Englisch Leistungskurs 2016
Discrimination US
From the 16. to the 18. century Africans were brought to America and sold as slaves. They had to work on huge plantations under really bad conditions, as they were pretty cheap farm workers. Blacks had no equal rights and were excluded from the Declaration of Independence.(In the 19. century the Northern states wanted the slaves to be free and then shipped back to their indigenous countries. The Southern states protested, since they wanted to keep the privilege of the cheap workers. In 1808 slave trade was officially ended, but so was not slavery. So especially the Southern states kept their slaves until the American Civil War in 1861. The Northern states stood up for the abolishment of slavery, so they declared war on the Southern states. Four years later the war was won by the Northern states, so the slaves were freed and slavery was abolished. Even though blacks were free now they were still dependent on the whites and often led poor lives as sharecroppers, agreeing to deliver a curtain share of their crop every year to the land owner, trapped in a cycle of endless hard work and poverty.(In 1890 the Jim Crow Laws came into force. These laws said that blacks were not allowed to vote, had to use separate restrooms. They had to sit in the back of buses and trains as well. Slavery had been replaced by racial segregation, just like in the era of apartheid in South Africa. Blacks also had to attend other schools and universities, so they had a poorer education than the white population. This led to worse job chances. (As an example there is the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”. It plays in the 1930s and is about the lawyer Atticus Finch who presents an innocent black man before the court. The black man, Tom Robinson, is sentenced to death, since the white society is convinced that a black man always is guilty. You can see the attitude towards the black population of America pretty well.(In 1955, when the black population had almost given up, Rosa Parks did not want to give up her seat in a Montgomery bus for a white man. This action started the Civil Rights Movement. Inspired by Parks, Martin Luther King became the leader of the movement. He pledged a non-violent resistance which was based on Mahatma Ghandi’s principles. In his “I have a Dream”-speech he has the dream of an equal society with equal rights for everybody. King’s antagonist was Malcom X who wanted to protest violently, since he was of the opinion that “turning the other cheek” does not help at all. In this time other civil rights activists rose up. For example, the “Little Rock Nine” were the first black students to attempt an only white school. Thurgood Marshall was a lawyer who tried to beat the segregation through the legal system. He presented more than 30 civil right cases before the Supreme Court and won 29 of them. His most popular case was the “Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka” in 1954 which ended segregation in public schools. The Civil Rights Movement ended in 1968 with the Civil Rights Act. The black population of the USA gained full civil rights and the opportunity to vote. (After the movement there was affirmative action. The black population should be integrated in society and the labour market. Something like an ethnic minority rate was introduced, similar to the women’s rate.(Today, a black president rules the USA and is the mightiest man alive. Even though the black population seems to be well integrated, discrimination is still a hot topic. Blacks are still discriminated against and are poorer most of the time. They often have lower waged jobs and the white population is still prejudiced. Black people are not the only ethnic minority who is discriminated against. Another example is Marcos, who is an illegal Mexican immigrant. Even though now he is a legal immigrant, he does not feel welcome. He thinks that he is not wanted and even is seen as something evil because of racist issues.

