The paper examines recent attempts by racial equality advocates to eliminate discrimination against African-Americans in the 21st century. However, it seems that in some parts of America equality has already been enforced, while in other parts it has not been enforced at all. In the first section of the text the author describes the history of African Americans in the United States as a whole. The Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act were proposed to end segregation based on gender, race, and ethnicity. Despite the written law, people are not easy to change immediately, due to social construction. Over time, African Americans have had a greater influence on American society as a whole, especially through music. African Americans are known for music genre and, lately, fashion. This text briefly reviews the history of African-American music, particularly hip-hop/rap. Additionally, the text explores the effect of affirmative action and color blindness. The text focuses on the example of events in both entertainment and news, and its possible effects on employment in careers and education, as well as on relationships among African Americans themselves. The text examines in depth the influence of various celebrities on today's generation and how their success has changed the view of African Americans in the media and how this differs from the representation in reality. Finally, the final section describes how people react to whole racial equality and what discrimination means for other ethnicities. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayAfrican Americans were brought to the land of America in the early 17th century as slaves. Over time, some people realized how inhumane slavery was and fought for the rights of voiceless groups, introducing the United States Constitution to enforce the 13th Amendment. Even though slavery was abolished, the mentality of some men was not open to accepting African Americans and gave rise to racism, the belief that distinguishes characteristics/abilities in which one race considers itself inferior or superior to other races. One of the major problems with racism is how individual races are misrepresented in public society, particularly in the media. While there has been progress in the field of racism throughout the United States, many efforts are hampered by conservative thinking. Discrimination in the media is still present, but, ironically, the problem lies in the fact that it is not evident, which explains to some extent the power of color blindness and the possible existence of affirmative action. The role of African Americans can be seen throughout the United States, starting as athletes, citizens, workers, then in business, government, politics, and, one of the most popular, entertainers: artists, actors and actresses, comedians, dancers, models , musicians, designers and writers. Music media has been dominated by black culture in various genres, including jazz, gospel, and hip-hop/rap. Today, hip-hop influences the music charts more than ever. Billboard's Top 100 is full of musicians of color, like Rae Sremmurd, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Bruno Mars, Drake, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and the endless list goes on. Many celebrities are respected and considered by many people, even as an inspiration for the next generation to come. Regarding the history of oppression of African Americans in the past, to the naked eye the problem of racism appears to be over. However, the media hardly portrays the true reality of things. The1973 was the year hip-hop was founded in New York's South Bronx (Davey D). Herc created a new technique to lengthen "a song's drum break by playing the break portion of two identical records consecutively." The growth of the improvised break method extended to a number of other art forms such as breakdancing and rapping. The rap itself is rhyming prose spoken to the beat of hip-hop music. The content was simply a commentary on the DJ's skill at playing hip-hop records, but developed into rapping about the DJ's personal experiences and stories. Then, rap transformed into the voice of poor, urban African American youth to speak out against the injustice their lives faced in the mainstream media. Political advocacy through rap has brought out its potential from previous rappers' function as a form of rebellion to counter subjugation and slavery. The situation appears to have changed for whites. Since hip-hop originally stems from African Americans, blacks maintain the genre with a sense of exclusivity. Racism is difficult to quantify and, even if the problem has disappeared, traces of its consequences are very present. There is a gray area in discrimination, mainly because the United States is divided into different areas: West Coast, East Coast, South, and North. Throughout history, the South has consecutively been the region where African Americans are most isolated, with evidence ranging from the existence of Jim Crow laws to the dog-whistle politics of the Southern Strategy. While oppressors might find it quite easy decide to apologize and forget the act of discrimination, the oppressed would disagree, especially with its effects spilling over to the identities of those hurt by the actions. As a result, “because of what whites have done to blacks in the past, there is great resentment against whites” (Preezy). As music, rap is inclusive of diversity, and the beat of hip-hop has spread around the world to many cultures. However, white artists have stated that they are undermined when it comes to rapping (Preezy). Few factors causing anti-white discrimination within the hip-hop nation stem from "perceived lack of authenticity or suspected voyeuristic motivations" (Hahn). Therefore, the perception of whites as members of hip-hop in the United States is skewed differently between the two poles. Being white in hip-hop can come with added pressure of justification to be worthy. The hip-hop industry has deviated from its original function of political/social commentary to become a form of adaptation to the tastes of wealthy white fans (Hahn). Because of hip-hop's recognition of 80% white, suburban teens, the industry wants to further please consumers, who appeal to the emphasis on “sexuality and violence” (Hahn). The fact that hip-hop originates from an “urban and poor” black culture, violence, crime or social issues as the main content of hip-hop puts white rappers at a disadvantage for not being witnesses. Because hip-hop functionality was meant to express genuine dissatisfaction, white rappers rap about stories they've never witnessed, much less experienced, defeating the purpose of honesty. Furthermore, giving voice to a journey that starts from the bottom – “socioeconomic burdens or objectification of women” – and entering a state of progress seems more acceptable in society, compared to written texts of superficial understanding. A successful white rapper with the stage name “Lil Dicky” climbed the ladder of fame by speaking frankly about his “vulnerabilities, fears