism is still in the U.S., and it should not be taken lightly; innocent lives are being taken for the most absurd reasons. When King said, “I have a dream,” I don not think he would to have expected to see this as part of it.