Abstract
It is generally agreed that discrimination based on ethnic origin is morally wrong and a violation of the principle of equality. The equality principle requires that those who are equal be treated equally based on similarities, and that race is not a relevant consideration in that assessment (May and Sharratt 1994: 317). In other words, it is only possible to justify treating people differently if there exists some factual difference between them that justifies such difference in treatment (Rachels 1999)
The notion of race gradually took hold in U.S. society when the institution of slavery reinforced the idea that one race could be inferior to another. (Banks and Eberhardt 1998) In the United States, the law has had the effect of distributing benefits and burdens based on race, and the assignment of a person to a racial category has often, in the past, determined his or her rights and obligations (for example, in the “Jim Crow” laws passed at the end of the Civil War).
History
Blacks and Hispanics have suffered discrimination on grounds of race, initially through the system of slavery, and then through a pattern of exclusion and segregation, both informal and formal, in the shape of legislation and court decisions that have historically endorsed overt racial discrimination. From the time of the inception of slavery in the early 17th century until 1865, slaves were considered the property of their masters based on a view that they were naturally unequal and inferior people. They were subjected to slave codes, which prohibited the possession of any rights or freedoms enjoyed by whites; experienced brutal and inhumane treatment of an extralegal nature; and were exploited for their labor.
Following the Civil War, amendments to the Bill of Rights prohibited slavery and granted all persons, regardless of race, a right to equal protection...........