and flaws” in the position of a middle-class white male and “hassuccessfully justified his position within the genre." by claiming a niche" (Hahn). Lil Dicky has earned his place in the hip-hop nation by keeping it real - "a term that reminds hip-hop to be true to their roots" (Blanchard). One of the many reasons for skepticism towards white rappers is the problem of cultural appropriation. According to James O. Young, cultural appropriation is defined as “the adoption or use of element of one culture by members of another culture” (Young). There is nothing wrong with the effort to understand the difficulties represented in rap music, but it becomes problematic when the message is completely missed for the sake of fame. The issue continues as cultural appropriation in hip-hop is perceived as a form of extension of colorblindness. Through colorblindness, the dominant culture appropriates, or rather rejects, the minority culture from which the behavior originated. An example of cultural appropriation in hip-hop media is Macklemore's win at the 2013 Grammy Awards against Kendrick Lamar (Bobb). The success of Macklemore, who is a white rapper, drowns out the voice of Kendrick Lamar's original culture album. Even Macklemore himself acknowledges the problem by publicizing his conversation with Kendrick Lamar via a text message that read, “You got robbed. I wanted you to win. It's weird and it sucks that he stole from you. … Anyway, you know what it is” (Bobb). Another example is the lyrical issue of Iggy Azalea. In one of her songs, "DRUGS", she calls herself "the mistress of runaway slaves". Before anyone else, Azealia Banks took matters into her own hands by directly tweeting, "How can you support a white woman who calls herself a 'runaway slave master'?" and “I'm not an anti-white girl, but I'm not here for anyone outside of my culture who tries to trivialize serious aspects of it. In any capacity." Banks' frustration can be easily understood, as Iggy's lyrics directly appropriate the use of African American history as a joke, if not an insult. Because of hip-hop's major influence on other aspects of culture, such as fashion, language and behavior, remains cultural appropriation. White and influential businessmen use the faces of celebrities as puppets to maintain white supremacy by rigging awards votes, as in the case of Macklemore and Kendrick Lamar (Bobb). Other producers who have noticed a different demand from consumers have taken the opportunity to exploit black rappers, starting today social media becomes an easier way to express opinions, “prejudiced people perceive greater community support for their opinions.” Entertainment media projects as if racism within American society no longer exists. Television shows, such as America's Next Top Model and American Idol, and Hollywood films include people of color. Fashion brands use Black hip-hop/rap artists to endorse their products, such as Rihanna for Puma, Kanye West for Adidas, and Chancellor “Chance The Rapper” Bennett for Nike. As entertainment media travels globally faster and captures audiences larger than mainstream society, the world may come to think about the end of the era of racism. Although it is evident that there has been much progress in the field of racism in the United States, many people fail to recognize its presence, due to the color blindness created by the media, whether intentionally or unintentionally. The attractiveness of black individuals in entertainment distorts people's perceptions. The media captures what sells and, for the most partpart of the cases, they hide the truth behind all the scripted interviews and luxury cars and houses. However, in news the opposite happens and, unfortunately, television and newspaper consumption has gradually declined over the years (Barthel, Luckerson). This is caused by the growth of online videos and websites. The news, even if partial, actually shows the problems of racism in society. While it is true that news reports control the percentage of particular coverage that could be edited in some way, news projects racism more than infotainment does. For example, the number of shootings by white police officers against black men (Kindy), which prompted the voice of a 9-year-old boy to speak to the Charlotte City Council: “We are black and we shouldn't feel that way. We shouldn't be protesting because you are treating us badly. We do it because we need it and we have the rights. I was born and raised in Charlotte. And I have never felt this way until now our fathers and mothers are killed and we can't even see them anymore. It's a shame to have to go to the cemetery and bury them. And we have tears, and we shouldn't have tears. We need our fathers and mothers by our side ”, both events covered in the news (Lopez). Despite the president of the United States being an African American, representation in the government is disproportionate. According to The Atlantic, “a federal policy without white support has only a 10% chance of being implemented, while one with universal white support has a 60% chance of adoption. But while a proposal without black support has a 40 percent chance of becoming law, one that enjoys unanimous approval has only a 30 percent chance of taking effect. In other words, as support for a particular policy increases within the black community, the chances of it being implemented actually decrease.” While there may be other reasons for the situation, this does not change the reality that racism is actually misrepresented by different media. Despite the negativity of racism, diversity is an entirely different matter. The world needs racial diversity, as it is what makes each individual unique. However, the problem comes when the dominant culture undermines the minority culture due to its own claimed superiority. An essential issue within racism is stereotypes of races. The United States' history with African-Americans has conveyed negative mindsets about both races from both perspectives, creating an endless cycle of prejudice and therefore inequality. The effort to be inclusive of people of color in entertainment media is admirable, but the appeal creates an unrealistic perception of African-American culture. Being an inspiration to others as a successful person is one thing, but judging an entire race based on what the media projects is a different thing. The characteristics of African Americans in hip-hop are rich in culture and creativity, but people should realize that not all African Americans can be limited to a bubble of stereotypes, nor are other races, including whites. It is important to perceive people as individuals, rather than as ethnicities or colors. By seeing people through a different lens, judgments change and standards arise from reality and what meets the eye, rather than preconceived prejudices. White rappers should be considered based on talent, rather than background, and the same attitude should apply to other races, including African Americans, in all situations. Equality means being able to have the same opportunities in pursuit..