Modern racial violence in the U.S. is fueled by social media, political polarization, and historical inequalities. In the United States of America, “The Land of the Free,” 50% of hate crimes are due to race. Race in the United States has always been something that has separated people, from slavery and Jim Crow Laws in the 1900s to the current ICE raids happening today, where many innocent people are facing intense and hurtful forms of racism.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, race is defined as “any one of the groups that humans are often divided into based on physical traits regarded as common among people of shared ancestry.” Race is something nobody can control, so why are we so divided? This shows that racial divisions are entirely social constructs, not natural truths.
Race has always been an issue in the United States of America, ever since it was founded. One of the Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson, wrote that “all men are created equal,” yet he enslaved hundreds of people, lamenting slavery’s evils while profiting from it and proposing ineffective legislation against it. George Washington, the first president of the United States, inherited slaves, and owned them for most of his life. Although he freed his slaves in his will upon his death, it is not known whether he had a change of heart toward his slaves that wasn’t based off of societal norms.
Historical inequalities in the United States were reinforced through segregation and discriminatory laws created by white people, that destroyed equal access to education, employment, and healthcare for people of color. The Civil Rights Movement led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and banned segregation in public places. The Civil Rights Act was a pivotal moment in history that has led us to where we are now. But inequality in the United States has always been present and still exists today, as racial violence does not come from nowhere and hate crimes continue to occur.
In the U.S., immigration policies have historically created barriers to necessary resources for racial and ethnic minorities. Laws such as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 restricted immigrants’ access to public benefits, reinforcing inequality and contributing to fear, instability, and mistrust among immigrants from everywhere who saw the United States as a refuge or a chance for a better life. The Work Opportunity Act of 1996 greatly affected immigrants, and currently immigrants are facing something extremely similar, and possibly even worse, comparable to events that occurred in Germany in the 1920s. ICE raids in our modern day are destroying and tearing apart many innocent families. These raids are also hurting America’s economy by disrupting businesses, reducing the labor supply, and lowering consumer spending due to fear, while causing job losses for both immigrants and U.S.-born workers, leading to further economic instability.
Currently, on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, the White House has posted reels intended to target a young audience with political messages. This is propaganda that’s being created by the White House, in a constitutional federal republic setting that has a representative democracy. One video, now being called the “Polar Express video”, is facing huge backlash, because a song from the movie is being used to wrongly convey the pain and misery many immigrants have faced. This is propaganda made to hurt and scare immigrants in the United States, and many artists have already spoken out against the White House for using their songs in videos that are once again scaring immigrants, because it is extremely offensive. Social media is currently one of the most influential platforms for kids, teenagers, and even adults, and it should not become a space where political messaging fuels tension, anger, and division, which can start many conflicts and cause harm. Therefore, social media plays a central role in spreading racial fear and division.
Political polarization in the U.S. increases racial tensions and fuels racial violence, and social media encourages it by spreading inflammatory content and portraying opposing groups as threats. Events like ICE raids and the January 6th Capitol Attack in 2021 make these conflicts more visible. Polarization goes beyond policy disagreements, and it creates a place where racial hate and violence can turn into real-world violence that risks the lives of millions.
Modern racial violence in the U.S. is not random, because it is the product of historical inequalities, political polarization, and social media amplification. Understanding these forces is crucial if we want to address racial violence effectively, and create a more just society.
