In
Alchemy of Race and Rights, Patricia Williams brings up the fact that the law
is not color blind and that it may benefit those in higher standing and power
than those at the bottom. Although many people have claimed that the law is as
is and it is people who interpret it differently, there is evidence that in the
colonial times, lawmaking was suppose to favor one kind of group over another.
In fact, I remember reading in my history book how in the constitutional
convention of 1787, the room was full of white, wealthy land owners. There were
no women, slaves, or poor men for that matter. It was this favoritism of one race over the
other that has influenced many generations to maintain a certain stereotype
alive. The derogatory perception of African Americans began may have began with
the 3/5th compromise in which they were not even considered people. Rather,
they were deemed so insignificant, that it would take a large number of them to
be considered a vote. At the same time, however, the slaves were also seen as a
threat. With such a large number, if the founding fathers would have given each
and every slave a vote, they then had the ability to overrule any unjust law. Thus,
the birth of the compromise, worked in favor of the rich, wealthy landowners
and against the slaves.
Today,
this perception of inferiority and threat is still placed on the African American.
Caucasians still hold a large amount of wealth and power, while the people of
color are still struggling to make their name known. At the same time, the
notion of threat that may come from an African American is still alive today. The
Trayvon Martin case is simply one more to add to the list of how fear instills
a person when seeing a person of color walks the streets. All this comes to
show that the attempt at bringing equality has been futile due to the fact that
people still believe what their ancestors did. And thus, biased laws created by
white men for white men back in 1787, cannot possible be said to be color
blind.
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