Racial Discrimination Has To End: Interview With Osman McKinney

Nowadays, racism is an alarming issue that black American-African faces in the United States. Osman McKinney is an activist; furthermore, he has been working on the field of black civil rights for several years and raising awareness for racial equality. Hence, I got an opportunity to interview him about racial discrimination toward black people that happens in America.

I started the interview off with the basic historical question of “where did racism start in America? ” He said that it started when there was a slave trade which happens between 1525 and 1866, in which millions of Africans were kidnapped and sent to the Americas. Then, the question that comes along with is how long that blacks become slaves in America. He replied to me that many years ago, there was a man called president Abraham Lincoln until 1861. He also added, “He [Abraham Lincoln] wanted to end slavery life for black; however, some people disagreed that was the beginning of the civil war in America.”

Regarding my question after the war ended, black lives in America change”. He said that it has not ended and it is continuing. He continued, “there was Racial segregation in the United States … black could not go to the same school as white … this was continuing over and over.” After that regarding how bad was the racism in America, Mr. Mckinney said that there was a situation that happened with Rosa Parks. He continued to clarify about this story, “The driver ordered four black passengers to give their seats to the white who were standing. However, Rosa Park refused to give her seat. He also stated she was arrested and went to jail.

For the question about the person who has a huge role in improving the living for the black people, Mr. Mckinney stated that there are two people managing the march on Washington on jobs and freedom which are Asa Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin. This protest occurs during 1963 to protest against the racial discrimination towards African-American citizens.

Then, to my question concerning the reasons behind the march and why they created this march, he answered, “although the slave trade is not present anymore, the black community still faced plenty of repression in the social, economic, and political aspects. He also mentioned, “black people still do not have a chance to vote for the election and the interracial marriage was banned in almost half of the states. They usually have less chance to get accepted for the jobs just only for their race.” He further explained how successful the protest was by stating that this march is one of the largest protests for human rights with 250,000 participants.

Regarding my question about the result of the protest, he simply replied, “this march played a significant role.” Since the Civil Rights Act. has been established, I asked the question, “Is racism being eliminated from society after the Act?” He said racism is still present in the American society. The right for black people became more equal and the opportunities are more open for black people; however, the discrimination against black people still happens.