Time Passes - Systemic Racism Remains

Examine America's legal history, a story unfolds,
Of a nation built on dreams and gold.
Yet woven within its fabric deep,
Are tales of sorrow that often creep.

Slavery's chains, a brutal yoke,
Enslaved the hearts, as freedom spoke.
Men and women, deemed as mere chattel,
Their cries unheard in a world so callous.

The Three-Fifths Compromise, a cynical trade,
Human souls counted, but rights delayed.
A nation's growth, on backs so weary,
Yet equality's light remained dreary.

The 1790 Naturalization Act's decree,
Excluded many from liberty's plea.
"Free white persons" alone could aspire,
While others faced walls ever higher.

Fugitive Slave Acts, cruel and cold,
Denied escape, as freedom they stole.
Bloodhounds and chains, a harrowing sight,
Injustice thrived, cloaked in the night.

Segregation in ranks, within the military's might,
African Americans faced a discriminatory plight.
Their valor disregarded, their service stained,
By barriers erected, freedom restrained.

The Indian Removal Act's painful course,
Tore tribes from lands, a brutal force.
Trail of Tears, a tear-stained trail,
Of broken promises and hopes frail.

Dred Scott's lament, a legal blow,
"No rights," they said, to freedom's flow.
Citizenship denied, justice deferred,
In courts of law, fairness deterred.

Homestead Acts, a promise betrayed,
Land for settlers, but others strayed.
Excluded and marginalized, hopes forlorn,
Inequality entrenched, from dusk till morn.

Jim Crow's laws, a darkened shroud,
Segregated lives, voices cowed.
Separate but unequal, a bitter pill,
Injustice rampant, a nation ill.

Ku Klux Klan's terror, a reign of fear,
Against Black lives, their hatred clear.
Violence and intimidation, tools of hate,
Civil rights' champions, a heavy weight.

Chinese Exclusion Act, a closed door,
Immigration barred, dreams no more.
Based on race, a nation's shame,
Inequity's mark, a lasting flame.

Dawes Act's betrayal, lands divided,
Native heritage, forcibly derided.
Assimilation's cruel facade,
Culture lost, by policies flawed.

Plessy v. Ferguson's ill-fated decree,
"Separate but equal," a fallacy.
Segregation's grip, unyielding and strong,
Rights denied, justice gone wrong.

Internment camps, Japanese Americans' plight,
Freedom stripped, in wartime's blight.
Executive Order 9066's stain,
On liberty's banner, a dark refrain.

Alien Land Laws, a discriminatory pact,
Asian immigrants, land rights lacked.
Denied opportunities, a biased creed,
Injustice sowed, a bitter seed.

Agricultural Adjustment Act's unequal measure,
Excluded many, a loss to treasure.
Sharecroppers and farmers, left behind,
Economic disparities, ever unkind.

Federal Housing Act's misguided aim,
Urban renewal's cost, a racial claim.
Redlining's mark, on neighborhoods so dear,
Wealth disparities, crystal clear.

The Federal Aid Highway Act's path,
Displaced communities, in its aftermath.
Segregation's legacy, highways divide,
Economic gaps, ever wide.

Immigration Act of '65, a new dawn,
Yet shadows lingered, biases drawn.
Impact varied, by nationality and race,
Immigrant journeys, in a complex maze.

The fight for civil rights, a long road,
Voting rights struggles, a heavy load.
Barriers to healthcare, education's gate,
Justice delayed, a nation's fate.

Mass incarceration's disproportionate toll,
Communities of color, paying the toll.
War on Drugs, a flawed crusade,
Criminal justice, in shadows it wade.

Environmental policies, a biased stance,
Communities suffer, in toxic dance.
Equal access to healthcare, a distant dream,
Disparities stark, in health's stream.

Labor practices unfair, workers dismayed,
Minorities sidelined, wages delayed.
Educational inequalities, a stark reality,
Schools segregated, hope's frailty.

HUD policies, housing divide,
Discrimination persists, on every side.
Prison-industrial complex, a nation's stain,
Racially biased policing, causing pain.

In this tapestry of triumph and woe,
Inequities embedded, as centuries flow.
Challenges remain, for justice to prevail,
A nation's conscience, a constant tale.