Less than fifty years ago, America was a society of segregation and racism. Racism is defined as “the belief that a particular race is superior to another” (p. 3?). Although it is clear that things have changed, racism is still visible in modern America. Relations between African Americans and whites are generally better than they were in the 1940s and 1950s. Today, it is not common to see a black man walking down the street and step off the sidewalk to let a white man pass, or to see a black man sitting in another section of the bus or train because a white man says he has too. But racial superiority still exists. Much of this is due to the ignorance of others. Passed down from generation to generation, learned at school or transmitted through entertainment. It is true to say that racism is learned throughout life. Even though it's not as bad as it used to be, it's undeniable that racism still exists in today's society. Thousands of years ago, Portuguese sailors discovered advanced African cultures. When they failed to keep up with the Portuguese, they were considered stupid. The Portuguese began to welcome them as slaves. They were not considered humans, more or less “subhumans” and they were called “beasts”. Slavery is of course the most obvious form of racism (page 3). It is very clear that slavery was once a significant problem in the country. Slavery was eventually abolished in the country, but before that, the country was divided and civil war began. People fought to treat black people horribly, keeping them as slaves, beating them, and not providing them with adequate food, education, or shelter. After slavery ended, violence intensified. It was during this time that Jim Crow laws were enacted. Jim Crow laws began in Massachusetts. Although it was a Northern state (slavery and racism were more common in the South than in the North), it allowed the separation of blacks and whites on the railroads. By the 1900s, laws had been established allowing such separation throughout the country (Cayton, Perry, Reed, and Winkler). Under the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, blacks enjoyed the same legal protections as whites..