Discrimination UK
Great Britain was instrumental in the slave trade between Europe, Africa and North America but never used slaves itself to any considerable extend. (After World War II Great Britain concentrated on rebuilding its own country instead of imperialism. So more and more colonies of the UK became independent. A lot of former countries became members of the “Commonwealth”, a confederation of states. Today it has 51 members, 16 under the British crown.(When World War II was over and Britain concentrated on rebuilding its country, Commonwealth members could join the UK and work there. Since 1972 they only are allowed to work there if they have relatives in Britain (Immigration Act). These workers were needed and important for the economical growth. Though they helped the population in a difficult time, they were not welcomed by the Britons and had to face social disadvantages and racial discrimination. These sentiments become apparent in Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of Blood”-speech, who is a right wing politician. He talks about the problems of discrimination. As one of his examples he brings up the story of an old lady, who does not want to have black people in her house, even though they would pay the rent. Obviously she has racist issues. Powell demanded to restrict the numbers of immigrants. After this speech the British government promoted equal rights which led to improvements in social conditions and employment.(As of today, Great Britain has emerged as a multicultural nation promoting integration rather than assimilation. London is the perfect example for the model of a salad bowl which provides multicultural diversity. The only problem is that this causes parallel societies. An example is the Muslim community, in which there is a split between the younger and older generation. The younger generation sometimes seems to be more radical whereas the older generation often is more integrated and lives the Western values. Hanif Kureshi’s short story “My Son the Fanatic” is an example for this phenomenon. Ali, Parvez’ son, grows up in the Western society and later decides to obey the strict rules of Koran. Furthermore, he hates his father for living and liking the Western values. On other short stories, Kureshi shows examples of discrimination against ethnic minorities such as Pakistanis (We are not Jews) and Bangladeshis (The Raid). Also, you can see cultural differences at the example of “Make Bradford British”, a TV-show in which people from different communities are brought together to live together in one house. They argue a lot about daily things but are able to have a view in the lives of each other. Several inhabitants are angry that a Muslim visits the Mosque 5 times a day. However, in the end they realize how important religion is for him. If compromises are made, everyone is able to live together peacefully. (The largest ethnic minority in the UK are the Indians since India was the most important trading partner of Great Britain in the Second British Empire. They are followed by the Pakistanis, Africans and Caribbeans. (Even though the United Kingdom is a multicultural nation with rights and equality for everyone, discrimination still exists. For example, 10% of white women with A-levels are unemployed, whereas 25% of Caribbean women with A-levels have no work. In general, Caribbeans often have the same qualification as whites but less jobs.
Today, Great Britain tries to manage the migration. However, there are 310.000-570.000 illegal immigrants in GB. The government made up 5 “Tiers”, which represent groups of immigrants. Tier One are highly skilled individuals who contribute to the growth of society and are always welcome, whereas Tier Three represents low skilled workers who are used to fill short gaps.(In society, a lot of people say that multiculturalism has failed in the UK. In fact, about 85% of the immigrants feel well integrated and feel like they belong to Britain. Of course, there are always exceptions. For example, there is radical Islamism but most Muslims are no more willing to support violent protest. Also, especially the second generation starts to mix within the British society.(This is what David Cameron demands for in his speech on immigration. He wants skilled workers and those with job offers, quality before quantity.

The American Dream
There are three types of the American dream. First, there is the idealistic dream which says that there are unlimited possibilities and opportunities in the USA. You can go there and reach your dreams, you can go “from rags to riches”. Second, there is the materialistic dream. It says that you get happiness, freedom and limitless possibilities through the acquisition of wealth. Last, the political dream says that in America there is individuality, self-respect, self-realization and equality for everyone, already manifested in the Declaration of Independence. (In general, life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, everybody should be treated the same, regardless of circumstances of birth and position. You should be able to make individual choices without the restraints of class, religion, race or ethnic group.(The American Dream is always different since it is pretty individual. That is what it makes so difficult to define this term. As a basis, everybody has to work really hard, should have the same rights and possibilities and everybody should work together. One central element is the melting pot in which cultures melt together to a new one. Its aim is to create a new, perfect race which should leave behind its old heritage and manner. Everybody is responsible for their own success or failure.(However, for some people the American Dream turned out to be the American Nightmare. Even though they worked hard and gave their best, they were not able to climb up the ladder and reach well paid jobs. Instead, they have low waged jobs, often more than one, so they can feed their families. This is a problem with a lot of immigrants since they came to the country in order to work hard and reach the top. Through language barriers and sometimes racial discrimination they could not reach their aims and are frustrated and angry.
