What does it mean to be a “racist” or an “antiracist,” and how have racist policies contributed to some of the problems associated with racial inequality in America today?

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT & Research Questions for the Race UnitIn this assignment, This is a research essay, so you MUST reference the articles by using quotes, paraphrases, and/or summaries. Please keep in mind that you must use only the articles we read and studied in this class as sources for your essay. Please do NOT use additional research materials you find on your own.In order to complete this assignment, you must choose ONE of the following research questionsto write about for your essay on this unit: 1.What does it mean to be a “racist” or an “antiracist,” and how have racist policies contributed to some of the problems associated with racial inequality in America today? What are some solutions we need to implement to help solve these problems? (I know this sounds overly-broad, but restrict your answer to this question based only on what you learned from reading the articles for this unit).—– OR —–2.In light of the death of George Floyd, and many other unarmed African American men (and boys), at the hands of police officers across this country, some people have called for the defunding of police departments in order to better reform and retrain the officers who are responsible for safety in our communities. What does defunding the police actually mean? Do you agree that defunding the police is the answer? What measures do

3 you think we need to adopt in order to prevent another disaster like George Floyd’s death, and to ensure more equitable treatment of African Americans in the criminal justice system?REMEMBER, your answer to the research question is the THESIS for your essay. You should be able to find a one or two sentence answer that expresses the focus of your essay, and then use that focal point as the springboard for developing your logical argument to support it