America was Built on the Ideal System

America was built on the ideal system that all people are equal. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence stated ... all men are created equal.'' However, rights for white men were remarkably beyond the rights of others. To this day, social groups are still shunned, and stereotypes continue to dominate and affect our everyday lives. People fear, neglect, and criticize those whom they believe to be different; which results in minorities to be perpetually faced with the struggle of equality. The universal dream of justice is just that, a dream, a figment of imagination that we have yet to reach. While some believe everyone is born equally, all people do not have equal opportunities because humans discriminate based on race and some use gender as a basis to be biased.

Regardless of intent, race affects our society. For example, In 2002, Whoopi Goldberg became the first African American with an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) Award. Whoopi Goldberg has been an actress since 1982. That's a total of thirty active years in the acting industry. Of those years Goldberg has played in significant blockbuster movies such as The Lion King, The Sister Act, The Color Purple, Toy Story 3 and many more. With an impressive array of credentials such as these, one would think Goldberg was a respected actress. However, this was not the case; Goldberg was passed up for awards that she deserved. It wasn't until 1986 when Whoopi received her first award which was a Golden Globe for the motion picture The Color Purple. Even after winning an award such as this some were still skeptical of Whoopi's talent. Despite this, Whoopi Goldberg has demolished barriers and showed every critic that her talent speaks for itself. Therefore, Goldberg is a perfect example of how race limits your opportunities.

Additionally, gender also plays a role in why all people do not have equal rights.
Whoopi Goldberg a comedian, actress, songwriter, political activist, and much more who is known for pushing the envelope, is not merely just any black person on the EGOT award list she's the only African American female on the list. Furthermore, in 1994 Goldberg made history with accomplishments like being the first woman to host the Academy Awards solo. On top of that, Goldberg is also the first female Grammy host. Another fact to consider, Goldberg created history by becoming the first African American woman to win the Academy Award for best-supporting actress

Another example is Beyonce Knowles-Carter. Knowles-Carter has had hits since 1990 with the famed R&B girl group Destiny Child and as a solo artist since 2006. Making tremendous accomplishments such as: being the highest paid black recording artist of all time, being the first black female recording artist on the cover of Vogue's September issue and becoming the first black woman to win ASCAP's Pop Songwriter of the Year Award. In the light of multiple broken records such as these, Beyonce always fell second best to those of a fairer complexion on an economic level. In 2016, Carter had finally surpassed her competitors becoming the highest paid female recording artist; which was after twenty-eight years of being a recording artist. Taking this into consideration, we see that no matter how high in power or wealth race still controls and limits lives.

Beyonce also has an outstanding track record as a female. During her twenty-eight years of being an entertainer, Knowles-Carter continues to shatter barriers, climb musical charts, and do the unthinkable. On April 14 and 21, 2018 Beyonce made history by becoming the first African American female to headline Coachella (a music festival in California). To think after the nineteenth amendment and nineteen years of the festival happening titles such as the first African American female headliner still need to be established. In addition to this, at twenty-eight Beyonce became the first woman to win six Grammys in one night. With sixty-three nominations, Knowles-Carter is the most nominated female individual in Grammy history.

Indeed, while some believe everyone is born with equal opportunity, all people do not have equal opportunity. Due to people discriminating and being prejudice based on gender and race. If humanity continues to take this route will change ever occur? If each person stops distinguishing, all humans would have equal opportunities. Don't you want to be the positive change you wish to see?

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