A negative example of the American Dream or a perfect example of the American Nightmare is the former Motor City Detroit. Earlier, it was a city full of wealth since it was the boom town of the world’s most important industry, but times have changed. Now, it is full of poverty. After the collapse of the car industry, also the American Dream collapsed for a lot of people. Drug and crime rate has risen and unemployment is an every day’s struggle. Since 1950 more than half of the population has left the city due to bad living conditions.(A positive example for the American Dream is the Garcia family. Jorge and Sarah came from Bolivia after they were unsatisfied with their income, work and the education system. So they went to the USA to enable their daughters a better life. Jorge climbed up the ladder and earns 30 Dollar per hour now. His daughters, Vanessa and Paola have graduated from college and have a decent job now. Vanessa is married and lives in her own house. Through hard work and discipline, the Garcia family reached the American Dream.

Discrimination in South Africa
In 1652 the first Europeans set foot on the South African mainland. It was supposed to be a providing station for the Dutch East India Company, so they could get fresh water and food for their travels to India. By and by, more white people settled in the area around which is known as Cape Town today. In the 18. Century the Boers went deeper in the country which caused problems with the indigenous population. Over the years, the Dutch could not manage the costs for their providing station so the British took over the southern part of the country. In the north, the Dutch founded the three Boer republics of Natal, Orange Free State and Transvaal. Later on, they got problems with the British which wanted to unify all republics under British rule. A war started and the British won in 1902. Since a lot of Boers still were in important offices they compromised to pass a new constitution and form a new country. The English policy at that time is said by Cecil Rhodes, who declares the British to the finest race in the world and is of the opinion that the more the British inhabit, the better it is for the world. The Union of South Africa was formed in 1910. Through the racist influence of the Dutch, the native population, the vast majority, lost their rights. In 1912, the African National Congress was founded as a multi-racial organization which aim it was to provide the right to vote to everybody and to end racial discrimination. (The National Party won the election in 1948 and discrimination reached his highlight. The policy of apartheid came into force. Apartheid means “separation” of white and black people. In 1950 the people of South Africa were classified in four categories: African, Coloured, Indian and White. Marriages between these groups were forbidden. One year later, the Group Areas Act established zones for each communities. The whites had the most land. In general, apartheid consisted of about 50 laws which separated whites from other ethnic groups. These were not allowed to sit in the same buses, use the same toilets or to have proper jobs. Furthermore, they had to live separated. (In the fight against apartheid, a lot of black activists rose up. Desmond Tutu, a former teacher became a priest since he could not teach in a country where whites are provided with better education than blacks. He spoke up against apartheid on the name of all black South Africans and became the first black Archbishop of Cape Town. (In 1968 Steve Biko founded the South African Student’s Organization (SASO). Its aim was to fight against the black student’s feelings of inferiority. After he was banned from university, he became the leader of the Black Worker’s Project (BCP). In September 1977 Biko died after having been tortured in detention.(The most popular activist was Nelson Mandela. He pledged non-violent protest and became the leader of the Black Consciousness Movement. In 1964 he was sentenced to prison for life. 27 years later, in 1990, he was released since the international pressure on South Africa grew. This was also the time, when apartheid officially ended. In the first democratic election of South Africa in 1994, Mandela became the country’s first black president. He continually worked against the remains of apartheid and pursued a policy of reconciliation instead of revenge. (In order to this policy, the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” was founded in 1996. This Commission listened to the stories of apartheid victims and was meant to express regret and behalf of the enforcers and ask for amnesty.(Today, there is “Affirmative Action” in South Africa. Since the “Black Economic Empowerment” came into force, the economy gives most jobs to previously disadvantaged groups, such as blacks, even when their competitive is higher qualified. (Today, there still are restrains of apartheid. Democracy has not really improved, there are still a lot of people living in informal settlements. Also, there is a lot of crime, such as rapes, gang and drug violence. Segregation, racism, poverty and HIV infection rates are even worse than ever before. Some people from the townships even say that life was better under the white regime since there was work and education. (In 2010, South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup. It pushed the growth of economy and development of the country. South Africa is meant to benefit long after the tournament.