Discussing "And We Are Not Saved" by Derrick Bell

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I hope these notes will help you with your paper.

I have included some information below these two paragraphs which I feel is the just of your reading. You will want to list your main points such as racism, racism as part of our history, and how it will likely always be and perhaps this is why change occurs slowly. At first, it was necessary for economic growth through slavery. Once slavery was eliminated, then perhaps other means such as criminalizing blacks would remove them from the workforce until new laws are passed. Each form of restraint permitted the white man opportunities to stay well ahead of the black American and therefore, the white man's economic growth excelled.

The following information should sum up pretty much what the main ideas are from the introduction - that is - Mr. Bell feels racisim is permanent as it serves a purpose from the beginning when our Constitution was written such as the slaves and slaveholders. This is a necessary evil as the slave holders provided an economic purpose to the strength of the country. So, from the beginning, racism was crucial to the USA's success. Also, there is a reason why we continue to have racial issues. But, we are trying to show the world that we are not doing this such as in our laws. For example, "America produces symbols of redemption in the form of civil rights measures seemingly intended to rectify past racial cruelties and expunge the dark stain of slavery. But after a brief period of hope, and compliance with these measures has impeded other goals and... they have been abandoned, leaving the black's social subordination deeply entrenched." Meaning, measures were put in place to appeal as if the government were making changes to ...