The Struggle for Freedom among African Americans Today

Question
 Does the struggle for freedom still exist today for African Americans? If so, how? 
Answer
1. Introduction
Today, African American freedom is a controversial and a very colossal topic. I say controversial because if you ask five different people their views on African American freedom, you’ll most likely get five different answers. Almost every African American will think of the time when his people were released from the bondages of slavery. But that was just the beginning of what Afro Americans today know as freedom. Some will say freedom is when blacks were allowed to vote. Then there were those who said it was when the famous words “separate but equal” were outlawed and school integration began. In today’s society some will argue that they still do not have their freedom because of the way they are viewed in the eyes of our Anglo American society. So now I will take you into the struggle for freedom among African Americans and why it is so controversial. The way in which African Americans struggled to claim their rights is through your typical social movement. This is known as collective action or a battle to gain what is viewed as a valued thing in the eyes of the people who are being denied. This valued thing is what is viewed as a resource towards the end to their given treatment. In other words, these resources can vary from political power to economic security. Normally, a movement takes place when an existing status that provides these resources is terminated. This is what happened when slavery was abolished and equal rights was given for the first time. Something that many do not realize is that a movement can also occur should these people be trading a current status for a new one that is viewed as more beneficial. An example of such would be the great migration when African Americans moved from the south to seek better economic opportunity. However, the movement itself may also lead to a backlash. This was seen after school integration took place and can still be very evident to this date. During these social movements, decisions are typically made by the people in power. These decisions can often have a great effect on how the movement will turn out and sometimes whether or not it will end abruptly dispersed. This was the case when Marcus Garvey’s vision to give African Americans a sense of pride took a blow when he was wrongfully charged with male fraud and imprisoned. Often the movement will cease when the group of people feel that everything has been achieved. An example of such was affirmative action, the method of helping minority groups is the case of economic or educational discrimination.
2. Historical Background
2.1. Slavery and Emancipation
2.2. Civil Rights Movement
2.3. Post-Civil Rights Era
3. Socioeconomic Challenges
3.1. Income Disparity
3.2. Education Gap
3.3. Employment Discrimination
4. Criminal Justice System
4.1. Racial Profiling
4.2. Mass Incarceration
4.3. Police Brutality
5. Voting Rights
5.1. Voter Suppression
5.2. Gerrymandering
5.3. Felony Disenfranchisement
6. Systemic Racism
6.1. Institutional Bias
6.2. Implicit Bias
6.3. White Privilege
7. Social Movements and Activism
7.1. Black Lives Matter
7.2. Grassroots Organizing
7.3. Advocacy and Protests
8. Cultural Representation
8.1. Media Portrayal
8.2. Arts and Entertainment
8.3. Literature and Writing
9. Achievements and Progress
9.1. Political Representation
9.2. Civil Rights Legislation
9.3. Educational Advancements
10. Conclusion