We can learn from the mistakes this country has made: Is this where America went wrong?

The mistreatment of black people has haunted America. There will forever be tension between white America and the minorities because of the treatment they received. Malcolm X once said, “We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us.” That means that from the time that minorities were brought to America, other people began to crush their dreams and torture them. It is unjust to do so, it is unfair.

America was founded with a base of fairness and equality, but between the lines it read “only for the white man.” Men were free to have a fair trial and say what they wanted. But the moment a woman or a person of color spoke up, they were told their comments were wrong and not important. Justice is equality.

Early America had a skewed interpretation of the foundations it was built upon. Justice was not there. Equality was not there. What happened to all of us being equal before God? Do we have to die first in order to see that fair judgment and equality?

There is still hope for the world. We can still come together and redefine the misinterpreted words of our Constitution. Justice is out there. With people like myself and Atticus Finch (lawyer in “To Kill a Mockingbird”) who strive to create a fair justice system, there is hope.

In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Injustice is hate, justice is love. Justice is fairness, justice is equality. Justice can save us.

Marcques Houston, Monmouth